IT LOOKS like 19 points will not be enough to get Ulster into the knockout stages of European competition for the first time since 1999. Not that bonus point wins are expected at home to Edinburgh or, particularly, away to Bath over the next fortnight.
But unlike the previous decade of disappointment in Ulster rugby, the new, all-native coaching ticket have little trouble keeping the squad tuned in. They will not be talking about it, but they are well placed to become one of the three second-placed sides that are shifted into the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
“We are not really interested in it,” Andrew Trimble rightly protests. “We are interested in the Heineken Cup. That’s where we want to be. It’s really difficult for us now, but all we can do is produce two wins and two big performances.”
Even more important is the need to make the Magners League top four, so an upturn in their consistency is required from the already decent showing under the David Humphreys/Brian McLaughlin regime.
Trimble is neither a centre nor a winger anymore. Ulster have specialists players now from 12 to 14, but Trimble’s renaissance this season demanded inclusion for the recent defeat of Munster at Ravenhill. His all-action display landed the man-of-the-match reward.
Keith Earls filled the gap on the Ireland left wing after Luke Fitzgerald ruptured knee tendons against Australia in November. Shane Horgan is playing the best rugby of his life. Trimble, it seems, is intent on having a say as well.
Now 25, and after two nightmarish seasons when cursed by a knee problem, against Munster Trimble stepped inside Jean de Villiers like the world renowned Springbok wasn’t there before freeing his arms to send Simon Danielli scuttling down the tramline for the game-defining, second try.
Always blessed with natural athleticism, Trimble has added a ruthless streak and deftness of touch to his locker.
Not so much dropped by Ireland, the unstoppable rise of Tommy Bowe and Fitzgerald carried them all the way to Lions Test berths.
“I like being in good shape again. The last two years I have been struggling with a chronic knee injury. I was able to play okay, get through games. But I wasn’t as explosive or powerful as I’d like to have been. I needed to get the foundations of a good pre-season in.
“I’ve done that now. Got a lot of bulk back in my legs. I think I’m faster and feeling more powerful in contact. That is a massive strength of mine.
“That’s why I struggled to make an impact in the last couple of years. I should’ve got the knee operation before last summer, but I didn’t want to miss any rugby. It cost me a little in the long term.”
It was obvious against Munster that he now insists on the ball being in his paws regularly.
“When things start to go a little bit better you up the aggression in contact. I’m just really enjoying playing rugby at the minute.”
McLaughlin knew him as a schoolboy, so, much like Ian Humphreys, Trimble feeds off the familiar environment.
“I worked with him at Ulster Schools and then the Irish Schools. I love working with Brian. He is great for the team but good for an individual as well. As an Ulster man it certainly means a lot to him. Certainly as much as it means to me. That is nice to know. The same as Neil Doak, Jeremy Davidson and David Humphreys.
“We have taken a few steps forward, but we are not content yet. We are not really firing yet. There are aspects of us that show a lot of potential. We want to fulfil that potential. Get back to where we should be.”
