Craig Gilroy last featured in an Ulster jersey back in October 2018, during the Heineken Champions Cup pool stage defeat to Racing 92 in the impressive La Defense Arena, Paris.
The previous month, 27-year-old Gilroy touched down for his 51st Celtic League (PRO14) try, making him Ulster’s top try scorer in the competition, and the dynamic winger looked right on track to head into the peak years of his playing career.
With Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe retiring before the start of last season and Gilroy sidelined, a lot of responsibility was placed on the shoulders of some of the younger members of the squad, and Gilroy was impressed with what he saw.
“I thought the guys stepped up really well last year. We’ve a young squad and the players coming through are not only very talented, but they also have a very good attitude towards the setup, the training and the ethos of the team. There’s a real unity about the guys and a hard, competitive edge, which is fantastic.
“It’s funny because there are probably a lot more wingers now like myself, whereas previously the likes of Andrew and Tommy were bigger ball carrying wingers. Now we’ve got these electric young back three players like Rob Baloucoune, Rob Lyttle and Mike Lowry, plus the likes of Jacob (Stockdale), Angus Kernohan and Louis (Ludik) who has also played on the wing, so there’s plenty of competition for places there.
“There is also Aaron Sexton coming into the Academy. We got a glimpse of what he’s capable of in last season’s pre-season friendly and he did really well for the Ulster A team, so he’s another one that will be in the mix. There are only two wing berths so it bodes well in terms of driving competition and standards, and we’ll all be trying to give Dan (McFarland) a bit of a selection headache.”
However, a back injury momentarily stalled that, then a series of setbacks ultimately saw Gilroy sidelined for the remainder of the season. After an intensive rehab programme, he is now back to fitness and enjoying being able to participate fully in training. “I’ve pretty much completed all my rehab now,” said Gilroy. “I was in for a while during the off-season so when pre-season started I was able to get straight back into full training. “It was a long time out, it’ll be just shy of a year by the time the new season starts. It wasn’t a straightforward injury, like a grade one ankle or a wrist or shoulder injury where you know you’ve got 6 or 8 weeks out. “There were so many setbacks from it and it took a while to get the diagnosis nailed down, but the medical team were fantastic. Dr Michael Webb (Medical Director) was super in organising all the scans in Belfast and Dublin, and Peter Scullion (Physiotherapist) worked with me pretty much every day and he motivated me during days when it was pretty tough. He took me through rehab and treatment and got me back. I can’t speak highly enough about what he did for me.🎥 Here's the try that saw @cgilroy14 become the top Ulster try scorer in @PRO14Official history, ahead of @andrew_trimble (50) and @TommyBowe14 (49 Ulster / 18 Ospreys)... and what a try it was!
Congrats, Craig 👏#SUFTUM pic.twitter.com/xAijhUzOdT — Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) September 10, 2018
“It feels amazing to be back training with the guys. It feels like it’s my first pre-season in terms of how keen I am to get going, and I’m just really looking forward to getting playing again.”Given the injury was Gilroy’s longest spell out, plus the fact that he had to deal with so many setbacks, it is understandable that it proved to be as much a mental challenge as physical. “There were certainly times when I felt like the finish line was closer and I was trying to get myself mentally ready to prepare for a game. I would begin tailoring my preparations towards that, then maybe a couple of weeks out something happened and we had to put it back again. That happened two or three times before we really got to the bottom of it, so that was a challenge in itself to deal with that. “I was watching the guys doing well, and of course I wanted them to do well, but I also wanted to be involved, so I suppose that makes it all the more exciting to be back fit now.” While he may not have been able to integrate into team training, Gilroy was conscious to use the opportunity to focus on improving other aspects of his game. “Dan Soper (Skills Coach) would’ve seen me nearly every day doing skills. Obviously you want to be playing, but if you’re not able to, there are still a lot of things you can be doing to improve your game, and skills is a big thing. So with Dan, I was working on the likes of passing, catching, kicking and high balls so that when I got back to fitness my skills were still sharp. “When I started pre-season I was actually surprised at how fresh I felt and how quickly it came back to me, and that is definitely down to that work I was doing with Dan over the past year.”
With Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe retiring before the start of last season and Gilroy sidelined, a lot of responsibility was placed on the shoulders of some of the younger members of the squad, and Gilroy was impressed with what he saw.
“I thought the guys stepped up really well last year. We’ve a young squad and the players coming through are not only very talented, but they also have a very good attitude towards the setup, the training and the ethos of the team. There’s a real unity about the guys and a hard, competitive edge, which is fantastic.
“It’s funny because there are probably a lot more wingers now like myself, whereas previously the likes of Andrew and Tommy were bigger ball carrying wingers. Now we’ve got these electric young back three players like Rob Baloucoune, Rob Lyttle and Mike Lowry, plus the likes of Jacob (Stockdale), Angus Kernohan and Louis (Ludik) who has also played on the wing, so there’s plenty of competition for places there.
“There is also Aaron Sexton coming into the Academy. We got a glimpse of what he’s capable of in last season’s pre-season friendly and he did really well for the Ulster A team, so he’s another one that will be in the mix. There are only two wing berths so it bodes well in terms of driving competition and standards, and we’ll all be trying to give Dan (McFarland) a bit of a selection headache.”