Here is what he had to say…
On how much game time he’s had this season so far and his involvement in big games…
“If you told me at the start of the season I’d have had this many minutes, I would have bitten your hand off. I know it came around through injury to John \[Cooney\], but that’s rugby and that’s life. As a young kid, I just wanted to take my opportunity and I’ve been lucky enough to try and put my hand up every week. The coaches are putting faith in me by picking me; it has meant a lot. I want to keep improving throughout the season and I have learned so much so far and have a lot more to give. We’re about halfway through the season now so there’s still the back-end of the season to go and hopefully I can keep getting better.”
On goal-setting for the season…
“I set goals at the start of the season to build confidence in myself and be able to give the best version of me, try to get as many minutes as I can. When I do get the minutes, I want to make them count. Hopefully I have done that so far and will continue to do that.”
On coping with pressure in big games…
“I wouldn’t shy away from the pressure. I kind of enjoy it and never put added pressure on myself. I look at these games as an opportunity rather than pressure, so a rugby game is all the same to me; whether I play in front of 10,000 people or 100 people, I want to produce my best. Having the extra pressure brings the best out of me and narrows my focus. I enjoy doing it in front of so many people and love playing the big games. Getting a taste of it now, I want more. It has meant so much to me to play in front of that many people at Kingspan Stadium, growing up watching it and now I’m doing it; it feels really special. I wouldn’t say I’ve felt the pressure as much; I’ve been given a lot of faith to go out and back myself, so I’ve had a lot of pressure taken off be and told to do my thing, so that has really helped.”
On his 4-year contract extension…
“Everyone knows how much this club means to me. When things went well at the start of the season, it was something I looked towards. When Ulster got in contact about extending my deal, it was something I didn’t think too much about; I want to stay here, make my name here and win trophies here. When that offer came about, it was about finding the right thing for me and the club. Extending it for four years filled me with great excitement and hopefully I can repay that back to the club in the four years I’m here and we can go on a journey together.”
On enjoying his rugby…
“Rugby is always something I’ve enjoyed and getting to do it as a job – if you want to call it that – I don’t take it for granted. The most important thing for me is that one of the goals I set myself at the start of the season was to enjoy myself. If you enjoy it, things seem to go your way, so when you go out there, you want to enjoy yourself and give the best account of yourself. That’s something I’ve tried to do this season. I don’t think too much about my age, to be honest. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough – that’s something I’ve lived by.”
On advice he’s been given about dealing with the pressure…
“I wouldn’t see it as pressure; I see it as a privilege. My dad \[Neil Doak\] and I were talking the other night about it; when you’re playing in front of a full house, there are guys who look up to you in the crowd and they want to be you. I don’t look at that as pressure, I look at it as a privilege to go out there and represent them. That’s been instilled in me from a young age and that’s how I would look at it. I’m just grateful I can do it on a Friday night.”
Up next at Kingspan Stadium
Ulster host Connacht in their re-scheduled URC Round 8 Inter-Pro next Friday 4 February (8.15pm kick-off).