Ulster and Ireland flyer Tommy Bowe has said he feels “great” after recovering from surgery and is looking forward to a “massive year ahead”.
Having undergone surgery during the summer to deal with a groin injury that plagued him last season, Bowe is now back and approaching his best, showing his remarkable pace with an intercept try in Ulster’s impressive 29-9 Pro12 win over Glasgow last weekend.
His rich vein of form and Ulster’s fine win could not have come at a better time, with Ulster facing into two titanic European Champions Cup clashes away to Leicester and at home to Toulon, respectively, before Ireland’s November internationals begin to loom large.
There is also, of course, the matter of next year's World Cup.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Bowe said he was fully recovered from injury and that missing Ireland’s summer tour to Argentina had helped him on the road back to full fitness by allowing him a complete pre-season.
“I haven’t had a proper pre-season in as far [back] as I can remember,” Bowe said.
“It was great [for] the pre-season to be prolonged that little bit; to miss a few of the early matches and to get myself to a fitness level where I really want to be. With such a massive year ahead I think that it was really beneficial.”
“When you go to Irish camp you want to really feel a step up in intensity"
Bowe sounded keenly aware of the importance of pressing his case for inclusion in Joe Schmidt’s plans for the Ireland squad, particularly given the impressive performances of Andrew Trimble and Dave Kearney, who came in to play on the wings when Bowe and Munster’s simon Zebo were injured in this year’s Six Nations championship.
“Even in an Ulster point of view, you have a lot of young guys coming through, knocking on the door. When they’re given their opportunities people are starting to take it. It’s putting people like myself under pressure.
“And then for the Irish [set-up], to miss the Six Nations... it was difficult to watch, but the guys who were given an opportunity played out of their skin. It’s added huge competition for places.”
Bowe said that Schmidt would be looking to build a squad with a number of players vying for each position, and said that players, too, were driven on by the competition.
“We all want to be out there, and it’s difficult to watch it, to miss it through injury. But when it came down to that French match, we all just turned into supporters.”
Bowe said that Les Kiss’s appointment as Ulster’s interim head coach had brought “a real solidity to the squad and really re-focused everybody” but dismissed any notion that this would help the case of Ulster players looking for inclusion in the national set-up.
“He was great while was there but he’s now back with his Irish hat on and we’re gonna have to try and impress him to get him to push us into ... the Irish management’s team.”
Bowe gave an insight into Ireland camp under Schmidt; it’s a mixture of friendly camaraderie and professional intensity.
"When they’re given their opportunities people are starting to take it. It’s putting people like myself under pressure"
“[Schmidt is] a great fellah, you can chat away to him off the pitch, but he expects high standards,” he said. “Whenever you make that step to Irish level, I think that that’s something, as players, that we relish.
“When you go to Irish camp you want to really feel a step up in intensity in training, in matches. You feel it in the matches, but as soon as you go into Irish camp now, it’s great to catch up with the guys and have a chat and stuff, but you’re there to do business.”
Reflecting on his province’s performances so far this season, Bowe hailed the performance against Glasgow and said confidence was running high in Ulster.
“I think Glasgow this season have been playing some great rugby; definitely the form team in the competition. But as a team, as a squad, I think we’re right up there. We rate ourselves as good as anyone in this league, and in Europe. So I think [the win] was a huge confidence boost for us to turn them over with a great result.
“And then for me personally I feel I’m getting myself back up there, back to the sort of standard I want to play at.”
Bowe said Ulster were set to face “two European giants” in the fortnight to come, as they travel to Welford Road to play Leicester before hosting Toulon at Ravenhill, but said Ulster had taken confidence from their impressive victory over Glasgow.
“There’s a real step up in intensity again this week in training, knowing that it’s the European championship.”
He dismissed the notion that this season could have been a troublesome of transitional one for Ulster, following the retirement or departure of a number of key players, and the departure of David Humphreys as Ulster’s director of rugby.
“To lose players like Stephen Ferris, Paddy Wallace, Tom Court, who had been with Ulster for so long [is significant],” he said. “Then of course ... John Ofoa, Johann Muller these guys are world-class players.
“But I think the guys that have come have stepped up the mark massively. They’re playing absolutely out of their skin, and have contributed both on and off the pitch. They’re great guys off the pitch, which is very important in a team dynamic.
“Also, people like Alan O’Connor, Andy Warwick, who have come from the Academy system, who have stepped up into the pack and have settled into it perfectly; they’ve been playing some great rugby. I think as a squad we’re probably in a stronger place than we were even 12 months ago.”
