Neil Doak is in relaxed mood, always the realist he knows that a coach's best-laid plans can be easily overturned. But this week, with three successive European Champions Cup games in prospect, Ulster's Head Coach is not deterred by the formidable schedule which lies ahead...
With the re-scheduled tie against Oyonnax being played on Sunday in France he is confident that the PRO12 defeat by Munster at Kingspan Stadium was not a ‘dent’ to confidence, and that the performances and results of December – highlighted by the ‘double’ over Toulouse – stand the squad in good stead.
“The loss brought us back to earth with a little bit of a bang, but it happened because of mistakes we made, chances we didn’t take, and that it was a match we could have –and should have – won.
“We’ve got to get back to basics, remind ourselves of what we do well and what we have to work on, and there’s still a real confidence in the group”, Doak insists.
“Three European games in a row aren’t what we had planned for, we know it’s going to be difficult, that we look after ourselves post-games and recover as well as we can, it’s tough on the bodies, tough on the mind. We may have to make a few changes and keep a few bodies fresh, it’s been a long season already.
“It did put a bit of a spanner in the works when this game with Oyonnax didn’t happen first up in terms of our planning and player management, because we had ‘prepped’ well for the game. But the plus is that we know the ground and the environment after being there even though the game was rightly postponed.”
Doak hinted strongly that there’s a degree of rotation in the upcoming European games, and for what remains of a long season in the PRO12 in which Ulster also remain in a competitive position.
In all likelihood Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar will be rested after a gruelling sequence of matches at half-back, and in Ian Humphreys and Paul Marshall the coaches have a tried-and-trusted pairing which began the season in tandem way back in September.
“With the intensity of Europe, an extra game in the Cup like this does raise a few issues, but I have absolutely no doubt we have the players to deal with those.
“It does mean we have to think about using our resources carefully and properly, that we manage players well, keep some fresh for what is still a very long campaign of rugby to come.
“Obviously we’ve got a Six Nations squad to be announced and hopefully we’ll have guys involved, so that’s where you’ve got to shape things a little because if you lose players others have to come in and back them up. It’s important to keep people fresh.
“Oyonnax have some very good players, they’re a dangerous outfit. They’ve done really well to qualify for Europe, and although the Top 14 hasn’t gone as well as it might have wanted, they did beat Stade Francais a few weeks ago, and Stade then beat Toulouse last weekend, so they can’t be under-estimated,” says Doak.
“If we get our structures right, manage the ball as we did in Toulouse and give disciplined performances as we have in the last four games, then we should be alright,” he says, focusing only on a win this Sunday.
“It’s unbelievably difficult to get out of a group in Europe and we’ve just got to focus on ourselves, but if we win our next three games, against Oyonnax twice and at Saracens, we’ll either top the pool or be in with a chance of a best runner-up spot.”
Doak is genuinely confident that the side can negotiate its way to the quarter-final stages of the Champions Cup, but insists that each game will be taken on its merits, and selection will be tailored to the opposition and to the circumstances.
“It comes down to us keeping our discipline, playing the sort of game that suits us and on taking the opportunities that come our way.
“Against Toulouse away, though the scoreline might suggest otherwise, we played with a control that gave us a comfortable win in the end, we stuck to our structures and if we have to change those a little for Oyonnax then we will.
“They like to throw the ball about a bit, to play a rather loose sort of game, we’ll want to be more controlled in the way we approach the match and the way we contest the eighty minutes,” he says, excited by the prospect of success in Europe, but determinedly relaxed about how the players and coaches will back themselves.
It’s a formula that Director of Rugby Les Kiss has ingrained in the panel, and Doak believes it allies the creativity he has always encouraged with a collective self-belief and discipline.
With the re-scheduled tie against Oyonnax being played on Sunday in France he is confident that the PRO12 defeat by Munster at Kingspan Stadium was not a ‘dent’ to confidence, and that the performances and results of December – highlighted by the ‘double’ over Toulouse – stand the squad in good stead.
“The loss brought us back to earth with a little bit of a bang, but it happened because of mistakes we made, chances we didn’t take, and that it was a match we could have –and should have – won.
“We’ve got to get back to basics, remind ourselves of what we do well and what we have to work on, and there’s still a real confidence in the group”, Doak insists.
“Three European games in a row aren’t what we had planned for, we know it’s going to be difficult, that we look after ourselves post-games and recover as well as we can, it’s tough on the bodies, tough on the mind. We may have to make a few changes and keep a few bodies fresh, it’s been a long season already.
“It did put a bit of a spanner in the works when this game with Oyonnax didn’t happen first up in terms of our planning and player management, because we had ‘prepped’ well for the game. But the plus is that we know the ground and the environment after being there even though the game was rightly postponed.”
Doak hinted strongly that there’s a degree of rotation in the upcoming European games, and for what remains of a long season in the PRO12 in which Ulster also remain in a competitive position.
In all likelihood Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar will be rested after a gruelling sequence of matches at half-back, and in Ian Humphreys and Paul Marshall the coaches have a tried-and-trusted pairing which began the season in tandem way back in September.
“With the intensity of Europe, an extra game in the Cup like this does raise a few issues, but I have absolutely no doubt we have the players to deal with those.
“It does mean we have to think about using our resources carefully and properly, that we manage players well, keep some fresh for what is still a very long campaign of rugby to come.
“Obviously we’ve got a Six Nations squad to be announced and hopefully we’ll have guys involved, so that’s where you’ve got to shape things a little because if you lose players others have to come in and back them up. It’s important to keep people fresh.
“Oyonnax have some very good players, they’re a dangerous outfit. They’ve done really well to qualify for Europe, and although the Top 14 hasn’t gone as well as it might have wanted, they did beat Stade Francais a few weeks ago, and Stade then beat Toulouse last weekend, so they can’t be under-estimated,” says Doak.
“If we get our structures right, manage the ball as we did in Toulouse and give disciplined performances as we have in the last four games, then we should be alright,” he says, focusing only on a win this Sunday.
“It’s unbelievably difficult to get out of a group in Europe and we’ve just got to focus on ourselves, but if we win our next three games, against Oyonnax twice and at Saracens, we’ll either top the pool or be in with a chance of a best runner-up spot.”
Doak is genuinely confident that the side can negotiate its way to the quarter-final stages of the Champions Cup, but insists that each game will be taken on its merits, and selection will be tailored to the opposition and to the circumstances.
“It comes down to us keeping our discipline, playing the sort of game that suits us and on taking the opportunities that come our way.
“Against Toulouse away, though the scoreline might suggest otherwise, we played with a control that gave us a comfortable win in the end, we stuck to our structures and if we have to change those a little for Oyonnax then we will.
“They like to throw the ball about a bit, to play a rather loose sort of game, we’ll want to be more controlled in the way we approach the match and the way we contest the eighty minutes,” he says, excited by the prospect of success in Europe, but determinedly relaxed about how the players and coaches will back themselves.
It’s a formula that Director of Rugby Les Kiss has ingrained in the panel, and Doak believes it allies the creativity he has always encouraged with a collective self-belief and discipline.