Darren Cave will celebrate a special achievement this weekend when he makes his 150th appearance for Ulster. We asked him what it means to hit such a milestone and to pick out his top five memories in an Ulster shirt so far:
DC: Growing up it was a dream of mine to play for Ulster so to be winning my 150th cap for Ulster is absolutely beyond my dreams. I’m honoured to be joining a short list of players in the province, many of whom I respect as much as anyone in the game. The most exciting thing for me is that I’m contracted here for another three and a half years and believe we have a management and coaching set-up in place that can make the rest of my time here even more enjoyable and successful than my first 150 caps.
Munster ERC QF 08/04/12 (Thomond Park) Won 16-22
DC: Best memory in an Ulster jersey to date was the full time whistle in this game, winning at such a fantastic ground against one of our biggest rivals in such a massive game in front of two of the best sets of rugby supporters going
Dragons PRO12 18/03/11 (Kingspan Stadium) Won 25-23
DC: I was on the bench for this game after returning from a long-term hamstring injury and got put it for a try with one of my first touches of the ball after I got on. I’ll never forget the reaction I got from the fans and in particular from my teammates who rushed to celebrate with me. Also Nevin Spence scored a cracking try in that game which I’ll always remember him for (as well as his headstand try vs. Bath of course)
Northampton ERC R3 07/12/12 (Franklin’s Gardens) Won 6-25
DC: I’ll never forget the feeling when Dan Tuohy crashed over in the corner in injury time to secure a four-try bonus point. Maybe the best team performance I’ve been involved in at Ulster.
Leinster ERC FINAL 19/05/12 (Twickenham) Lost 42-14
DC: One of the highlights of my Ulster career is ironically one of the low points as well. To play on an occasion like that is something I will never forget, I have good closure as I feel that Leinster were the best team in Europe by far that season so we can have no complaints, but to get so close to winning a European Cup and then losing out is not nice.
Saracens ERC QF 05/04/14 (Kingspan Stadium) Lost 15-17
DC: Obviously ended up being a massive disappointment but to play in front of 18000 Ulster for the first ERC QF in 14 (ish) years was just a fantastic occasion. It was also my 27th birthday.