‘We know we’re close’: McCloskey vows to improve Ulster fortunes with a little extra focus

CENTRE STUART McCLOSKEY says that Ulster don’t need to regroup, they simply must to get back on the same page again after a run of poor results.

The Ulstermen have lost three of their last four with just four wins from their last 11 matches. Their away form is of particular concern given they’ve won only three of their nine road trips.

This week they travel to another notoriously difficult venue in Sandy Park to take on the Exeter Chiefs (kick-off 5:30pm, Sunday) where they will have to defy their wretched away record in what is a must-win European tie for Les Kiss’ men.

However, McCloskey says that the side aren’t far away from finding the form that resulted in five straight wins at the start of the season – they just need to focus for the full 80 minutes.

“Coming off a couple of losses recently you just get everybody to sit down, not to regroup, but to say that we are on the same page again,” McCloskey says.

“The games we’ve lost recently haven’t been against bad teams, we just haven’t been there for, say, a stage of 20 minutes of the game and that’s when it has got away from us.”

Ulster are coming up against one of the in-form teams in Europe in the Chiefs, who have rocketed up the Aviva Premiership table to third having won five of their last six league meetings.

Rob Baxter’s men have improved considerably since the last time these two sides met – back in October when Paddy Jackson’s late drop goal handed Ulster a gripping 19-18 win at the Kingspan Stadium – and will pose a much sterner threat at home.

Since then Exeter have welcomed back the likes of Jack Nowell, Don Armand and Tom Johnson to their starting line-up, while players such as Greg Holmes and Michele Campagnaro have hit form at the right time.

In particular, the Chiefs have two players Ulster will be very familiar with since they were at one stages on the squad list in Belfast: centre Ian Whitten and the skipper, out-half Gareth Steenson.

Source: James Crombie/INPHO

“I’ve never played with Ian myself, but he is obviously good over there and has made a good go of it,” McCloskey says of the man he will line up opposite to on Sunday.

While he perhaps won’t admit it, McCloskey does have one eye on perhaps working his way back into Ireland coach Joe Schmidt’s plans for the Six Nations.

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The 24-year old hasn’t featured for Ireland since his debut against England in Twickenham in the 2016 Six Nations, and was surprisingly left out of the Ireland squad for their tour of South Africa.

Bangor man McCloskey says he’s going to do everything he can to get back into that squad, but admits it’s going to be hard to displace the man whose shirt it is at the moment.

“I’m sure (Schmidt) will be watching,” McCloskey replies.

“I’m just going to try and put in some good performances and play well here and I don’t see why I couldn’t play for Ireland.

“Robbie (Henshaw) has the shirt at the minute he’s playing well. He’ll probably have to do something wrong for me to get in.”

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