ULSTER SCRUM-HALF Dave Shanahan entered this season with a lot on the line, given his contract was due to run out and his minutes had been minimal.
He left home province Leinster to join the Ulster Academy, the 25-year-old was seen as a bright prospect as he rose through the ranks, only to find his path to regular game-time frustratingly blocked at every turn.
It didn’t help he was vying for time with talismanic scrum-half Ruan Pienaar, admittedly, but chances even to back up the Springbok were scarce as Ulster kept faith with perennial bench man Paul Marshall due to his ability to raise the tempo late in a game.
So when Pienaar was announced to be departing the province, it seemed like things might be on their way up. Instead, in came John Cooney from Connacht, and with Marshall still entrenched as the man to make a difference late in the game, opportunities remained limited.
Even when he did play, it was never substantial. Bit-part appearances off the bench generally came with the clock in its latter stages, and not only that but they usually occurred when the game was already won or dead and buried.
“I was looking at it the other day, it was either last year or the year before I had eight appearances, but in eight appearances I’d only played 60 minutes, so you’re talking eight minutes a game,” says the Dubliner.
“When you’re doing that, you’re afraid to make mistakes because you’re like ‘I have eight minutes, I’d better not screw up’.”
Then came an opportunity. Paul Marshall hung up the boots at the start of this season and the role as Cooney’s deputy opened up. Despite Jonny Stewart getting chances under Les Kiss to finish the previous season, Dan McFarland turned to Shanahan.
Sure, he profited from injury to Cooney to get an extended run in the team, the Ireland international shipping a head injury away to the Southern Kings that led to Shanahan starting against the Cheetahs a week later, but it was all down to the 25-year-old taking his chance.
Not only did the scrum-half impress greatly on that tour of South Africa, he also earned himself a reputation for smartly running support lines on line breaks, finishing off two in Bloemfontein to cement himself in the thoughts of McFarland.
From there, there’s been no question of who has been the preferred back-up between himself and Stewart. Shanahan got the start in Paris against Racing 92 with Cooney still out – and got a try for his efforts – and is going to make his 17th appearance of the season this weekend against the Southern Kings.
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Indeed, even in breaking down his caps so far this campaign, he’s more than just a replacement. With Cooney down in Ireland camp, Shanahan has profited greatly, making 12 starts and accumulating 856 minutes.
And that contract situation? He needn’t worry anymore, Ulster were quick to offer him an extended deal at Kingspan Stadium, and he gladly accepted.
“I don’t think it was a given I would be involved with every 23 this year, obviously Jonny Stewart is a young player who had a few really good games last year, started a few games and even this year when he’s got his chances he’s done well, so I don’t think it was expected in that sense, but I knew it was a big year for me,” admits Shanahan.
Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
“I was out of contract at the end of this year so I knew I needed to step up a little bit, and I was just happy to know when I got my opportunity and game-time, I was able to perform well enough.
“(This year) I’m actually getting a good bit of game-time, you’re trying to help the team win rather than worrying about yourself. Obviously I have to be aware of my own personal performance, but I’m feeling a lot more part of the team and I’m really enjoying it now.”
So where has the improvement come from? Because this is a Shanahan we haven’t seen in an Ulster jersey before, a scrum-half exuding confidence and fully justified at not just holding the back-up role at Kingspan Stadium but potentially pushing for more.
He’s held his own against Racing 92 and the Leicester Tigers in Europe, twice. He’s stepped into the vacant jersey during the Six Nations and excelled. Already he’s been entrusted with more responsibility than in any other season with the team.
Of course, the obvious answer is that he’s been learning off the likes of Pienaar and Cooney, but Shanahan is quick to correct that.
“It’s funny, people say that to me a lot, about learning from people. The thing that’s helped me a lot – obviously Coons and Ruan, they are great players and you pick things up off them – but the way you learn is by playing,” he says.
“That’s helped me the most this year, getting a lot of game time, getting on the field and being able to make mistakes, learn from mistakes and knowing what works for me, and getting a bit more of an identity as a player around this team.”
With more game-time and more responsibility within the team, Shanahan can reflect upon the season so far having played a much bigger role in where Ulster are in the Guinness PRO14 standings, battling away for a play-off spot in Conference B.
Currently holding the final of those play-off places in third, a point behind Benetton in second and four ahead of the Scarlets in fourth, this weekend offers a chance for Ulster to further solidify their position and take a step towards not just the knockouts, but also guaranteed Champions Cup rugby next season.
On the face of it, the Kings at home is a game that should yield five points – after all, they only have two wins on the season and have conceded an average of 34.1 points per game in the PRO14 so far. But Shanahan warns that it could be anything but in Belfast tomorrow.
“Kings are second last in the table, and I don’t want to make a cliche of it, but they’re a seriously good team, seriously dangerous team,” warns the former Belvedere College man.
“Some of the performances they’ve put in this year, even when we played them earlier in the season, they made it really tough for us for the majority of the game. We managed to get a couple of tries late to pull away from them, but they’re such a dangerous team.
“Everyone talks about the speed they have out wide and stuff, which is obvious to see, but their maul is really really good – they did a number on us in the maul last time we were out there, so we have to defend well and make sure they don’t get into the 22 and make that a thing for them.”
And of course there is the small matter of a game on the horizon in D4.
It would pit Shanahan against his hometown side in a European knockout game – Ulster’s first since 2014 – and has dominated thoughts in the northern province since they secured their place in the quarter-finals all the way back in January, despite their precarious position in the league.
Although Shanahan does stress that Ulster will guard against complacency this weekend, he does allow his mind to wander forward one week.
“It’d be incredible. My whole time in the squad, we’ve never got out of the groups. Being in a quarter-final is amazing, to be involved would be great,” he says.
“Playing in the Aviva, I’ve never played there so that’d be a cool experience but we’re looking at this week.”
Murray Kinsella and Andy Dunne dissect Ireland’s disappointing Six Nations campaign, and discuss the pros and cons of rugby’s new law proposals in the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
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'I have eight minutes, I'd better not screw up': Shanahan powering through pivotal season
ULSTER SCRUM-HALF Dave Shanahan entered this season with a lot on the line, given his contract was due to run out and his minutes had been minimal.
He left home province Leinster to join the Ulster Academy, the 25-year-old was seen as a bright prospect as he rose through the ranks, only to find his path to regular game-time frustratingly blocked at every turn.
It didn’t help he was vying for time with talismanic scrum-half Ruan Pienaar, admittedly, but chances even to back up the Springbok were scarce as Ulster kept faith with perennial bench man Paul Marshall due to his ability to raise the tempo late in a game.
So when Pienaar was announced to be departing the province, it seemed like things might be on their way up. Instead, in came John Cooney from Connacht, and with Marshall still entrenched as the man to make a difference late in the game, opportunities remained limited.
Even when he did play, it was never substantial. Bit-part appearances off the bench generally came with the clock in its latter stages, and not only that but they usually occurred when the game was already won or dead and buried.
“I was looking at it the other day, it was either last year or the year before I had eight appearances, but in eight appearances I’d only played 60 minutes, so you’re talking eight minutes a game,” says the Dubliner.
“When you’re doing that, you’re afraid to make mistakes because you’re like ‘I have eight minutes, I’d better not screw up’.”
Then came an opportunity. Paul Marshall hung up the boots at the start of this season and the role as Cooney’s deputy opened up. Despite Jonny Stewart getting chances under Les Kiss to finish the previous season, Dan McFarland turned to Shanahan.
Sure, he profited from injury to Cooney to get an extended run in the team, the Ireland international shipping a head injury away to the Southern Kings that led to Shanahan starting against the Cheetahs a week later, but it was all down to the 25-year-old taking his chance.
Not only did the scrum-half impress greatly on that tour of South Africa, he also earned himself a reputation for smartly running support lines on line breaks, finishing off two in Bloemfontein to cement himself in the thoughts of McFarland.
From there, there’s been no question of who has been the preferred back-up between himself and Stewart. Shanahan got the start in Paris against Racing 92 with Cooney still out – and got a try for his efforts – and is going to make his 17th appearance of the season this weekend against the Southern Kings.
Indeed, even in breaking down his caps so far this campaign, he’s more than just a replacement. With Cooney down in Ireland camp, Shanahan has profited greatly, making 12 starts and accumulating 856 minutes.
And that contract situation? He needn’t worry anymore, Ulster were quick to offer him an extended deal at Kingspan Stadium, and he gladly accepted.
“I don’t think it was a given I would be involved with every 23 this year, obviously Jonny Stewart is a young player who had a few really good games last year, started a few games and even this year when he’s got his chances he’s done well, so I don’t think it was expected in that sense, but I knew it was a big year for me,” admits Shanahan.
“I was out of contract at the end of this year so I knew I needed to step up a little bit, and I was just happy to know when I got my opportunity and game-time, I was able to perform well enough.
“(This year) I’m actually getting a good bit of game-time, you’re trying to help the team win rather than worrying about yourself. Obviously I have to be aware of my own personal performance, but I’m feeling a lot more part of the team and I’m really enjoying it now.”
So where has the improvement come from? Because this is a Shanahan we haven’t seen in an Ulster jersey before, a scrum-half exuding confidence and fully justified at not just holding the back-up role at Kingspan Stadium but potentially pushing for more.
He’s held his own against Racing 92 and the Leicester Tigers in Europe, twice. He’s stepped into the vacant jersey during the Six Nations and excelled. Already he’s been entrusted with more responsibility than in any other season with the team.
Of course, the obvious answer is that he’s been learning off the likes of Pienaar and Cooney, but Shanahan is quick to correct that.
“It’s funny, people say that to me a lot, about learning from people. The thing that’s helped me a lot – obviously Coons and Ruan, they are great players and you pick things up off them – but the way you learn is by playing,” he says.
“That’s helped me the most this year, getting a lot of game time, getting on the field and being able to make mistakes, learn from mistakes and knowing what works for me, and getting a bit more of an identity as a player around this team.”
With more game-time and more responsibility within the team, Shanahan can reflect upon the season so far having played a much bigger role in where Ulster are in the Guinness PRO14 standings, battling away for a play-off spot in Conference B.
Currently holding the final of those play-off places in third, a point behind Benetton in second and four ahead of the Scarlets in fourth, this weekend offers a chance for Ulster to further solidify their position and take a step towards not just the knockouts, but also guaranteed Champions Cup rugby next season.
On the face of it, the Kings at home is a game that should yield five points – after all, they only have two wins on the season and have conceded an average of 34.1 points per game in the PRO14 so far. But Shanahan warns that it could be anything but in Belfast tomorrow.
“Kings are second last in the table, and I don’t want to make a cliche of it, but they’re a seriously good team, seriously dangerous team,” warns the former Belvedere College man.
“Some of the performances they’ve put in this year, even when we played them earlier in the season, they made it really tough for us for the majority of the game. We managed to get a couple of tries late to pull away from them, but they’re such a dangerous team.
“Everyone talks about the speed they have out wide and stuff, which is obvious to see, but their maul is really really good – they did a number on us in the maul last time we were out there, so we have to defend well and make sure they don’t get into the 22 and make that a thing for them.”
And of course there is the small matter of a game on the horizon in D4.
It would pit Shanahan against his hometown side in a European knockout game – Ulster’s first since 2014 – and has dominated thoughts in the northern province since they secured their place in the quarter-finals all the way back in January, despite their precarious position in the league.
Although Shanahan does stress that Ulster will guard against complacency this weekend, he does allow his mind to wander forward one week.
“It’d be incredible. My whole time in the squad, we’ve never got out of the groups. Being in a quarter-final is amazing, to be involved would be great,” he says.
“Playing in the Aviva, I’ve never played there so that’d be a cool experience but we’re looking at this week.”
Murray Kinsella and Andy Dunne dissect Ireland’s disappointing Six Nations campaign, and discuss the pros and cons of rugby’s new law proposals in the latest episode of The42 Rugby Weekly:
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