For all the great things about playing for Ulster and living in Belfast - there are a few downsides as Johann Muller discovered recently. 'My little girl now speaks fluent Northern Irish,' he jokes. 'Everything is wee - my wee brother, a wee biscuit.' Â His daughter's turn of phrase illustrates just how at home Johann and his family are here.
 'We really enjoy it, he says. Family time is special, the kids are in school and loving it. It's interesting when I left South Africa, I came here ...
For all the great things about playing for Ulster and living in Belfast - there are a few downsides as Johann Muller discovered recently. 'My little girl now speaks fluent Northern Irish,' he jokes. 'Everything is wee - my wee brother, a wee biscuit.' Â His daughter's turn of phrase illustrates just how at home Johann and his family are here. Â 'We really enjoy it, he says. Family time is special, the kids are in school and loving it. It's interesting when I left South Africa, I came here with a mind-set that I wanted to do well, I wanted to perform and enjoy my rugby. Rugby is where I feel most at home, it has been my life for 16 years now and I can honestly say the past four years have been the happiest of my life, from a rugby point of view and personally. The sense of family, community and home that is rugby in Ulster is just great.'
Last season the Province began by going 13 games unbeaten. Ulster won in France, beat Leinster in Dublin and recorded a clean-sweep of wins in Wales but still ended the season with nothing. The disappointment of losing the PRO12 final has turned into focus for the coming season, his fourth at Ravenhill: 'Last year was a tough year for various reasons', he reveals. 'It was a year that I felt we really deserved something. The rugby we played and the things that happened...I truly believed we deserved a reward at the end and when it didn't work out the way we wanted, it was massively disappointing. All the work we put in, all that we went through - there was nothing we could hold in our hands and show for it and that was disappointing for me. Even though it was a great season as a player as a club and as a management you want something to show for it.
'I know I don't have that many years left, he adds. 'I am driven by a trophy basically and I would love to end on a high note. I truly believe with the players we have, the setup, and the management that it is achievable.'
Among those players available are people such as Sean Doyle, Chris Farrell, Adam Macklin and Paddy McAllister who all missed major parts of last season due to injury. The squad has more experience and strength in depth than at any time before. Add to that the fact that the new Ravenhill is taking shape and you have the makings of a great season:
'Our focus at this stage has got to be on a week by week basis, if we look after the right now, starting with Friday night the first warm up game and just tick the boxes every week. There is going to be great highs this season and great lows like every season but it is important that we stick together as a squad and just keep on building until we get to March and to play off time. 'I honestly believe this team is as good as anybody in Europe,' concludes Muller. If we can keep our players fit this season, keep injuries to a minimum - we have enough quality in this squad to really achieve something this season.' Â
For all the great things about playing for Ulster and living in Belfast - there are a few downsides as Johann Muller discovered recently. 'My little girl now speaks fluent Northern Irish,' he jokes. 'Everything is wee - my wee brother, a wee biscuit.' Â His daughter's turn of phrase illustrates just how at home Johann and his family are here. Â 'We really enjoy it, he says. Family time is special, the kids are in school and loving it. It's interesting when I left South Africa, I came here with a mind-set that I wanted to do well, I wanted to perform and enjoy my rugby. Rugby is where I feel most at home, it has been my life for 16 years now and I can honestly say the past four years have been the happiest of my life, from a rugby point of view and personally. The sense of family, community and home that is rugby in Ulster is just great.'
Last season the Province began by going 13 games unbeaten. Ulster won in France, beat Leinster in Dublin and recorded a clean-sweep of wins in Wales but still ended the season with nothing. The disappointment of losing the PRO12 final has turned into focus for the coming season, his fourth at Ravenhill: 'Last year was a tough year for various reasons', he reveals. 'It was a year that I felt we really deserved something. The rugby we played and the things that happened...I truly believed we deserved a reward at the end and when it didn't work out the way we wanted, it was massively disappointing. All the work we put in, all that we went through - there was nothing we could hold in our hands and show for it and that was disappointing for me. Even though it was a great season as a player as a club and as a management you want something to show for it.
'I know I don't have that many years left, he adds. 'I am driven by a trophy basically and I would love to end on a high note. I truly believe with the players we have, the setup, and the management that it is achievable.'
Among those players available are people such as Sean Doyle, Chris Farrell, Adam Macklin and Paddy McAllister who all missed major parts of last season due to injury. The squad has more experience and strength in depth than at any time before. Add to that the fact that the new Ravenhill is taking shape and you have the makings of a great season:
'Our focus at this stage has got to be on a week by week basis, if we look after the right now, starting with Friday night the first warm up game and just tick the boxes every week. There is going to be great highs this season and great lows like every season but it is important that we stick together as a squad and just keep on building until we get to March and to play off time. 'I honestly believe this team is as good as anybody in Europe,' concludes Muller. If we can keep our players fit this season, keep injuries to a minimum - we have enough quality in this squad to really achieve something this season.' Â