Roger Wilson became the second Ulster player to reach the milestone of 200 caps when he led the side out for the Guinness PRO12 game against Scarlets on Sunday.
Wilson made his provincial debut in September 2003 and he has packed a lot into his career, but it was easy for him to pick out the highlight of his time in the white jersey.
“Winning the Celtic League (2006) would be the highlight. There have been a few big away wins in Europe which have been nice, beating Leicester Tigers was pleasing for me personally, having spent for seasons with Northampton,” recalled Wilson.
“200 is a nice milestone but I think you don’t look back on the number of games you have played, but on what you have won. For a team that has been right up there in Europe and in the top 10, we should have delivered more silverware.
“In the last few years we have put ourselves in a good position and to be brutally honest, we probably have undelivered. We need to step up to the plate and there are still plenty of opportunities left. It’s about silverware, not individual milestones,” he insists.
Unfortunately for Wilson, who also clocked up over 100 appearances for the Saints, Ulster couldn’t deliver a victory on his special day.
“It was a bit like Trimby’s one (Andrew Trimble’s 200th Ulster cap); we didn’t quite get the performance for the 200th. It was disappointing. It’s a wake up call for us as it has probably been coming in the last few weeks.
“We weren’t clinical enough in the opposition 22, but credit to Scarlets - they defended well. We just couldn’t put them away and that is something that we will definitely be working on.”
Ulster is now fourth in the PRO12 league and travel to Cardiff on Sunday, and Wilson knows that a big response is needed to maintain the push for the play offs.
“It’s pretty tight between the top six or seven teams and there isn’t much between them, a few teams have a game in hand and Glasgow have two, so we can’t afford any more slip ups. You need to win your home games and we didn’t do that, so we need to bounce back with a big result on Sunday.”
Wilson made his provincial debut in September 2003 and he has packed a lot into his career, but it was easy for him to pick out the highlight of his time in the white jersey.
“Winning the Celtic League (2006) would be the highlight. There have been a few big away wins in Europe which have been nice, beating Leicester Tigers was pleasing for me personally, having spent for seasons with Northampton,” recalled Wilson.
“200 is a nice milestone but I think you don’t look back on the number of games you have played, but on what you have won. For a team that has been right up there in Europe and in the top 10, we should have delivered more silverware.
“In the last few years we have put ourselves in a good position and to be brutally honest, we probably have undelivered. We need to step up to the plate and there are still plenty of opportunities left. It’s about silverware, not individual milestones,” he insists.
Unfortunately for Wilson, who also clocked up over 100 appearances for the Saints, Ulster couldn’t deliver a victory on his special day.
“It was a bit like Trimby’s one (Andrew Trimble’s 200th Ulster cap); we didn’t quite get the performance for the 200th. It was disappointing. It’s a wake up call for us as it has probably been coming in the last few weeks.
“We weren’t clinical enough in the opposition 22, but credit to Scarlets - they defended well. We just couldn’t put them away and that is something that we will definitely be working on.”
Ulster is now fourth in the PRO12 league and travel to Cardiff on Sunday, and Wilson knows that a big response is needed to maintain the push for the play offs.
“It’s pretty tight between the top six or seven teams and there isn’t much between them, a few teams have a game in hand and Glasgow have two, so we can’t afford any more slip ups. You need to win your home games and we didn’t do that, so we need to bounce back with a big result on Sunday.”