One of an impressive contingent of ten Ulster players who have featured for Ireland U20s throughout the current U20 Six Nations campaign, Matthew Dalton is not letting his late start in rugby hold him back.
In an interview with the42.ie, Dalton admits that he was a relatively late starter when it came to rugby, only getting involved for the first time when he was 14.
His attention before this time was on soccer, where he played the role of goalkeeper, and athletics, where he excelled competing in the pentathlon and earning a few Ireland singlets to boot.
The turning point came in his second year at Belfast Royal Academy (BRA) when Dalton was convinced to give rugby a go. His imposing stature, physical skill and technical ability, particularly in ball-caring, meant he quickly impressed in the second row or back row for the Belfast school and he has never looked back.
Ulster and Ireland’s Iain Henderson was also a product of BRA and provided the ideal role model for Dalton.
“To be honest I never really focused on rugby,” says Dalton. “I didn’t know much about it. Then when I went to BRA, it kind of hit home to me that this guy would be one of my role models.
“He’s just aggressive. He knows his lineouts inside out, he’s smart.”
Henderson has shown Dalton that there is a clear pathway from BRA to the top of the game, and the Malone RFC lock has set about doing his best to tread that path.
Now part of the Ireland U20s squad, Dalton scored a try in his second start against Scotland last weekend and has already earned senior caps for Ulster this season, so, understandably, he is pleased with his progress.
Since joining the Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy last summer, Dalton has enjoyed being in the company of Henderson, and Henderson, having six years on Dalton, seemed to instantly understand his role as a mentor.
“I went up to the seniors at Ulster and I never really used to play with the four studs at the front of my boot.
“I was just wearing Predators with two studs at the front instead of four.
“But all the front rows were shouting at me, being nice and messing about it, then he ended up buying me a pair of boots.”
“It was the day before the Connacht game and he came to the captain’s run with a pair of boots for me. I wear them now!”
It is likely that Henderson will continue to be a guiding influence for Dalton in the coming years and with the senior squad crying out for quality in its forward options, Dalton recognises that it is “good timing” for himself and the crop of promising young forwards in the Ulster academy.
At 110kg and 6ft 6ins, Dalton is a big unit but his athletics background means he is also extremely mobile.
He clocked an impressive speed of 9.1 metres per second on the Ireland U20s’ GPS system against Scotland last weekend and credits his background in the pentathlon - high jump, long jump, shot put, 80-metre hurdles and the 800 metres – with his success on the rugby field.
“When you’re young and in athletics, you’re learning to progress your fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibres.
“You’re not doing any weights so you’re not really looking to prevent injury. You’re just doing mobility and plyometrics stuff and it’s just building a base for you to progress into further sports if you want to.
“I think I’ve carried on my speed from then, but it’s a lot different. I kind of liked the introverted-ness of athletics but the team aspect of rugby enticed me in.”
Dalton has benefited from playing Ulster Bank League rugby with Malone, who are flying in Division 2A, but, undoubtedly, it was through gaining caps for the senior team against the likes of Benetton, Dragons, Edinburgh and Scarlets which accelerated his development most.
“They’re tough,” says Dalton of the Ulster senior squad. “It’s a completely different atmosphere from what I’m used to in the academy. The routine, that’s what helps me through things. It’s very, very intense.
“I had just turned 19 before that game [his debut against Benetton] and Aaron Hall, who was with the 20s but just had surgery on his shoulder, he made his debut with the seniors as well.
“We were both kind of keeping each other company for the whole week of training.”
Dalton starts in the second row again tomorrow evening as the U20s hope to finish off their Six Nations with a victory against England away in Coventry – a win that could even see them claim the title.
With Paul O’Connell in charge of the pack, Dalton feels they have made improvements with every game.
“Paul is helping us really well,” says Dalton. “He’s brought us on from when we started training last August.
“He’s come in and we started slow with the pack but I think we showed what we can really so against Scotland, collectively as a pack, not just as a team. I think we have really showed what we can bring to the table.”
In an interview with the42.ie, Dalton admits that he was a relatively late starter when it came to rugby, only getting involved for the first time when he was 14.
His attention before this time was on soccer, where he played the role of goalkeeper, and athletics, where he excelled competing in the pentathlon and earning a few Ireland singlets to boot.
The turning point came in his second year at Belfast Royal Academy (BRA) when Dalton was convinced to give rugby a go. His imposing stature, physical skill and technical ability, particularly in ball-caring, meant he quickly impressed in the second row or back row for the Belfast school and he has never looked back.
Ulster and Ireland’s Iain Henderson was also a product of BRA and provided the ideal role model for Dalton.
“To be honest I never really focused on rugby,” says Dalton. “I didn’t know much about it. Then when I went to BRA, it kind of hit home to me that this guy would be one of my role models.
“He’s just aggressive. He knows his lineouts inside out, he’s smart.”
Henderson has shown Dalton that there is a clear pathway from BRA to the top of the game, and the Malone RFC lock has set about doing his best to tread that path.
Now part of the Ireland U20s squad, Dalton scored a try in his second start against Scotland last weekend and has already earned senior caps for Ulster this season, so, understandably, he is pleased with his progress.
Since joining the Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy last summer, Dalton has enjoyed being in the company of Henderson, and Henderson, having six years on Dalton, seemed to instantly understand his role as a mentor.
“I went up to the seniors at Ulster and I never really used to play with the four studs at the front of my boot.
“I was just wearing Predators with two studs at the front instead of four.
“But all the front rows were shouting at me, being nice and messing about it, then he ended up buying me a pair of boots.”
“It was the day before the Connacht game and he came to the captain’s run with a pair of boots for me. I wear them now!”
It is likely that Henderson will continue to be a guiding influence for Dalton in the coming years and with the senior squad crying out for quality in its forward options, Dalton recognises that it is “good timing” for himself and the crop of promising young forwards in the Ulster academy.
At 110kg and 6ft 6ins, Dalton is a big unit but his athletics background means he is also extremely mobile.
He clocked an impressive speed of 9.1 metres per second on the Ireland U20s’ GPS system against Scotland last weekend and credits his background in the pentathlon - high jump, long jump, shot put, 80-metre hurdles and the 800 metres – with his success on the rugby field.
“When you’re young and in athletics, you’re learning to progress your fast-twitch and slow-twitch fibres.
“You’re not doing any weights so you’re not really looking to prevent injury. You’re just doing mobility and plyometrics stuff and it’s just building a base for you to progress into further sports if you want to.
“I think I’ve carried on my speed from then, but it’s a lot different. I kind of liked the introverted-ness of athletics but the team aspect of rugby enticed me in.”
Dalton has benefited from playing Ulster Bank League rugby with Malone, who are flying in Division 2A, but, undoubtedly, it was through gaining caps for the senior team against the likes of Benetton, Dragons, Edinburgh and Scarlets which accelerated his development most.
“They’re tough,” says Dalton of the Ulster senior squad. “It’s a completely different atmosphere from what I’m used to in the academy. The routine, that’s what helps me through things. It’s very, very intense.
“I had just turned 19 before that game [his debut against Benetton] and Aaron Hall, who was with the 20s but just had surgery on his shoulder, he made his debut with the seniors as well.
“We were both kind of keeping each other company for the whole week of training.”
Dalton starts in the second row again tomorrow evening as the U20s hope to finish off their Six Nations with a victory against England away in Coventry – a win that could even see them claim the title.
With Paul O’Connell in charge of the pack, Dalton feels they have made improvements with every game.
“Paul is helping us really well,” says Dalton. “He’s brought us on from when we started training last August.
“He’s come in and we started slow with the pack but I think we showed what we can really so against Scotland, collectively as a pack, not just as a team. I think we have really showed what we can bring to the table.”