Ulster head coach Richie Murphy smiles a lot, his sunny disposition certainly a much-needed antithesis to the general feeling around Ravenhill over the past 12 months.
But behind the positive outward demeanour that the Bray man gives off is a man who is trying to ensure that his first full season in charge of his adopted province goes according to plan. Like all coaches, the stresses of the job have already got their claws into him.
“Have you ever met a happy coach? You don’t meet them very often,” he quips, though still with a smile on his face.
Certainly there is a more positive mood at Ravenhill these days, in general, and not just from the three players sunning themselves on the Ravenhill turf — or plastic? — as we grill the Ulster chief as the start of their United Rugby Championship campaign grows ever closer.
Defending champions Glasgow are the visitors to Belfast on Saturday night, equally trying to get their title defence off to the perfect start. Ulster are trying to ensure they don’t.
What Murphy has seen to suggest that they are well placed to do so is not just on the pitch in pre-season games over Benetton — a win — and the Exeter Chiefs — a loss — but also within the dressing rooms and the gym and the team rooms throughout the week.
“We’re moving in the right direction. All the data that sits around in the background shows there’s an improvement in what we’re doing and a belief from the players in how we’re trying to send them to play the game,” he continues.
“I feel like we’re in a good place. Will that be good enough at the weekend? We’ll have to see. But it won’t be for a lack of planning or effort from the lads or the staff.”
The bleak mood that once inhabited the halls at Ravenhill has now been replaced by one of positivity. True, Ulster’s chances of winning silverware this season are fairly slim given the demographic of their squad, which reads more like an Under-20s team than it does a senior side, and the quality of the opposition that they will face in both the URC and European Champions Cup.
But when you take those things into context and where this squad is trying to go, there is an air of determination around. Despite that youthful squad going over to what was a fairly strong Chiefs team at the weekend, it was only for three late tries from the hosts that the scoreline became a little lopsided, but even then it wasn’t by much.
There is a very firm belief that the building blocks are in place for the heady times of the mid-2010s to return to Ulster — at least when you consider their professional era ‘success’ — and that now they have the right man in place, with the disastrous final few months of Dan McFarland’s era firmly consigned to the past.
“The place is very positive, we have great training sessions and spirits are high in the gym on a Tuesday afternoon which is a good sign. We’re ready to get out and play,” adds Murphy.
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Perhaps even more encouraging is the fact that he still has his veterans loyal to the cause. After several months of speculation about his future, with French vultures in the shape of Bayonne and Montpellier circling, star centre Stuart McCloskey has signed up until 2027 which, realistically, confirms he will finish his career as a one-club man.
“Stu has been fantastic, he’s come back in at the start of the season, come back slightly late behind the lads, but he’s taken a leadership role within the team. He’s leading really well,” praises Murphy.
“He’s spent the first few weeks training with the younger lads because the Ireland Under-20s lads came back in at the same time and he’s been a real good influence around the ground.
“It’s not necessarily a defined role but he’s been really good over the last number of weeks leading those guys, sitting down and having a chat with them.
“Those young lads that have come in from the Academy realise how good a player he is. Stu is seen as a big, ball-carrying player but he’s much more than that. Some of the subtleties in the game and his understanding of where to get the ball on the pitch is outstanding.
“We’re really excited to have him, he’s excited to be here for the next few years.”
Despite only being signed on trial deals, the impressive young duo of Corrie Barrett and Zac Ward have been deemed available to play this weekend, although the latter may miss out anyway due to a niggle picked up during the pre-season game in Exeter.
Whether that means the duo will be signed to permanent — or, at the very least, short-term — full-time deals with the province in time for Saturday or they can feature in competitive fixtures still on a trial basis is yet to be seen, however Murphy has been impressed with the pair in the short time he’s had with them.
“Corrie’s done really well, he’s applied himself really well and picking up information really well. We picked him in the first two games, so it shows you what we think of him. We’ll see how he goes now over the next few weeks. There’s a plan in place for him,” adds Murphy.
“I’d like to think it’s the environment we’re trying to create — you come in, do well and you get rewarded. You look at James McNabney, who has come in in pre-season, played two games and done really well. He played last year but hadn’t played since Christmas time, so he got an opportunity.
“Rory Telfer played in the first game, played half a game with the ‘A’s and played half a game with the seniors last week, he’s done really well in the games he’s played in and filled exactly what we asked him to do.
“We want to reward people for training well, commit to the programme, take feedback and ultimately play well at the weekend.”