The starting point is fairly orthodox really as Jude Postlethwaite’s involvement with the game began at minis level when his mum brought him to the Lisburn club where, well, it’s fair to say his year turned out to be quite a high achieving one.
Nathan Doak, Ben Carson and Reuben Crothers were also taking their first steps in the game and, from there, friendships were made which have endured to where they all find themselves now as professional players at Ravenhill.
Though Postlethwaite was the only one of the four to attend Royal Belfast Academical Institution — the others all having been pupils at Wallace High School — they still encountered each other whether playing at schools or underage level and the 22-year-old remained close to fellow centre Carson and Doak.
It all sounds rather seamless really, as the four who began chasing a rugby ball at Lisburn checked in along the way by collecting a Grand Slam playing for Ireland Under-20s but if ever there was proof that nothing is quite what it appears then Postlethwaite’s journey provides ample evidence to back that theory up.
Initially overlooked by the Ulster Academy, the strong running centre had to battle hard to be a part of things at Ulster while, if that wasn’t challenging enough, he has also had to deal with serious injury issues resulting in surgeries.
While not being picked up on leaving school was a blow, he knuckled down and now, on reflection, he can appreciate that not being given a place alongside his peers has only been beneficial.
“I’d say it was the best thing for me because I was close to Nathan and Ben and seeing them in the Academy kind of drove me to step up my game and really put my head down,” he explains.
Unperturbed, though still somewhat shaken, he kept the goal in sight and with the constant support from his family; his mum and grandparents — his grandfather Bill is a former Ulster scrum half from the 1970s — being key here, he was picked up and from there funnelled to Sevens and then on to hook up with Ireland Under-20s.
Friday night is special, though, as he teams up with Carson in Ulster’s midfield for the first time together in the professional game, their last outing as starting centres being when Ireland secured their Grand Slam against Scotland in 2022.
Praising his family network, Postlethwaite says: “My mum, my granda and granny are definitely the biggest support system for me.
“If you’ve had a bad day or a bad game and you come home to them, they raise your mood.”
Of a route also explored by Robert Baloucoune and Zac Ward, he adds: “I was in the Sevens for a while and did quite well there.
“Playing on the world stage was brilliant, and I can remember playing Fiji in Dubai and they were full of class players.”
He feels it also greatly enhanced his game: “It’s just that one-on-one ability to tackle and I feel like that improved a lot for me anyway.”
And there has been time out rehabbing shoulder operations, three already in his career which have obviously been curtailing, though he feels that spending time out at this stage has been of some benefit in a profession where injuries are just part of the journey.
“I think it stood me well, I had three surgeries after Under-20s all on my shoulders, two on one side, one on the other,” he explains.
“You need to put your head down to rehab for the boring bits and you need to do them well.
“I think at a young age that’s going to do you well in the future,” he adds in terms of being used to having what can be an overwhelmingly daunting time out of the game already under his belt.
Friday’s clash with Leinster will be his fifth game for Ulster in this campaign and, with James Hume still to come back from his knee surgery, it is important that Postlethwaite continues to lay down a marker as a midfield option whether at inside or outside centre.
Being part of the recent Emerging Ireland tour has also been encouraging, a trip which helped provide added impetus to Sam Prendergast, Gus McCarthy and Postlethwaite’s Ulster team-mate Cormac Izuchukwu towards their first full Test caps.
Not that Postlethwaite feels he is on the cusp of replicating the trio, but it is good for the youngster that he is at least somewhere on Simon Easterby’s radar.
“Emerging Ireland was a great tour and set the standard for where I need to be,” he says.
“I’ve backed myself and have played with quite a lot of them (the other squad members) throughout the age system and I know I’m not too far away now, but I just need to put in performances.”
That’s just what Postlethwaite is currently doing having scored three tries in the four games he has played for Ulster this season; his first try for the province coming against Connacht in October.
“Yeah, that was amazing, it was an interpro game too and it felt awesome,” recalls the player who made his Ulster debut in March 2023 against Cardiff.
It is hugely exciting for him that he gets to feature alongside long-time friend Carson on Friday and though, in essence, they are rivals in terms of making the team when other midfield options are available, Postlethwaite isn’t for accepting that as the case.
“I wouldn’t really call it a rivalry,” Postlethwaite says of himself and Carson, “we support each other, we have chats all the time and Stu (McCloskey) and Dumer (James Hume) are helping us.
“We both want the best for each other.”
Also vital to that overall support network is Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper, who Postlethwaite first encountered at RBAI.
“He was my teacher, and I was scared of him but now we get on really well and he has been massive; just coming in here and always needing someone to talk to and stuff, he’s always there,” he explains.
“He brings out the confident side in me, backing myself, backing my abilities, he knows what I can do and knew it even before I came in here. Coming into this environment is kind of daunting so he would just reassure me to be confident and play my game.”
Defence coach Jonny Bell is also cited as helping Postlethwaite hone his skills in playing both inside and outside centre.
“He’s (Bell) been a great help in my defensive side of the game if I’m playing 12 and 13, and I know 13 is probably a bit harder to defend but he’s always there helping, and we do a lot of work,” says Postlethwaite.
“In defence, I think you have to be more agile and on your toes at 13, making reads and stuff like that, and at 12, you’re a bit more physical with dominant tackles.
“Look at the likes of Bundee (Aki) and how good they are defensively and in attack, threats both sides of the ball, that’s what you have to strive to be.”
No better place to put it all out there than against Leinster on Friday.
“It riles everyone up when you’re playing an interpro so a response to what happened in Cardiff (when Ulster lost last time out after leading 19-0) would be good for us,” says Postlethwaite.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to do the job.”
Jude and Ben, from Lisburn minis all the way to this.