It might be well over 30 degrees in Vilamoura this week, but its no holiday for the Ulster squad in their Portugal pre-season camp. With up to four sessions a day, the focus is on getting as much work done as possible ahead of the upcoming games against Leinster and Edinburgh and the PRO12 curtain-raiser against Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium on 4 th September. With 104 Ulster caps to his name, outhalf, Ian Humphreys knows a thing or two about pre-seasons with the province and he has been impressed with the amount of work the squad are getting through in the warm weather: "I think with being on site 24/7 you have the chance to get all your meetings done, you get all the patterns ironed out so there are no issues, says Ian. "There is time to spread out during the day and junior players are able to ask senior players who know their roles better. With this weather, players are able to stay out and do their skill work a bit longer, warm up doesn't take as long and the boys seem to enjoy it a bit better. We can do three or four session a day, which we wouldn't be able to do at home." One of the main focuses of the first day of camp was fitness, with the players being put through their paces by the S+C coaches: "We got flogged last night! Ian says. "The conditioning games are tough. But you can see the results. Players like Pete Nelson are setting new records, John Andrew was setting new records for forwards, it's been impressive. Being in camp, there is an intensity increase. Players realise that you are under the microscope. With games now just a few weeks away, this is the time to really impress the coaches and do their best and see how we get on." With a large number of senior players away with Ireland preparing for the Rugby World Cup camp, preseason and camp have provided opportunities for young players to play leading roles: Ian says: "There are potentially 14 players away so all of a sudden there are a lot more voices being heard. It puts a bit of pressure on the young guys coming through. If the likes of myself, Franco or Roger make mistakes then the young guys have to pull us up on them. That brings out more leaders for us going forward and that is only good for the squad." Indeed, Ian believes that the camp will be of most benefit for those young members of the squad: "It is tough for them coming in and not necessarily knowing the patterns or the calls but that is the beauty of a camp. When you are having two or three pitch sessions a day you learn very quickly. There's always the opportunity to see a coach when you need to. The thing about the young guys these days is that they are physically able to step up when called upon. They can then concentrate on getting the detail right. We have a good crop of young players coming through and hopefully they can make a good impression at the start of the season."Â
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Ian Humphreys on Ulsterâ??s pre-season camp in Portugal
4th August 2015
It might be well over 30 degrees in Vilamoura this week, but its no holiday for the Ulster squad in their Portugal pre-season camp. With up to four sessions a day, the focus is on getting as much work done as possible ahead of the upcoming games against Leinster and Edinburgh and the PRO12 curtain-raiser against Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium on 4 th September. With 104 Ulster caps to his name, outhalf, Ian Humphreys knows a thing or two about pre-seasons with the province and he has been impressed with the amount of work the squad are getting through in the warm weather: "I think with being on site 24/7 you have the chance to get all your meetings done, you get all the patterns ironed out so there are no issues, says Ian. "There is time to spread out during the day and junior players are able to ask senior players who know their roles better. With this weather, players are able to stay out and do their skill work a bit longer, warm up doesn't take as long and the boys seem to enjoy it a bit better. We can do three or four session a day, which we wouldn't be able to do at home." One of the main focuses of the first day of camp was fitness, with the players being put through their paces by the S+C coaches: "We got flogged last night! Ian says. "The conditioning games are tough. But you can see the results. Players like Pete Nelson are setting new records, John Andrew was setting new records for forwards, it's been impressive. Being in camp, there is an intensity increase. Players realise that you are under the microscope. With games now just a few weeks away, this is the time to really impress the coaches and do their best and see how we get on." With a large number of senior players away with Ireland preparing for the Rugby World Cup camp, preseason and camp have provided opportunities for young players to play leading roles: Ian says: "There are potentially 14 players away so all of a sudden there are a lot more voices being heard. It puts a bit of pressure on the young guys coming through. If the likes of myself, Franco or Roger make mistakes then the young guys have to pull us up on them. That brings out more leaders for us going forward and that is only good for the squad." Indeed, Ian believes that the camp will be of most benefit for those young members of the squad: "It is tough for them coming in and not necessarily knowing the patterns or the calls but that is the beauty of a camp. When you are having two or three pitch sessions a day you learn very quickly. There's always the opportunity to see a coach when you need to. The thing about the young guys these days is that they are physically able to step up when called upon. They can then concentrate on getting the detail right. We have a good crop of young players coming through and hopefully they can make a good impression at the start of the season."Â