Dan McFarland’s plan for new Ulster era
Ulster’s new head coach Dan McFarland set out his stall for the future in no uncertain terms as he prepares for his first PRO14 outing against the Scarlets at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday evening.
Prised away from being assistant to Gregor Townsend at Scotland, McFarland plans to allow Ulster to show their mettle as well as playing an enterprising and open game.
“I think I’ve been lucky enough in my career, both as a player and as a coach, to be exposed to lots of different styles of rugby,” explained McFarland, who had also a spell coaching with Glasgow.
“Ultimately though, it’s my desire to play a game with speed, collective speed, where our team can work at a pace that causes the opposition difficulties, and outlasts the opposition. Why is that? Well, It’s because like all of us, we’re products of our environment.
“In Glasgow we did that, but even before that with Pat (Lam) in Connacht. That was the style of rugby we played there. The ball moved fast, the players moved fast. I always remember when I first arrived in Connacht that wasn’t the way we played. It was bump and grind, and that lasted for a long time until Eric (Elwood) who said ‘no we’re not going to play like that any more’.”
“Eric was a big influence, just for the passion from where he came from. You know living in Ireland was huge, I loved that, you know there is a spirit inside the people I enjoy.
Pat Lam would be another one, he is a really dynamic person who really believes in what he is doing, I learned that from him. When you genuinely believe what you are doing you just go for it.
McFarland was also full of praise for John Kingston, the former Harlequins mentor who was at Richmond when he initially plied his trade as a front-row forward.
McFarland’s Belfast-born grandfather Danny played for Queen’s University, before taking up a position as chief engineer in England. Now he is looking forward for a dart with Scarlets on Saturday. “It’s a great game to start with. The current runners-up, the Champions Cup semi-finalists, 19 internationals, a great brand of rugby, a future Welsh coach (in Wayne Pavic). It’ll be a great test, a barometer of where we are. It’s the first chance for me as a new head coach to really find out about the guys.”
