Rugby Development

McCloskey ready to topple the Kings

20th March 2019
Ulster centre Stuart McCloskey will line up for his 103rd cap this Saturday against the Southern Kings – and believes a victory against the free-scoring South Africans will be the springboard for a successful end of season for the Province. “The Kings are obviously a very talented side who score a lot of tries,” says McCloskey. “I’ve seen they have seven or eight try bonus points and when you look at us we’ve only got three or four, so they’re obviously good at scoring tries, and our defence will have to be good this week.” The Bangor man is close with his statistical analysis, but not quite on the mark. The Port Elizabeth-based outfit have in fact amassed five try bonus points this term, but when coupled with an exceptionally high number of losing bonus points – seven to date – they sit second only to Conference A leaders Glasgow Warriors in terms of bonus points gained. The Kings’ statistics are less impressive when it comes to the opposite end of the field – with 580 points conceded in 17 matches, Saturday’s visitors have the leakiest defence in either Conference – and this is something McCloskey is confident Ulster can exploit at the Kingspan Stadium. “Hopefully we’ll capitalise on a few areas with their weakness in defence and score a few tries ourselves,” he says. “We’ve put ourselves in good positions in both competitions with the quarter final of Europe and third in the league, but we’re looking at the Kings right now and hoping to get four or five points and push on. “After that, we know Edinburgh will be a massive game in our pool, so we’ll try to get a few results in the run-in.” The 26-year-old is quick to point out that, while the introduction of the Kings and their compatriots the Toyota Cheetahs has added a new dimension to the domestic league, the marked improvement of other, more familiar opponents – in particular Ulster’s two of Ulster’s nearest rivals for a top three finish in Conference B – has raised the bar even higher in the Guinness PRO14. “In the last three or four years we’ve seen the likes of Benetton, and then Edinburgh, who are in the quarter finals of Europe now,” he explains. “There’s so much more depth than there used to be, when there were maybe five teams [who could really compete], with one who would miss out on the top four. “But now there are maybe ten teams who are good enough to make it into the top three of each pool. It wasn’t like that before, but I think that’s the way rugby is going in general. If you look at any of the leagues, most teams are pretty good and on their day they can beat anybody – so that’s what you have to be wary of.” However, McCloskey insists, Ulster are improving at the same rate, and this is thanks in no small part to the coaching regime set up by Head Coach Dan McFarland and his team. “Dan’s been brilliant,” he enthuses. “He lets (Defence Coach) Jared Payne and (Assistant Coach, Backs) Dwayne Peel do what they do best, then comes in and tweaks the bits and pieces that he wants to see. “He wants us playing a good brand of rugby. He loves the breakdown to be quick, he’s got the forwards working well both at the breakdown and at set-pieces, so it’s given the backs some quick ball. “When we’ve had that quick ball we look dangerous, so while at times we’ve struggled to convert a few opportunities, against the Dragons a few weeks ago we scored four tries away from home, and that should hopefully be a sign of things to come.” TICKETING INFORMATION Saturday’s game against Southern Kings kicks off at 5.30pm at Kingspan Stadium, with gates opening at 4.00pm. It's Ulster’s annual family fixture, with face painting, a climbing wall, giveaways and much more! Junior tickets are available for just £5 at UlsterRugby.com/BuyTickets!