Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TWILIGHT ZONE
The sun’s setting on Gilroy and he’s keen on making the most of it
CALCULATING Craig Gilroy is eager to eke the best out of the latter stages of his career and number crunch his way to a successful season at the Kingspan Stadium.
Gilroy, who returned from a serious back injury and dispiriting 11 month lay-off in September, has amassed 177 caps since making his debut in 2010.
But while the Ulster winger turns 29 in March and is now the longest serving player at the club, he retains a keen appetite to evolve his game.
So much so the seasoned wideman keeps track of his stats in a homemade office and records every marginal gain as a step in the right direction.
“It’s just amazing being back in the squad and I’ve just to keep on my A game because there’s a lot of competition,” he said.
One way Gilroy keeps on top of his game is regular feedback from Ulster’s head analyst and stats boffin Niall Malone. I like to know (my stats), so I’d go to Niall every block of three or four games,” he said. “I’ll go to him and he’ll send me it across and I’ll put it up somewhere.
“I’ve a wee office in the house – I sound like an old man!
- and keep tabs on where it is or where it needs to be. I then set mini goals every week going into a game.
“If I beat a couple of defenders I’ll say to myself I want to beat more than that
(next week), I know I’m capable of beating more than that, so that’s what I want to do.”
While Gilroy, a blur of pace and off-the-cuff spins, has benefited from studying his game through the prism of data, he has vowed to continue playing “in the moment”.
“The game in this day and age is quite technical,” he said.
“Everything is monitored and recorded and you have that information available.
“Some guys can get caught up in stats all day, but you’ve got to play what’s in front of you and be in the moment.”
Ulster will bid to get back on track against Connacht after last week’s frantic 54-42 defeat to Leinster at the RDS and keep their impressive home record intact.
Dan Mcfarland’s (left) men are unbeaten in their last 17 home games dating back to a shock 15-22 loss to Connacht in Belfast 14 months ago. Gilroy, who dotted down for his third try of the season against Leinster and starts on the bench tonight, said: “Our record in Belfast is fantastic, so touch wood we keep than going.
“I think we’ve really strengthened it (the Kingspan) as a fortress with our home performances and all in all we’re in a really good place at the minute.”