Neil Doak Q+a

With a packed programme of pitch sessions, team meetings, units practice and gym work, it is far from a holiday for the Ulster squad this week in Portugal. We caught up with Ulster Assistant Coach, Neil Doak, for a quick Q+A on the camp and to ask him his thoughts on the new season.

What are the benefits in having a warm weather pre-season training camp?

Well, the weather is a little bit better here than it was when we left Belfast! That allows us to be on the pitch three times a day. We have one session early in the morning, one in the afternoon for skills and then we have a pretty intense conditioning session in the evening when the sun is going down a little bit. So the boys are working hard. I am sure they will lose a little bit of weight, which I am not sure the strength and conditioning team will be too happy about but they will get a couple of days rest at the end of this week, then we will build into the pre-season games.

What are you focusing on in your pitch sessions?

We have got to try and make sure that we are all on the same page. We have new players coming in, we have had a few changes in the management and coaching staff and we have got to make sure that we hit the ground running. Our first couple of games are going to be vital to get the performance that we are looking for and to gel the new faces into the system. The guys have been working hard they are keen to get into games. They have had a long enough pre-season so far and they just want to show the work that they have put in.

What have you been introducing this week?

Everyone needs an understanding of what we are trying to do and we have added a few bits and pieces this year that Les (Kiss) and myself felt would benefit the side going forward. From his point of view he is seeing a provincial set up on a day-to-day basis alongside the national system that he is working with and the players are benefitting from that and the coaches are too.  We are just keen to see how the work that we have done comes to fruition at the start of the season.

How much have you enjoyed working with Les Kiss at Ulster?

I have worked with Les in the past as head coach of Ireland on the summer tour last year. I know him pretty well. We are like-minded and we bounce things off one another. We are trying to challenge the opposition with ball in hand but we obviously know that defence plays a massive role as well so along with Jonny Bell and Allen Clarke we feel that we have a good set up there and we are looking forward to the start of the season.