The Tyrone and Justin Show
Another great event put together by the URSC with the cooperation of UR.
Move over Ant and Dec there’s a new double-act in town! Last Wednesday night the URSC held a meet the players evening in Madison’s. New signing Issac Boss was there straight off the plane from New Zealand, along with Justin Harrison, Andrew Trimble and Lewis Stevenson. For about forty-five minutes the panel were quizzed by our very own British and Irish Lion - Tyrone Howe.
Somehow Issac Boss seemed to get through the whole event without falling asleep. He filled us in on his playing career to date in New Zealand with Waikito and the Hurricanes where he has played at both Full-back and scrum-half. On his connections with Ireland it turns out that his Granny emigrated to New Zealand from Glenarm (provoked general mirth and understanding nods) and it is this that makes him qualified for Ireland. Of course this makes him a true Son of Ulster as well!
The two youngsters were also refreshing.
Andy Trimble talked about how things developed for him over that past year. From the awe of first being on the training field with Davy Humphreys and his other heroes to the point where at the start of this year he was totally settled and looking forward to getting a regular team slot. Andrew talked about the role of his faith in his playing and how he recently changed his course of Study at Queens from Physics to Theology, physics was just too hard and he felt that by studying theology he could gain a qualification that could benefit him more in later life. On ht e hot topic of his position he confessed that he is more comfortable at centre and had only a few weeks to learn his new position on the wing before his first competitive match.
Lewis Stevenson joked about then injury (stress fracture) that has kept him on the sidelines since the U21 World Cup. Apparently his sort of fracture is more common amongst pregnant women that Rugby Players. I don’t know if we’re supposed to read something into that. But he was looking forward to getting back to playing as soon as possible. He gave us a little insight into the amount of training that they were expected to put in - even though he’s not yet back to full training he’s putting in about ten gym sessions a week and there are fines applied to the players if they miss them (more information was promised on these but it was never forthcoming).
Then came the real entertainment as Tyrone turned the Spotlight on Justin Harrison.
This was more like a comedy double-act than an interview as both questioner and interviewee managed to squeeze a few gentle digs in at every opportunity. Asked about why Justin chose Ulster out of all the clubs that were queuing up for him the big man was both candid and complementary about the set-up at Ulster, the quality of competition and the quality of life he felt he would have in Belfast. Tyrone and Justin obviously get on well together and there was no end of friendly banter about the Performance of the Lions this year, and in previous tours. Most from the Southern Hemisphere agreed that too many players for the Lions team were there for past performances rather than current form
When talking about the supporters Justin admitted that he had been giving the Blue Rinse Boys a bit of a hard time at the Dragons match because he thought they were Dragons supporters and it was only when they started to sing Stand up for the Ulstermen that he realised his mistake. He made a point of going over and thanking them after the match like a true gent.
The one area of difference between the hemispheres that he did briing up was the standard of refereeing. He has found it frustrating that the teams put so much effort into playing the game within the rules only to be undone by the way those rules are interpreted or applied by the refs in the Celtic League.
Once the Pre-prepared questions had been answered there was an opportunity for questions from the floor. This proved an excellent opportunity for some light-hearted questioning.
Some bright spark asked Andrew Trimble if he was surprised that T-Bone hadn’t scored that try in Newport when he was hunted down by Morgan, and whether perhaps Andy could have scored in the same circumstances. Andrew was too diplomatic to answer and Tyrone pointed out that he’d been caught by the fastest man in Welsh rugby. But it was asked and answered with tongue well and truly in cheek.
When asked about where they wanted to be in five years time both Lewis and Andrew showed their true colours by saying that they wanted to be fixtures in the Ulster team and if the chance should arise to play for Ireland.
Boss was asked why he decided to shave off his beard to the general amusement of all in the room. When asked who he’ll be supporting when the All Blacks play Ireland in November he went straight for the right answer - Ireland. But no-one asked him if he hoped to be playing!
After all the questions from the floor had been exhausted food was wheeled out and the players (including Paul Steinmetz who’d been hovering in the back of the room all evening) hung around and chatted with the fans for a while longer. Signed autographs for the kids and generally made themselves available.
A great night all round, many thanks to the URSC for organising the night, to UR for supplying the Players and of course to the players themselves (particularly T-Bone) for giving up their time to entertain us all.
Don’t miss the next event with Willie-John McBride which promises to be even better.
