When Scottish internationals Rob Dewey and Simon Danielli left Scotland and hopped across the Irish Sea to Ulster, they could have been forgiven for expecting their new pastures to be greener ones.

Dewey was exiting an Edinburgh side that was in turmoil.  Wranglings between the Scottish Rugby Union and Edinburgh’s then owners, Alex and Bob Carruthers, had led to a mass exodus from the capital club, with seasoned internationals like Simon Taylor, Chris Paterson and Scott Murray among those joining Dewey in seeking a new contract elsewhere.

Danielli’s situation was even worse.  His club, the Border Reivers, had ceased to exist, forced into closure due to insufficient funds to keep the club afloat.  Ulster was the shining white light at the end of the tunnel.

At this time, the beginning of the 2007 / 2008 season, few would have predicted that a year later, Ulster would be the side in the doldrums, having endured their worst season since the inception of the Magners League, losing and replacing a head coach and seeing several of their own home-grown stars depart in search of a new challenge.

But perhaps this is the reason why the two Scottish stars are as relaxed as ever when they meet with In The Winning Zone at Ulster’s Newforge training ground in Belfast.  They’d seen it all before. 

Yes, Ulster had a pretty dismal time of it last season.  And yes, it hasn’t been the greatest of starts this year either.  But, as Dewey and Danielli can testify, it isn’t the end of the world.  Things will get better, and the really important thing is to maintain a positive attitude until results start going their way again.

“At the time [I joined Ulster] I definitely thought we were going to be more successful,” admits winger Danielli.  “But it is tiny little things in rugby that make the difference between winning and losing in a season.  There were a couple of games that we could and probably should have won, and then we would be at the other end of the table.”

At present, Dewey, 25, and Danielli, 29, are also dealing with individual issues as well as those of their team.  Both have been dogged by injury since arriving in Belfast.  Danielli has been out all season with a knee injury, having only just recovered from an ankle problem, while Dewey has so far suffered a stop-start Ulster career after a series of niggling setbacks.

So how do professional rugby players cope when they are forced to take involuntary extended leave from their jobs, and the game they love?

“I think you need the occasional ‘get-out’ from the game,” smiles Dewey, displaying a grin that is missing a couple of teeth, one of the side effects of a high impact sport.  “When you are in here playing rugby every day, it is good to get away and see your family and friends.

He added, thoughtfully: “Injury is just part and parcel of rugby, and you’ve just got to get through your rehab and make sure you do everything correctly, and make the most of all the support from physios and fitness coaches.  All this support helps you to get through it.”

The more experienced Danielli, who has a degree from Oxford, is equally, if not more, philosophical on his approach to dealing with injury.

“When I was much younger I would really let injuries get to me, I would be down in the dumps.  But as Rob said, it is part of the game and there are certain factors that you can’t control.  You can’t change the fact that you got injured so you have just got to deal with it as best you can.

“Everybody’s got to focus on the short term at the moment.  I haven’t got any massive long term goals because of the state of my knee.  My short term goal is to get fully fit and break back into the side and play well.”

Of course, the long term goals of the pair are relatively simple. Both want to get fit, get playing and start winning.  Ulster is their immediate priority, but the 2009 Six Nations aren’t far away either.  Playing for Scotland is the major target for both backs this season.

Dewey, who had  a solid World Cup in 2007 and starred in the centre for Scotland ‘A’ at the Churchill Cup in the summer, is slowly making his way back into contention for a place in the Ulster midfield.  He knows he has the ability, he just has to find the form.

“I want to try to establish myself as a regular in the Ulster squad and hopefully from there I can break back into the Scotland set-up.   I was in there during the World Cup, and then missed out a bit with injury.  My form has taken a wee dip so I just have to get that back up and get back in there, playing the rugby I used to play.”

Danielli’s Scotland career has been sporadic for the best part of six years now.  He performed well at the 2003 World Cup and in the 2004 6 Nations, but has been in and out of the squad ever since.  His case hasn’t been helped by the plethora of talent available on the wings for Scotland at present.  Thom Evans, Simon Webster, Chris Paterson, Nikki Walker, Rory and Sean Lamont are all competing for the same two spots.  But the Cheltenham raised Scot sees that competition as a positive, and puts the good of the Scottish game ahead of his pride.

“We certainly have much greater strength in depth than we did five years ago.  We have more players in all positions, and wing is definitely one of the strongest in there.  There’s so many options in the back three and I thoroughly rate all the players that are in the squad in that position.  So it’s just a case of trying to play as well as you can.”

So how do they rate Scotland’s chances in the 2009 Six Nations?

“The Autumn tests will be a good indication,” says Dewey.  Scotland face New Zealand, world champions South Africa and Canada this month, the latter fixture being held in Aberdeen, while the first two are at Scotland rugby’s home, Murrayfield. 

“It’s going to be so open,” contributed Danielli.  “You couldn’t single out any one particular nation.  Wales won the grand slam last year, Ireland are really strong, Scotland’s up and coming, and of course there’s England and France. Even Italy are getting stronger. 

“It’s totally open, so your start is so important.  If you can get a couple of wins at the start and win away from home, that could determine whether you finish in the top two or the bottom two.”

“There are two new guys into the coaching staff which will give us a good boost as well,” adds Dewey.   “And Scottish teams are going well right now.  There are also a lot of young players who are doing really well, and that’s just good for Scottish rugby.”

RO
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