Friday 9th January 2015
Ulster's Clive Ross keen to follow family's footsteps
On the rise: Ulster's Clive Ross has been delighted by the extra game time he has got this season
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/table ... 93414.htmlInevitably, something had to be said in Dublin last Saturday when the two cousins who hail from the same village in north Cork came face-to-face on the pitch.
One an established Ireland international now heading towards the twilight of his career while the other, a good 10 years younger, having surprisingly pitched up north of the border, went hammer and tongs at each other and apparently only once it was all over did the Ballyhooly natives exchange words.
"It was nice to play against him," Ulster's Clive Ross said of Leinster's Mike Ross though the elder of the two came off with all the spoils.
"It wasn't until after the final whistle that he got the jokes in," the now Belfast-based flanker said of Ireland's tighthead prop though just to rub it in even more it was Mike who managed to put in a rather unexpected tackle his relative.
"Obviously he had the bragging rights after the win," says Clive before recalling a moment which may well feature the next time there is a family get-together.
"He got a good 'jack' tackle on me so he was bragging about that as well," says the man who came to Ulster from Lansdowne on an initial trial and is now on a development contract until the end of the season when he is hoping to be offered some form of extension.
It seemed unlikely to offer rapid advancement when the Munster native opted to pursue his ambition of playing professionally by coming north last summer, but opportunity has knocked for him in an unanticipated way with Chris Henry's health issue sidelining Ulster's first choice openside flanker, and then Nick Williams also residing on the injury list, helping to narrow the options and allowing the 25-year-old to get a run of games.
He admits that playing number six - blindside flanker - has been the position he has been most accustomed to but Ross is determined to make the most of his unexpected chance to gain experience playing on the openside and looks set to play his 11th game for Ulster on Sunday at Treviso.
Though he is new to the professional set-up, Ross does not shrink from explaining just what has to be achieved on Sunday to help revive Ulster's less than convincing form of late.
"There is a lot of pressure on the squad to win this game," he says.
"It is a must-win and there's no hiding behind that."
Indeed, losing three from the last four in the PRO12 is not good by anyone's reckoning but Ross continues the point with some fairly pertinent argument.
"But they (the recent away games which have brought only defeats) would be the tougher games in the league like Ospreys away, Munster away and Leinster away," he adds.
"The next couple of games are against bottom half opposition (Treviso, either side of the final European pool games) and at the moment we're in fifth, and five points off the top, so I think we're very much in the mix.
"But we do need to improve our performance there's no doubt about that," he maintains while, naturally, refusing to accept that the wheels are coming off for the squad.
"I wouldn't say alarm bells are ringing but I think we certainly need to step up," says the player who was educated in Munster and played his club rugby in Leinster before arriving here.
You wonder just how he has managed with the rather sizeable step-up to PRO12 and Champions Cup rugby after having previously played AIL standard with Lansdowne - he was on the title winning side coached by Mike Ruddock in 2013 along with fellow new signing Charlie Butterworth who is currently playing at Ballynahinch - and though there is no denying that it has proved a steep challenge, Ross reckons he is surviving and, hopefully, improving.
"When I first signed on I thought that maybe during international breaks would have been my time to shine, but just the way the injuries have gone I've got extra opportunities," he says.
"I don't find the physicality all that much different but I think the tempo is the main thing and the pace is obviously a lot quicker.
"Skills and accuracy are a lot higher and I feel that I've adapted well to the demands of the (professional) game," he adds.
Ross also mentions that the environment at Lansdowne which Ruddock, a former Grand Slam winning coach with Wales and the father of Leinster and Ireland player Rhys, helped provide was an excellent grounding to move on to the next level.
And just to illustrate the point he throws in former team-mates Craig Ronaldson, now with Connacht, and Martin Moore who is with Leinster and has already broken through to play for the national side, as examples just in case you reckoned that simply playing AIL rugby before coming here counted for practically nothing along with the fact that he wasn't part of the much-fabled Leinster system.
Even so, Ross still describes coming off the bench against the star-laden Toulon at the Kingspan back in October as surreal and there is no doubting that he has been asked to make the move to the upper echelons of the professional game rather rapidly.
He remains confident though and is rightly optimistic that he should get more game time on Sunday's return to Italy than on his debut in September at Zebre when Declan Fitzpatrick's early red card meant that the flanker had to make way for a front row replacement after just 10 minutes in what turned out to be Ulster's first away defeat of the season.
"I feel that from the start of the season I've greatly improved and I'm excited to see how far I can go," says Ross.
Hopefully his outlook, and Ulster's season, will remain in the same upbeat zone.
Dan Tuohy extends deal and pledges trophy success
Prize guy: Ulster's Dan Tuohy is in hunt for trophies
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport ... 93380.htmlDan Tuohy has vowed to win silverware with Ulster after agreeing a three-year contract extension that will keep him at Kingspan Stadium until at least the summer of 2018.
Ulster continue their bid for PRO12 success against Treviso in Italy on Sunday with Neil Doak's men in fifth place, a point outside the play-off spots.
"Having the chance to be part of a trophy-winning Ulster team was a huge part of my decision to stay and I will be giving my all to help Ulster be successful in the next three seasons," said Tuohy.
"I have been here almost six years now and although Ulster Rugby has evolved a huge amount in that time we are yet to win anything."
Bryn Cunningham, Ulster Rugby's Team Manager, added: "Dan is hugely important to us and has developed into a highly effective leader both on and off the pitch.
"He has proven at both international and provincial level that he is an outstanding player in his position.
"His effectiveness as a powerful ball carrier to break the gainline at important times in matches is crucial in the modern game.
"I am extremely pleased he has committed to Ulster in the long term, showing the belief our frontline players have in the future of Ulster Rugby.
"I have no doubt that he will continue to make a huge contribution to our success in the next three seasons."
Tuohy signed for Ulster from Exeter Chiefs in the summer of 2009 and has made 118 appearances for the province so far.
The 29-year-old made a try-scoring debut for Ireland against the All Blacks in 2010.
He has won nine caps in total and made two appearances in last season's RBS 6 Nations Championship win before injury cut his campaign short.
Tuohy has also represented Ireland at U21 level and has four caps for Ireland 'A'.
Clarke relishing Ulster's upcoming fixtures
Allen Clarke has seen Ulster slip to fifth in the GUINNESS PRO12 table Inpho
http://www.pro12rugby.com/news/16455.php#.VK-P916vmP8Ulster might have slipped down the GUINNESS PRO12 table in recent weeks but forwards coach Allen Clarke believes the club's remaining fixtures make a play-off berth well within reach.
Saturday's 24-11 defeat at Leinster was Ulster's third loss in their last four GUINNESS PRO12 games, meaning they have also lost their last six away games in all competitions.
The result at the RDS Arena left the Ulstermen fifth in the table as Leinster leapfrogged them into the fourth and final play-off spot.
However, Clarke is refusing to throw in the towel on Ulster's title hopes just yet, especially with an important run of fixtures that sees them play teams currently below them in the GUINNESS PRO12 table in their next seven league games.
This run kicks off away at Treviso this weekend and Clarke wants his Ulster troops to make the most of the opportunity in front of them.
"I think this weekend's game is really important to us," Clarke told the Belfast Telegraph.
"It won't define our final position of the season but it will go a long way to establishing us in the top four. Over the next period, we have a run of games that we'd expect, and we've set ourselves a target of accruing, a certain amount of points.
"During that period Ospreys, Leinster, Glasgow and Munster all play each other. We've been to Munster, we've been to Ospreys and played them at home, we've had Glasgow here and we've been to Leinster.
"Those teams have got to come to us now. The only team above us that we have to go to is Glasgow.
"That's at the back end of the season. It's a tough run in our last three league games but two of them are at home and we've got to ensure that we're in a position that we're going into those games competing for one of the top two positions."
Dan speaks about his new three year deal.
Interview HERE
