Ulster love affair took Ludik by surprise
Daire Walsh
Ahead of his landmark 100th appearance for the province against Scarlets at Kingspan Stadium this evening (kick-off 7.35pm), Louis Ludik has admitted he never expected to have such longevity in an Ulster shirt.
Following a one-season stint in France with Agen, Ludik arrived in Belfast during the summer of 2014. The South African has since become a regular back-three starter under a succession of coaches, including incumbent Dan McFarland.
“You don’t plan ahead that long in rugby, you just play contract to contract and hope it goes well. It just comes along. It’s great we’re here now, but when you get to a place you never think you’ll be there for four or five years. Especially away from home,” Ludik remarked at a Kingspan coaching masterclass on Tuesday.
“You don’t expect to fall in love with a place and make it your home and it be so special in the end. Obviously Ulster and Belfast has done that and it’s a very special place.”
The past fortnight has seen Ulster lay down a marker in the European Champions Cup with back-to-back triumphs against Bath and Clermont. Ludik hopes they can deliver a similar statement of intent this evening and, in the process, close the gap on PR014 Conference A leaders Leinster.
“The last two weeks have been massive, two grind out wins.
“We know the top team we want to be, we want to consistently play well and consistently beat the top teams. We know if we slip for one second, at the back end of the season those four, five points make a huge difference.
“At home it’s a must-win. We have to win and kick on in the PRO14 and keep gathering those points,” the 33-year-old added.
Following confirmation of a four-week suspension for Will Addison, Ludik has switched to full-back for the visit of Welsh men. A fit-again Robert Baloucoune slots in on the right-wing, while Craig Gilroy also returns on the far flank.
At half-back, former Munster star Bill Johnston partners the in-form John Cooney and there is also a recall to the starting line-up for Matt Faddes at outside centre. Head coach Dan McFarland has kept faith with the majority of the pack from last Friday’s victory over Clermont, but Kieran Treadwell and Matthew Rea will deputise for Iain Henderson and Jordi Murphy respectively.
ULSTER: L Ludik; R Baloucoune, M Faddes, S McCloskey, C Gilroy; B Johnston, J Cooney; E O’Sullivan, R Herring, M Moore; A O’Connor, K Treadwell; M Rea, S Reidy, M Coetzee.
Replacements: A McBurney, A Warwick, T O’Toole, D O’Connor, N Timoney, D Shanahan, A Curtis, A Kernohan.
SCARLETS: S Evans; C Baldwin, S Hughes, P Asquith, M Williams; D Jones, K Hardy; P Price, R Elias, S Lee; L Rawlins, S Lousi; U Cassiem, J Macleod, B Thomson.
Replacements: M Jones, D Evans, W Kruger, S Cummins, J Morgan, J Evans, R Lamb, R Conbeer.