Attack Coach Neil Doak believes the Heineken Cup Final on 19th May will give Ulster the chance to join Leinster and Munster as a European heavyweight.
Ulster travel to Twickenham to take on defending champions Leinster, and Doak said: “Leinster and Munster have probably been the forerunners with regards to European rugby and Irish rugby and we are jealous of that. Three finals in four years is absolutely tremendous from their (Leinster’s) point of view and it’s a credit to their management and players because they’ve worked hard. We want to try and emulate and better that and we’ve got a chance in the cup final in a few weeks time.
“Obviously Leinster are going for back to back wins but we’ve got to pitch up and make sure we do ourselves justice and hopefully upset them and get ourselves a second European title. There is no doubt that Leinster are favourites; the experience that they have, the amount of internationals that they have and the quality that they have in their squad across the board.”
Doak believes the success enjoyed by Leinster in recent seasons means that Ulster will be massive underdogs going into the game: “They will quite rightly be favourites. But we’ve got ourselves to the final and it’s on the day who can take their chances. Against quality sides you only get a couple of chances and if we are able to take them and get ourselves in front and dig in like we did against Munster, you never know. The underdogs have come up trumps a few times in a lot of competitions and a lot of sports. We are quite happy to be there and give it a rattle.
“Against Munster and Leinster we are always going to be underdogs until we get over that hurdle and start to beat them on a more regular basis and not just one offs. In three weeks time we’ll take a one off,”he joked.
Ulster have progressed to the final courtesy of dogged defensive displays in the quarter0final against Munster and the semi-final against Edinburgh. But Doak is aware that if Leinster have as much possession as those two sides enjoyed, it will be extremely difficult to win a second European title. “From my point of view attack is the best for of defence. It’s hard to defend for long period of time. If Leinster have the ball for a sustained period of time we could be in for a long afternoon so we’ve got to make sure we have quality on the ball and try to put them under pressure and play in the right areas.”
The former Ulster scrum half is enjoying working with current number 9 Ruan Pienaar who picked up the man of the match award in the semi-final win over Edinburgh for his excellent game management and contribution of 17 points from the tee. He commented: “He’s a quality player. He’s got all the skills and he’s got a temperament that calms people down, especially in big games when there’s a lot of pressure. He’s been at a World Cup and played in numerous big games. (It’s great) just to have him there and the calming effect (he brings). He’s been a key performer for us and obviously his goal kicking was immense on Saturday and when he’s on the ball and doesn’t look flustered.”
Doak admits that some other players might have been affected by the magnitude of the occasion. “On Saturday when we came out of the hotel and seen the crowds, it probably hit a few guys. We’d been in the hotel with each other and all of a sudden you walk outside to the noise and the supporters. We didn’t play particularly well on Saturday and I think the emotion and the occasion got to a few of our boys. Hopefully the nerves are done and dusted now they’ve got that experience and hopefully we’ll be able to mentally cope with things for a European Cup final.”
He took time to comment on the performance of 20 year old Paddy Jackson, who made his first European start in Saturday’s historic win. “We didn’t have a lot of ball to play with but Jacko got stuck in really well and made his hits. He’s a young kid and it’s going to take time for him to get an understanding of the game and realise what it’s about. He’s a lot to learn but he’s taken to it like a duck to water and he’s done really well; he didn’t look flustered on Saturday. Maybe a few times he passed a little bit early and he could have gone to the line himself a couple of times. He’ll grow in confidence and hopefully Saturday’s game will give him that.”
Everyone involved in Ulster Rugby is eagerly anticipating the clash at Twickenham and Doak is no different: “We want a rattle at them. We’ve got guys who are ambitious and want to go further in their international careers and they’ve got guys in similar positions. It will be a great day for Irish rugby as a whole and hopefully we do ourselves justice. There will be an unbelievable atmosphere.”
