Les Kiss will bring a lot to Ulster, says Craig Gilroy

Craig Gilroy

may come to view the arrival of

Les Kiss

as director of rugby at

Ulster

as a serendipitous moment in his rugby career.

The 24-year-old has previously worked with the Australian when Kiss was defence coach with Ireland. Gilroy scored a try on debut against Argentina in November 2012 and won the last of his six caps against Georgia in November last year.

The form wing in Ireland at the end of last season, he missed out on selection for the World Cup, primarily because of issues related to his defence, an area he's been working hard to address.

No one will quibble with Gilroy’s attacking prowess: he’s scored 37 tries in 113 appearances for Ulster and has a similar one-try-every-three-matches strike rate with Ireland.

Kiss will hone Gilroy’s defensive skills but he’s also capable of further developing the player’s skillset. Pointing out that Kiss had been both the defence and attack coach for part of Declan Kidney’s tenure as Ireland coach, Gilroy explained: “When I was coming through [with Ireland] he was doing both. He’s smart in all aspects [of the game]. He’s certainly got a lot in his arsenal to put into our attack plays. It’s not like he’s come in and thrown all this new stuff at us. A lot of it is stuff guys have worked on before with Ireland. We’ve kept a lot of what we’re doing previously, added a little to it, something extra.

‘Massive help’

“I was pretty delighted [when I heard he had been appointed]. I met Kissy in 2012 when he was with Ireland, obviously, and that was when I got my first caps. He was a massive help. He brings so much and he goes into such good detail. All the guys have a good relationship with him and he’ll bring a lot to Ulster.”

Gilroy is reasonably happy with his form. “I’m still top try-scorer for Ulster which I’m hoping to continue on. A few of the performances haven’t been great in terms of getting our hands on the ball but I’m just trying to do as much as possible.

“For me it is about playing as well as I can for Ulster and then hopefully get a chance for Ireland. I think I’m a better player now, in fact I know I’m a better player now than I was when I first played for Ireland.

“That is a big confidence-booster for me. I’ve been involved in a lot of camps now. I’ve so many caps for Ulster but so few for Ireland, so I’m really trying to increase that number.”