Rugby: Foundations for the future must be put in place - new Ulster interim CEO

Softly spoken, but direct in what he says. There is weight in the words of Ulster's new interim CEO Hugh McCaughey.

Having been involved with the province in almost every facet for five decades, the former Chief Executiv o the South-Eastern Heath and Social Care Trust, hes the epitome of a 'safe pair of hands'.

McCaughey comes in during a time of turbulence at the club - the departure of Head Coach Dan McFarland was swiftly followed by that of previous CEO Jonny Petrie, swift exits from both the European Champions and Challenge Cups, impending player departures and a battle to make the URC play-offs.

McCaughey wants his time in office - likely to be around six months - to be a producive period both on and off the pitch.

"It's been such an honour and a privilege because I've been a supporter for 40 years and when I finish this I'll go back onto the terraces and the stand and be a supporter again in the future. But I think there's lots of things to be done," he says.

"When I took the role on, I said I had to take it on the basis that the next six months lays the foundations for the next two seasons. I'm going to approach it in that way because I think there's lots of things we need to do to create the right environment for us to be successful.

"It's trying to create the right conditions so that happens. It’s creating the right conditions, the right culture, the right systems in place for us to deliver the things that we want to deliver."

Onfield issues

McCaighey readily admits the senior side aren't where he feels they should be in terms of performance and, ultimately, success.

"I was associated with the Academy for quite a number of years and five years ago I was saying this team is going to get better every year, year on year and for the first three years that happened," he feels.

"I think a lot of supporters would see us having plateaued over the last 12 to 15 months and our game not developing, our players maybe not developing as much as we want. We have to put in place the conditions so they can develop and continue to develop and grow.

"That's going to be the foundation of our success. If you were to say in six month’s time, my goal is to make sure we maximise the joy and success in Ulster Rugby at every level."

McCaughey is forthright in his statement that he's only in position for the short-term, but that he also doesn't want it to be a case of him simoply holding the fort at the Kingspan Stad'um either.

"I don't see it as a stopgap. Ulster cannot afford to tread water for six months," he admits.

"We're in a crucial stage in the players' development. We need a strategy and a vision for Ulster Rugby for the next three to five years. But I'm appointed as interim CEO. There will be a process to appoint a permanent CEO and in the meantime, in this period until we do that, we have to do quite a number of things that will lay the foundations for our future success.

"I'm focused on those and hopefully leaving strong foundations for whoever is in the next CEO post," says McCaughey, who feels the time was right for change.

"I think you can do things sometimes quite quickly that help release people from maybe some of the shackles or some of the mood they have. Sometimes it takes a change, just in terms of the leadership, a little bit of stability, but with maybe a different approach.

"That's not a criticism of people that have gone before. Everybody has their own style and sometimes, you need a change to shake things up. I think we're already seeing in the style of play that our players are playing a bit more heads up, with a bit of freedom. I think there's a real opportunity for us to change just some small things so the environment feels different.

" I think off the pitch, it’s about sorting out our financial plan for the next three years. I think that's something that's very feasible for us to do," he adds.

The financial situation

When Ulster posted financial losses over over £900,000 for the 2022/23 season, it merely confirmed what had long been suspected.

Much of that loss was put down to the late change of the Champions Cup clash against La Rochelle to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The game was moved after a frozen pitch at Kingspan Stadium.

When asked about how a financial plan is put in place in order to make sure Ulster become more sustainable, McCaughey admits there are challenges, but that the province isn;t alone in that regard.

"There's a risk of real negativity, but let's put this in context. World Rugby, with the possible exception of Japan and maybe a few clubs in France where they have a very rich sugar daddy owner, is facing financial challenges. It's not just Ulster," he feels.

"We have our element of that, but if I was in a lot of other clubs in a lot of other countries, I would look at Ulster with envy. If you look at the young players that we've brought into the squad, we have some of the best young 19 to 24 year olds in the country in Ulster. So we have a platform, a foundation, which we've grown our schools, our youth, our academy system has grown, which will be the platform of our professional team.

"Am I worried about the finance moving forward? No.

"We’ve seen some of the decisions of needing to reduce our playing budget a bit, but most clubs across the world are facing that. I think we have some real strengths and opportunities with the young players that our schools, our youth system and our academy produce to build a really strong and successful team," he insists.

"I've talked previously about how I think the best generation we've had in the professional era was, the (Stephen) Ferris, (Rory) Best, Tommy Bowe, (Andrew) Trimble, Darren Cave, Chris Henry era, that generation of over about three or four years.

"That carried us for a decade and there's a gap behind that of a number of years. I think this generation is the first generation we've had that could compete with that older generation in terms of the team that they can be.

"It's the strongest generation we've had coming out of the academy. So creating the environment, the right coaching support for them to grow and develop and be as successful as they can be - I think the next five years for Ulster should be based around the foundations of that team supported by other people who have bought into it."

As for who will lead those young players going forward, it remains to be seen if Ireland Under-20s Head Coach Richie Murphy - currently in interim charge of the side - will be the permanent successor to McFarland.

But that's something McCaughey sees as a very viable option.

"I've had discussions with Richie and I think he's made a fabulous start. I think he has a tremendous pedigree and I like what he's doing. Richie knows these 19 to 24 year olds probably better than anybody else. I can see the situation where he and this squad grow together and I think that's really exciting," McCaughey says.

"So we're not going to destabilise things by making decisions right now. We want to get the team focussed on the next six weeks, and then we'll sit down again and sort it out Sorting out the coaching team for next year and beyond is crucially important," adding a final message for the Ulster support, who have consistently backed their team through both the ups and downs.

I think there's a really exciting future coming with this group of young players. The next five years are going to be great and we need them. As I said to somebody the other day, 250 season tickets is the equivalent of a player, so we need our season ticket holders. We need the people who are avid Ulster rugby supporters to get behind us, because it's we're mutually dependent.

"The quality of the squad we can put in the pitch, is very strongly connected with the number of people that come through the gates and get behind the team."