Afterwards, it all crowded in on him in a kaleidoscope of emotions. Almost a year out of the game and though James Hume had come through his first competitive game since having to undergo ACL surgery, the 26-year-old was in a bad place.
It was two weeks ago, and the context was that Ulster had lost to Benetton — indeed, for the second week running to an Italian team — and this had taken a toll.
That gnawing feeling of fury and frustration which always comes with a loss now found itself aligning with everything Hume had been through to get back playing in the first place.
He needed to let it all out but also required some perspective which is where Ulster physio Gareth O’Neill, someone Hume had spent a lot of time with over the course of his rehab, stepped in to set things straight as the squad prepared for their journey back from northern Italy.
“After the Treviso game, I was raging and felt like I just wanted to burst into tears,” the Ulster and Ireland centre recalls of a fortnight ago as he struggled in the hours after the match.
“It was just so frustrating; we had a good first-half and then I felt I didn’t do anything in the second-half except defend under penalty advantage.
“I just felt really annoyed and Gareth was like, ‘I understand why you’re annoyed but you’ve just come back from a 10-month injury and just played 80 minutes in your second game so take that as a small win’.
“And I did and which I do still.”
Not for the first time, the physio’s words were deeply ingested, helping Hume process the situation and find a way through it.
The trust is already there, O’Neill being front and centre in bringing Hume back to be able to physically take the punishment — the player recalls one routine where he would run, and O’Neill would test the knee’s strength by shoving him on an angle to replicate a game — as well as provide some guidance for mental pressure points along the way.
James Hume
The road back for Hume has not been easy so to arrive in an environment where Ulster are losing considerably more games than the norm has been challenging.
“Ultimately I’m not here just to worry about how I played and how my knee is,” says Hume. “I want to get results because it’s very draining coming in every week after losing games you should have won and watching videos back of things you know you can do better and you know have been talked about the previous week but aren’t getting right.
“Everyone is in the same boat of just being very frustrated.
“No one is going out there and not trying, I think maybe it’s a confidence thing with the team.
“It’s something that will definitely come, I’m fully confident it will come, it’s just more everyone’s upset and feeling like they’re not getting the best out of themselves and the team.”
With a morale-sapping mere four wins from 11 rounds in the URC, what remains of the season is about playing catch-up fast and finding a way to dig out some much-needed results starting this evening when hosting the Scarlets which will bring Hume up against the coaching team of Dwayne Peel and Jared Payne who both helped bring him through when the pair were at Ulster.
It allows some brief distraction for what will actually only be the second time ever that Hume has faced the Scarlets, the previous occasion on just his fourth senior appearance in 2018.
“Peely was hard on me as a youngster, but it was needed and taught me standards that are acceptable and not acceptable in professional rugby.
“JP (Payne), I don’t think I’d be anywhere near the player I am today without him.
“He (Payne) wasn’t afraid to help you with anything, so he was great for my development.”
But back to more pressing issues and as for Ulster managing to navigate a route back into the top eight, Hume is adamant that this still can be done.
“I wouldn’t be here talking about it if I didn’t think so,” he insists. “And I’ve full faith in my team-mates that we’re all going to pull together and have a strong end to the season.
“I know we’re more than capable of it.”
With seven League rounds to go and trips to Leinster, Munster and Edinburgh looking rather more alarming than the visit to the Dragons, Ulster have to get on it this evening and then likewise against their remaining home ties with the Stormers and Sharks.
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Naturally, none of this sits well with Hume who is closing in fast on his century of appearances for the province and considered one of the squad’s key performers as well as being a respected voice.
“It’s an experience thing in that when you’ve been in those positions before at a top level you understand what it takes to then put the foot on the throat and kill the team,” he says.
“But I just think when we play well and spark at the start of the game it’s (then) how can we manage the game and keep them away from our tryline and do what top teams do so well and just keep them down in their half with kick pressure and we make too many mistakes and give away too many penalties.
“Next thing you’re back on your own tryline defending a maul.
“So, it’s something we’re trying to figure out at the moment and trying to nail down.
“With the 50 minutes against (Queensland) Reds when playing I thought it felt really good and we took our opportunities well and there was some slick passing and a lot to learn from that game,” he says of his first action back.
“I thought we brought it into the first 15-20 minutes of that Treviso game and then that’s what’s frustrating for us because we see we can do it, it’s not like we’re completely incapable of performing at that level, it’s just the experience of game management at that level.”
Former Ulster defence coach Jared Payne. Photo: Sportsfile
He hints that this fix may well require more time when it comes to challenging again near the sharp end.
“It is tough to take as I’ve been involved when we’ve, you know, when we beat Toulouse away in Europe, it is frustrating when you’ve been involved in that to see where we are now,” he says.
“But ultimately, you’ll get the rewards from it going through this period.
“I believe that all clubs go through a rough period and a rebuild and we haven’t really had that. So, it’s only a matter of time before it all clicks, and we’re back up there.
“(So) Just do what we’re talking about at meetings and what we’re doing well at training and then just put it on the pitch.”
Simple really. Hume could also do without any more post-match angst after what happened in Italy.