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

He is injury-free and has seized his opportunity and impressed, even if the headlines were stolen by Jacob Stockdale’s man-of-the-match display.

“I’ve been here since I left school, been injured a lot, and you kind of sit back and see a lot of guys with their opportunity. When you go in you have to take it because you might not get by again .

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

Ballymoney man McCormick, who plays his club rugby for City of Armagh, was a number eight in his school days but was told to try his hand at the front row after being told he was not tall enough to play further back .

He learned quickly. Although his senior Ulster career is barely a month old, he has already joined the ranks of a number of world-class scrummagers, most notably in his first start against the Bulls at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium when he faced South African internationals Gerhard Steenekamp, ​​Wilco Louw and Johan stood. Grobbelaar.

McCormick says he learned a lot from that experience, which he described as a “slap in the face” for the Ulster side as they suffered a 47-21 defeat.

And while Ulster’s starts may become more sparse as Herring and Stewart return to fitness, the youngster says he is not worried about the prospect of playing for City of Armagh to maintain his match sharpness.

“He (Murphy) hasn’t talked about it personally, but you know that’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 for club for a week because other boys are playing.

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