Peter Browne is another one of the new arrivals to Ulster Rugby this week. He has played for Harlequins, Newcastle Falcons and London Welsh in the English Premiership. At 6ft 7 inches, he is an imposing presence and can play either in the second row or the back row. The 27 year old is glad to be in his new surroundings at Ulster and pleased with what he has seen in his first few days at the province:
He says: “It is great to be here, I am really excited. It is an amazing opportunity and I am looking forward to getting stuck in. I arrived a few weeks ago but since then I have been sailing in the South of France with friends so it was a nice little break before pre-season.
“Belfast is really nice, I come from London so it’s a lot different but in a good way. It is a lot greener, less traffic, the people are friendlier and it’s really great to be here. The boys have been really welcoming so I am looking forward to getting to know them.”
Like all new players at Ulster, Peter is impressed with Kingspan Stadium and the facilities that it offers:
“The stadium itself is incredible,” he says. “It’s state of the art and at a different level to what I have experienced before. It’s a place that puts the players first and gives them the opportunity to reach their potential which is one of the reason why I wanted to come here.”
However, he is quick to point out that facilities are nothing without effort:
“The next few weeks will require a huge amount of hard work, lots of good food and nutrition and laying the foundations for a long and hopefully a really good season ahead. I will be doing some weights and conditioning work and getting stuck in with the other lads.
“The GPS monitoring, the facilities, the nutrition work and all the detail that goes into player welfare are amazing.”
Even though he has only been in Belfast a few days Peter has already set himself some big goals for the campaign ahead:
“I wouldn’t be here if it didn’t motivate me and excite me that the quality of play here is really high and therefore I will have to push myself to learn and keep improving to get game time. I hope to play as many games as I can, on a winning team and I want to play the style of rugby that Ulster are playing. Expansive play really excites me, it puts teams under pressure and that should allow us to win games. Of course, this is only my first week but if we all work to better ourselves by those small degrees then hopefully that will lead to good performances this season and the whole being better. The old saying the sea is made up of droplets, is cheesy but true!”
Welcome Peter and look forward to seeing you in an Ulster jersey!