Soon after earning my Leaving Certificate, I had the surprising experience of being asked to train with Leinster, which both exhilarated and frightened me due to the uncertainty. I was almost ignorant about the players with whom I was to train. I could identify Shane Byrne from his televised All-Ireland league match with Blackrock College, but outside of anyone who had played school rugby in the past four years, I couldn’t name anyone else.
As a student, my world revolved around school sports. The internet and widespread coverage of sports that we now have was not accessible to me at that period. I’ve always enjoyed participating more than being a spectator, which led me to sell my school’s international tickets for a significant gain and took the chance to break free from my boarding school life in Dublin. While international rugby was exciting, exploring Stephen’s Green with £25 in my pocket held a distinctive allure.
Upon reaching Leinster training on the first day, I grasped the limited scope of my rugby knowledge. I was able to identify members like Denis Hickie, Ciarán Scally, Emmet Farrell, and Peter Smyth through their school’s pedigree. As for the rest, they seemed like a maze of faces. An odd youthful confidence led me to believe that I could outperform anyone unfamiliar, to my detriment. The Leinster team was packed with AIL stalwarts like Martin Ridge, Stephen Rooney, Declan O’Brien and Richie Murphy.
Once on the field, I knew about Farrell’s playing prowess. In contrast, I judged Murphy mainly on his physical stature, which was a gross mistake. While I harboured ambitious hopes of becoming an international fullback, Murphy’s skills on field made me aware of my lack of backfield cover skills. Time after time, he made the ball tantalisingly out of my grasp, which served as an enlightening lesson in humility. It was a few years before I could refine my own playing skills, but this period taught me never to underestimate a player based merely on their appearance.
Recollections resurfaced after Ulster officially declared that Richie’s temporary role as head coach had been made permanent this week, a position agreed on a two-year contract. Accepting the interim role presented a challenge, as he possessed no influence over whether he would be extended a formal offer, and if ordinary employment rules were to be followed, declining the role if offered would mean not getting another opportunity.
Ulster at the moment is a team grappling with chaos both on and off the field. The recent inconsistent performances have left supporters feeling exasperated. Meanwhile, the departure of longstanding sponsor Kingspan has inflicted a significant economic blow to the club.
Undoubtedly, this role is a demanding first assignment for an emerging senior coach. Despite this, whilst holding the interim position, he was able to subtly navigate changes and now can assertively progress with revamping the team’s strategies.
Though an unsettling and precipitous transition into senior coaching wasn’t his preference, life often throws us unexpected situations. Regardless, he has proven his self-belief in his capability and this tenacity deserves recognition. For him to successfully carry out his role, he needs to have the independence to select the backroom team and have the final say in player enrollments.
Neither the IRFU nor Ulster executives should encroach excessively. They have chosen to hand him the reins so they shouldn’t undermine his decisions and evaluations. It’s clear from past experiences, like the conflict between IRFU’s Eddie O’Sullivan and Declan Kidney, that forced partnerships are hardly productive.
One of Murphy’s key tasks now is to ensure the right individuals are on his side and remove those who aren’t. Michael Cheika, when he took over as head coach of Leinster, was tasked with something similar and the results he achieved speak for themselves.
It’s crucial to define what success for Ulster looks like in the upcoming seasons, right from the outset. Murphy’s ability to attract players and fans will either validate his tenure or lead to his downfall.
There’s a significant distinction between managing the Under-20s in Ireland and steering a professional senior franchise. At the underage level, one encounters transitory dynamics, having to devise strategies and gain support within a rather limited timeframe, whilst dealing with a significant turnover of players.
In the realm of professional rugby, there’s more stability. However, this sphere can be fraught with abundant egos and cliques which occasionally need dismantling. The professionals can be more challenging with their queries, thus creating a juggling act between selection, performance and securing positive results.
Richie is subtly stamping his footprint on the team’s structure, a recent evidence of which was his selection of the towering six-foot seven-inch Cormac Izuchukwu as the blindside flanker. This is an emerging trend in contemporary rugby, noticeable in players like Ryan Baird, Tom Ahern, Cian Prendergast, and Courtney Lawes amongst others.
Drawing from his interactions with two stellar head coaches, Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell, Richie is expected to cherry-pick the prime aspects of these setups in his attempt to build his own.
Likewise, Ulster takes pride in a talented ensemble of young players spanning across the three-quarter line, hooker and backrow positions. A boost in the tight five and at halfback would be ideal but unlikely to be achieved with monetary resources. However, Richie’s extensive knowledge of the best young players around the nation, coupled with the rapport he shares with them, may attract a few to cross over to Belfast.