In 2012 we beat Munster in the Heineken Cup Quarter Final, that was our finest hour of that tournament, we played well again in the Semi Final and we were beaten in the Final by Leinster.
In 2013 we rose to be the No1 seed in Europe B4 Christmas and then because this was still new we through naivety by all of us, not the players, all of us, we picked up injuries because we were nearly beat in the 2nd leg Northampton game and tried to force the game and picked up a serious injury and frankly our hearts were broken and we lost the game. We picked up quite a lot more injuries and by mid to end of January we had completely fallen apart. Broken in bits but we rallied ourselves kept it together and built into a season where we went to Saracens and got badly hurt but had played better than since Christmas because injured players were coming back in and then we turned it on and produced the performances and ended up in the final against Leinster and got beaten and have been hurting from that since then.
The facts are that the Quarter finals and Semi Finals and the Finals of which we have been in for the last 2 years we have gotten beaten and have walked away with nothing but the glare of angry men in our province and outside it who say “I Told You So”
The mantra of criticism in which our own media critcise and attack and say you should have done this and you should have done that and “He’s dropped the ball again”, “Nick Williams is quite a good player but he should really be holding the ball in two hands” and then as they did last night against Cardiff on national television our own commentator says in one breadth how an Ulster player has made another mistake but the Welsh Cardiff players are such great players beggars belief to actually hear an Ulster man insult his own team.
Turning up, turning up is no mean feat in the face of all these “opinions” but we support the players and the coaches at their time of need after all that has gone this past 3 years all the hopes and dreams of the players.
When we are on a role people get jealous, and they attack with that jealousy, (because they are afraid of what might happen) so we begin to hide and not stand out from the crowd, we play well but within a shell, because we do not want to get roasted. And afterwards everyone will say you played well, it was a good game.
But those who are not on our side will say Ulster Did’nt Turn Up
Mark our words we have actually had it said to our faces in InTouch Rugby we have had it said to our faces! By opposition, and the reason they say it is because they know it hurts us and they know that so far we have done the safest thing we have retreated.
Do you remember the start of this season, we had had an entire summer off had come back to the depression of having lost the final, everyone had to get away for the summer to get away from the dissapointment, to forget about it!
Then coaches say to players “Your Day Will Come”, but your day will come is in the future, not now!
But now the game is next Saturday, the tickets are sold, the opposition are coming to our ground in our stadium!
There is no getting out of this, there is no marketing spinn on this planet that can change the facts
But what are the facts? The facts are that we are the number 1 seed in the Heineken Cup. The facts are that we are unbeaten in the competition this season the only team to be unbeaten. The facts are that Leinster are at the top of the Rabo Table and they are determined to win that Rabo Title after being at the top of that table which supposedly has never been done b4, because that will really turn the screw on us after being at the top of the table last season and then losing in the final.
The facts are that we are unbeaten in the competition, so how can we be bullied by these other provinces and clubs. The truth is that the pain of the last two years is a very very very big pain. It is the biggest pain that any of us have in our lives. It is pure and real pain, it is anguish, it is the difference between getting to sleep some nights
Is it real?
Is it just a game?
This is not just a game, we laugh and think that it is silly when someone has a dream, we think they are so stupid, we mock and attack them usually behind their backs, oh its just a game.
We let us tell you something, this game has brought this country the greatest strides forward in its rugby history in the last 15-20 years. This game has put our country and province on the MAP of world rugby, this game has generated the MONEY from the actual real fans spending their money because they identify with their home, their players and their friends with this dream as do we. This game has brought teams from schools and clubs all over the world to tour in our province it has fed and sustained InTouch Rugby for 5 years of the worst economic times in living memory, the people and friends of ulster rugby catholics and protestants have supported this game and new schools are playing this game every week, and womens rugby that was mocked, mocked our women are playing this game and this games values are what proceed us, when we play good rugby which is what is meant by turning up, then all of us feel good and the exhiliration of doing good, of doing well, despite the hardest of times, despite the fears that are real, despite alll of that we are a good team. We are a good team.
Our team is very good at playing this game, the knowledge of the playing of this game and learning from the pain of the last two years has meant that this season we are not the number 1 seed before christmas and then explode, we are the NO1 SEED NOW TODAY because of the work that we have done because of the healthiness of our approach and our williness to give freely without recieving because we have raised ourselves out of the mess of depsair and went looking for knowledge and truth about this game.
WE are proud and hard working ordinary people who will come together next week after all these years and we will stand together in RAVENHILL and we will be there for each other, we will sing for each other and we will work for each other because we are good at this game we are good at this game
We at Intouch Rugby in in the province of Ulster LET go of the past, holding no grudges and wish well on everyone.
When people think of last year they think of not turning up and they say that we did not turn up. We have had it said to us at InTouch Rugby about Ulster Rugby, they have said it behind our backs and to our faces that we did not turn up. they said it to my face at the inter pros last september, they said it at the various games where we have interfaced with other provinces, they have said it over and over again….. That is what they are saying. BUT LET US TELL YOU THIS BECAUSE OF THE TEAM THAT WE ARE THEY ARE PRAYING WITH EVERY SINEW OF THIER BODIES THAT WE WILL NOT TURN UP
BUT WE WILL.
We will turn up. We will turn up.
