IT HAS BEEN hard to miss David McCann for Ulster so far this season, primarily because he has been in impressive form but also because he has played so much.

The 23-year-old has racked up a province-leading 317 minutes in his four appearances so far, including a start in each of the three back row positions.

McCann has been regarded as a major prospect within Ulster for some time and he appears to be ready to move his game to the next level this season. Having captained the Ireland U19s and U20s, as well as Ulster A, he is seen as a possible future Ulster skipper.

The former Royal Belfast Academical Institution student was part of the Emerging Ireland tour to South Africa last year and there’s no doubt his form early this season will have caught the eye of Ireland boss Andy Farrell. Whatever about his longer-term prospects at Test level, McCann will be keen to continue his strong Ulster form in the coming months and nail down a starting spot in their first-choice back row.

Wearing the number six shirt, he was a key figure as Ulster notched an important home URC win against Munster last Friday night in Belfast, making an impact on both sides of the ball.

McCann is a big threat in possession, with plenty of dynamism in his 6ft 4ins, 108kg frame. He featured in the build-up to Jacob Stockdale’s first-half try, helping Ulster to generate momentum up the right-hand side.

Ulster regularly use McCann as a wide forward in their attacking framework, allowing him to do damage with his power, agility, and leg drive.

In the instance above, McCann has a mismatch against Munster’s halfbacks, Craig Casey and Jack Crowley, and makes it count with an aggressive carry.

Two phases later, McCann combines with Rob Baloucoune to clear out breakdown threat Alex Kendellan.

McCann approaches the breakdown from a side angle but crucially straightens up before entering to clear Kendellan away as Ulster continue their progress.

McCann then gets back to his feet and holds his position wide on the right, where he makes another carry a couple of phases before Billy Burns’ cross-field kick to Stockdale.

McCann’s athleticism and handling skill mean he’s well suited to a wide role in the Ulster attack but he’s more than capable of carrying in the tight too.

The same attributes – footwork, acceleration, and leg drive – are on display in the carry below just after McCann has come from an Ulster scrum.

While ball-carrying is a key aspect of McCann’s job regardless of which back row slot he fills, he has the handling ability to mix his game up.

He threw three passes against Munster and has always shown quality in that area of the game.

In the instance below against the Bulls this season, McCann throws a one-handed offload.

In this sense, McCann is certainly a modern Irish forward. Long gone are the days when it was acceptable for forwards to have underdeveloped passing and offloading skills. McCann is one of the new breed.

Defensively, the Ulster man has been working hard to improve his threat at the breakdown and this has been a standout feature of his performances this season.

He won his fourth jackal turnover of the campaign early in the second half against Munster, coming from a long way to win the race to the ball.

Note how far away from the tackle McCann is when he spots his opening, accelerating over the first three steps to get to the ball but slowing himself just before jackaling so he’s not out of control.

It’s poor attacking breakdown work from Munster but McCann’s accuracy in getting onto the ball is impressive and earns Ulster an important penalty that they kick into Munster territory.

McCann also conceded a breakdown penalty on Friday, underlining that he must continue to work hard on his reading of this aspect of the game. In this case, the ruck had already formed when he stretched over to target the ball.

This was McCann’s third penalty concession of the season, which isn’t a huge number in 317 minutes of action, but he will be striving to be as clean as possible in this regard.

Against Connacht the weekend before, he was just ahead of the kicker on one chase and the penalty concession allowed the westerners into field position for their game-winning score.

McCann was accurate in the tackle against Munster, completing all 16 of his tackle attempts. In the example below, he combines with lock Cormac Izuchukwu to land a big shot on Munster second row Edwin Edogbo.

Ulster’s defence was superb at Kingspan Stadium and McCann played a busy role.

He was also crucial to their lineout defence as he came up with two steals on the Munster throw.

McCann’s height is useful in this regard, while he moves well on the ground, reads the opposition intelligently, and has an explosive jump. It’s always hugely beneficial to have a forward like him in the back row.

He and Izuchukwu make a fine read in the instance above, tracking Edogbo to the front and getting off the ground with superb speed ahead of the Munster jumper. McCann bats the ball back for an Ulster steal.

He was probably fortunate in the instance below not to be pinged for contact on the arm of Munster’s Thomas Ahern but it went down as another Ulster turnover.

And at the very next lineout less than a minute later, McCann comes up with an excellent steal in a key position.

It’s a brilliant jump from McCann to just get his fingertips to the ball.

While Ulster didn’t throw to McCann with their own lineouts in this game, he is generally a key target at the front or in the middle of the set-piece.

As with any young player, there is plenty for McCann to improve as the season continues but he has made a fine start to what he hopes will be a major breakthrough campaign.