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Exclusive interview: Dan McFarland on flying under the radar and helping to transform Ulster's fortunes

Ulster Head Coach Dan McFarland is seen prior to the Guinness PRO14 Play-Off Semi Final between Edinburgh and Ulster at Murrayfield on September 05, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland - Getty Images Europe 
Ulster Head Coach Dan McFarland is seen prior to the Guinness PRO14 Play-Off Semi Final between Edinburgh and Ulster at Murrayfield on September 05, 2020 in Edinburgh, Scotland - Getty Images Europe

One of the striking narratives of the Premiership restart has been the impressive influx of a new crop of young English coaches. Lee Blackett at Wasps, Stuart Hooper at Bath and George Skivington at Gloucester have all attracted praise for making a positive impact.

Less heralded, however, is the mark that another young English coach is making across the Irish sea.

Dan McFarland has so far been rarely mentioned in dispatches when it has come to exploring English-born coaching options at the Rugby Football Union, most notably last year when Eddie Jones was seeking to restock his coaching team after the World Cup.

Yet while Stuart Lancaster, the former England head coach, has deservedly received plaudits for his role behind-the-scenes at Leinster, McFarland’s reputation is quietly growing for the transformational work he is undertaking as head coach at Ulster over the last two years.

While Ulster continue to operate in the formidable shadow of Leinster, who extended their winning streak to 25 games by defeating McFarland’s side to win their third successive Pro 14 title last Saturday, the northern province have taken impressive strides since his arrival in Belfast in August 2018.

At that time, Ulster were a club in disarray, still smarting from the aftermath of the controversy surrounding the rape trial involving former players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, who were both found not guilty but subsequently had their contracts terminated.

McFarland also arrived without a chief executive in place following the resignation of Shane Logan while two long-standing support staff lost their jobs as part of an internal review and senior players such as Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble retired. Ulster, winners of the Heineken Cup in 1999, and finalists in 2012, had only maintained their place in Europe's top competition via a play-off victory over the Ospreys.

Sports Briefing
Sports Briefing

He is engaging company but the first question that springs to mind is what prompted one of the rising stars of Gregor Townsend’s Scotland coaching team, after stints at Glasgow and Connacht, to leave after just a year to take up what appeared to be something of a poisoned chalice?

“The perception was that Ulster were in a bad place, but I didn’t think they were,” says McFarland, who had spent 15 years at Connacht, as a player and then coach.

“They were still winning a lot of games. Circumstances that were outside the club's control brought a negative feeling about the club and that is going to affect the playing group and everyone involved with the organisations

“But these are tough people who are going to ride that out and I could see they were not far away from rising out of that situation. The question was could I pull it together, could I come in and spot what the strengths are, what needs to be focused on and align people behind that and help the good people who were here already. It wasn’t rocket science to work out that it could be done.”

The progress since the arrival of McFarland, who was educated at Ampleforth College and Newcastle University,  is evidenced by the fact that on Sunday, Ulster, on the back of reaching the Pro 14 final, will travel to France to face Toulouse in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.

Ulster's Jordi Murphy appears dejected after the Guinness Pro14 final at the Aviva Stadium - PA/Donall Farmer 
Ulster's Jordi Murphy appears dejected after the Guinness Pro14 final at the Aviva Stadium - PA/Donall Farmer

In last year’s competition, the province came agonisingly close to creating a major upset before eventually losing 21-18 to Leinster at the same stage.

Ulster, without the financial muscle and greater restriction on the number of overseas players allowed in their squad will travel to France as significant underdogs again, but the direction of travel under McFarland is eye-catching.

Players speak of his attention to detail, his high-intensity and high-tempo training sessions and a dedication to building the right culture in many ways similar to Lancaster when he was England head coach.

There has been a gradual changing of the guard, with Ireland and Lions lock Iain Henderson, a player whose work-rate and commitment embodies McFarland’s set-up, succeeding the now retired Rory Best as captain.

Home-grown talent such as Rob Baloucoune, Michael Lowry, James Hume and Matty Rea are among those who have been brought through while Ulster have also proved adept at integrating former Leinster players such as John Cooney, Alan O’Connor, Nick Timoney and Jack McGrath.

Without the playing population of Leinster and the spending power of England and French clubs, Ulster may have to continue to punch above their collective weight, but you sense McFarland relishes that adversity.

He cites his playing experiences, where the former prop was once the only non-international in a star-studded Richmond and also played at Stade Francais before joining Connacht as those that formed that mindset.

“John Kingston was my coach at Richmond and he never let anyone forget the important nitty-gritty of rugby,” he recalls. “He picked me basically because of it. Scott Quinnell didn’t really like clearing rucks so somebody had to do it for him. He had a very special job. But John didn’t let people forget that. That is the beauty of rugby.”

He admits his forthright opinions as a fledgling coach were broadened by working under Pat Lam, now Bristol coach, at Connacht and then under Townsend at Glasgow and Scotland.

Rugby Nerd REFERRAL (article)
Rugby Nerd REFERRAL (article)

“Singlemindedness is something I will always take from Pat,” he adds. “’Set out a goal, work out the way you are going to get there, and then just go for it with total confidence in what you are doing.

“That is Pat. It just sucks people along with you. You have to believe in yourself and Pat was incredible at that in Connacht.

“With Gregor it was all about growth mindset, the learning aspect and individual development. He created an environment at Glasgow that was a really cool place to be, discussing different things that we could be doing which we weren’t doing now.

“When I met Gregor for the first time that I understood about how you went about it. Being open, talking to people about what you were doing, even if you might be giving away a little bit, but you got something back and it forced you to get better, and your rate of learning.

“I still talk to Gregor now about stuff like that. What are you trying, who can I talk to learn about something. It is much easier to do when you are an international coach.”

One wonders if McFarland might one day have a similar luxury. He insists his focus however is on the here and now. Nor is he bothered by what he describes as the “anomaly of identity.”

“People don’t look to me in England as being an English coach because I have been away for so long,” he admits. “I played at Richmond for three years but after that I left and went to France, then Ireland, then to Scotland and now I am back in Ireland.

“So when they are listing English coaches, they wouldn’t be listing me. That doesn’t bother me at all on the basis that I have been away for so long. But in Ireland, I am always characterised as an English coach, even though all my rugby coaching upbringing is here. I have been through the Irish system, all my coaching development was done through the IRFU and then another Celtic slot in Scotland. I just characterise myself as a rugby coach.

"My son was born in Galway and he is a mad Ireland fan and I love seeing Ireland win, but I was born and brought up in England so there is obviously a link there for me.

"The natural step having been a head coach of a club or a province is to be an international coach but I am not ready for that now. I don’t know how long it will be until I am ready for it. I love what I am doing now. If I could put something into the 'personal goals' section of my development plan, it would be to be the best at what I am doing now."