Ulster Rugby: James McCormick says ‘dark days’ during injury ‘made me me’

Free from injury, he took his chance and made an impact, even if Jacob Stockdale’s man-of-the-match performance stole the headlines.

“I’ve been here since I left school, I’ve been struggling with injuries most of the time and then you have to sit back and see a lot of the lads getting a chance. When you come into the game, you have to come to terms with it, because it may mean not coming again.

“I just try to focus on getting better every week.”

McCormick, a Ballymoney player who plays his club rugby for City of Armagh, was a number eight during his school days but was instructed to try out for the front row after being told he was not tall enough to keep playing from the back.

He learned quickly. Indeed, although his senior Ulster career is only a month old, he has already encountered some world-class scrummagers, most notably on his first start against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, when he came up against South African internationals Gerhard Steenekamp, ​​Wilco Louw and Johan. Grobbelaar.

McCormick says he learned a lot from the experience, which he described as a “slap in the face” to the Ulster team, which lost 47-21.

And while Ulster’s start may become more economical as Herring and Stewart return to fitness, the youngster insists he is not worried about the prospect of playing for City of Armagh in order to maintain his good match fitness.

“He (Murphy) hasn’t talked about it personally, but you know it’s coming,” he explained.

“All I can do is play well and work as hard as I can. I don’t mind if I have to play at the club for a week because other guys are playing.

“If I’m the club’s best player, that’s all I can do and that’s all I have control over. I can’t really control what they do.”