If Cork-born Dave Ryan was worried about what his friends down in Munster would think about him signing for a rival Irish Province – he needn’t have been. “A few of the lads have bought Ulster shirts,” the 28 year-old tighthead prop reveals. “Guys in Cork wearing Ulster jerseys to support me? That’s how I know that I have great mates!” he jokes.
If Cork-born Dave Ryan was worried about what his friends down in Munster would think about him signing for a rival Irish Province – he needn’t have been. “A few of the lads have bought Ulster shirts,” the 28 year-old tighthead prop reveals. “Guys in Cork wearing Ulster jerseys to support me? That’s how I know that I have great mates!” he jokes.
Securing an Ulster jersey of his own is the challenge for Ryan. He will face tough opposition from Declan Fitzpatrick, Wiehahn Herbst and Ricky Lutton but it’s a challenge he is looking forward to:
“You know that there is going to be a lot of competition in my position,” he says. “You have your own personal goals – I have come here to play, to start as many games as possible and to play in the big matches. That’s what makes squads better – to have guys competing for places because competition breeds success.”
Ryan came through the Munster Academy and played 10 times for the Munster Senior side between 2009 and 2011. He left the Irish Province in the spring of 2011 to join Lazio Roma, before moving to Zebre at the start of the 2012/13 season. He played 20 RaboDirect PRO12 games for the Italian franchise and made six appearances for Zebre in the Heineken Cup. After those three years in Italy he is enjoying being back in Ireland and settling in well to life in Belfast.
“It has been good, the facilities are top class,” says Ryan. “They are the best that I have experienced. The strength and conditioning coaches have been brilliant and they have an excellent grasp of what they want. It has been a tough start as pre season should be. We have been training three times a day – a gym session, then units, then grappling. We also did some fitness games.
“The boys have been very welcoming. I knew Dan (Tuohy) because I had played 21s with him before, I knew (Darren) Cavey – I knew Nick (Williams) from playing at Munster, but all the boys have been great. I also have some experience of working with Allen Clarke who has been taking scrum sessions. It is good to have that familiarity there.”
Despite being a proud Cork man, Ryan says that when it comes to game time this season, his commitment will be to his new, adopted Province:
“I think that it might have been difficult if I had gone straight from Munster to Ulster,” he says, “but the fact that I have been in Zebre for two years and I have been back at Thomond and back at Musgrave makes it easier.
“It is obviously a bit weird but at the end of the day, it is a profession and you just have to get on with it. I am sure the boys down there will give me a bit of stick but I am looking forward to it.”
If Cork-born Dave Ryan was worried about what his friends down in Munster would think about him signing for a rival Irish Province – he needn’t have been. “A few of the lads have bought Ulster shirts,” the 28 year-old tighthead prop reveals. “Guys in Cork wearing Ulster jerseys to support me? That’s how I know that I have great mates!” he jokes.
Securing an Ulster jersey of his own is the challenge for Ryan. He will face tough opposition from Declan Fitzpatrick, Wiehahn Herbst and Ricky Lutton but it’s a challenge he is looking forward to:
“You know that there is going to be a lot of competition in my position,” he says. “You have your own personal goals – I have come here to play, to start as many games as possible and to play in the big matches. That’s what makes squads better – to have guys competing for places because competition breeds success.”
Ryan came through the Munster Academy and played 10 times for the Munster Senior side between 2009 and 2011. He left the Irish Province in the spring of 2011 to join Lazio Roma, before moving to Zebre at the start of the 2012/13 season. He played 20 RaboDirect PRO12 games for the Italian franchise and made six appearances for Zebre in the Heineken Cup. After those three years in Italy he is enjoying being back in Ireland and settling in well to life in Belfast.
“It has been good, the facilities are top class,” says Ryan. “They are the best that I have experienced. The strength and conditioning coaches have been brilliant and they have an excellent grasp of what they want. It has been a tough start as pre season should be. We have been training three times a day – a gym session, then units, then grappling. We also did some fitness games.
“The boys have been very welcoming. I knew Dan (Tuohy) because I had played 21s with him before, I knew (Darren) Cavey – I knew Nick (Williams) from playing at Munster, but all the boys have been great. I also have some experience of working with Allen Clarke who has been taking scrum sessions. It is good to have that familiarity there.”
Despite being a proud Cork man, Ryan says that when it comes to game time this season, his commitment will be to his new, adopted Province:
“I think that it might have been difficult if I had gone straight from Munster to Ulster,” he says, “but the fact that I have been in Zebre for two years and I have been back at Thomond and back at Musgrave makes it easier.
“It is obviously a bit weird but at the end of the day, it is a profession and you just have to get on with it. I am sure the boys down there will give me a bit of stick but I am looking forward to it.”