Thanks for the great memories, David

As David Humphreys makes his final bow at Ravenhill tonight, Rugby Correspondent Gavin Mairs looks back on the career of an iconic figure in Ulster rugby history

Friday, May 09, 2008

It is 16 years since Humphreys made his debut for his beloved province, against Cumbria in Cockermouth, and he knows every blade of grass at the old ground where he has ruled majestically over the last decade since returning from London Irish in 1998.

Having battled with a season-long Achilles injury which has frustratingly restricted him to just two starts in his final season, the 36-year-old will battle through the pain barrier tonight to win what will be his 163rd, and final, Ulster cap as the Magners League campaign comes to a conclusion against Cardiff Blues (kick-off 7.30pm).

There are other players who are saying goodbye to the province tonight — Tommy Bowe, Roger Wilson, Neil Best, Justin Harrison, Kieran Campbell, Neil McMillan, Mark Bartholomeusz and Niall Conlon — in what has been a tumultuous season for Ulster.

But while those players, many of whom have given distinguished service to the province, also deserve to take a bow tonight before they set off for pastures new, those involved in tonight's game will be eager to give Humphreys a winning send-off, such is the high regard he is held within the squad.

Nicknames such as 'Jackie' (a tongue-in-cheek comparison to legendary Ulster and Ireland out-half Jack Kyle) and 'Lord Humphreys' give a sense of his patriarchal position within the squad.

If his statistics alone reveal why — 1,585 points for Ulster, 27 tries, 179 conversions, 326 penalties and 38 drop-goals — it has been Humphreys' imperious control of games, his innate footballing nous and ability to create a moment of magic from even the most desperate situations that elevated the former Ballymena Academy star to an iconic status not just in Ulster but across Ireland.

While a Lions call never came, which was more due to the vagaries of form than overall ability, Humphreys also famously translated such form onto the international stage.

He won the first of his 72 international caps against France at the Parc des Princes back in 1996 and remained ever-present in Ireland's Six Nations squad for the next 10 years, retiring after Ireland's Triple Crown-winning season in 2006 as Ireland's second highest points-scorer with a career total of 560. He scored six tries, kicked 110 penalties, 88 conversions and eight drop-goals, a scoring average of almost eight per appearance.

He twice landed personal hauls of 26 points in a Test, against Scotland and Italy in 2003, and famously came off the bench to kick a penalty and conversion to beat France in Paris for the first time in 28 years in 2000. Humphreys' Ireland career was marked by great rivalries with first Connacht's Eric Elwood and O'Gara, but he did enjoy sustained spells as Ireland's No 1 out-half, most notably going into the last two World Cups, in 2003 and 1999 as well as during the 2003 Six Nations championship when Ireland's season climaxed with a winner-takes-all Grand Slam showdown with England at Lansdowne Road. He also captained his country on five occasions, including his last cap in the victory against Romania in November 2006.

His finest hour in an Ulster shirt was when he captained the province to their European Cup final triumph against Colomiers in January 1999, having helped clinched a sensational semi-final victory over Stade Francais at Ravenhill with one of the finest tries ever since at the ground.

A record-breaking 37-point haul against English kingpins Wasps in the Heineken Cup clash at Ravenhill in 2001 also stands out as one of his red letter nights.

Yet despite reaching such lofty heights, remarkably Humphreys claims he will be more nervous about tonight's game than any other because of his lengthy battle to overcome the Achilles injury.

"Over the course of the last 18 years, I have never missed more than one or two games through injury and over the course of the last 12 months I have missed more games than in my whole career," said Humphreys, who is only making his third start of the season.

"So from that point of view it has been frustrating, especially the way the injury happened.

"It was in a trial match last August that I injured my ankle, which I didn't think was too serious but then I damaged my Achilles and have had a series of setbacks ever since.

"If I had been playing all season, I would have been coming into this game suddenly realising it was all coming to an end. But because this year I have hardly played, I actually thought my season was over a couple of months ago when I had a scan which wasn't great.

"So in many ways tonight's game is a bonus. Mentally I almost had already retired and for that reason I am really looking forward to the game. I will probably be more nervous about this game than any game I have played for a long time."

Memories of some epic encounters at Ravenhill will flash through his head tonight when he runs out for the last time. But while emotions will be high, he is also at ease with the prospect of retirement.

"I am probably glad it is all over. I have lived my dream for the last 10 years and I have loved every minute of it.

"The rewards are huge for players now but I wouldn't change a thing. I had the best of both the amateur and professional eras.

"My four years at Queen's and my year at Oxford University were the best five years of my rugby life. I had fantastic times.

"Today's players definitely miss out on the enjoyment factor.

"Take Niall O'Connor. He is going through a stage where he is playing in front of 10,000 people, live on TV and every Monday morning he will be judged on every move that he made in the game.

"When I played for Queen's, we had one man and his dog watching and if I had a bad game, nobody remembered. It was part of the experience of learning to be a rugby player. That's how you developed and got that mental toughness people talk about. And it took a while.

"I would hate to be coming through now. I don't know how I would survive. When I started off there were some good days but there were some bad days too."

A typically modest assessment of a man who at times almost single-handedly raised the bar for Ulster in the fledgling days of professionalism.

Even though he has operated in the most individual position on the rugby field, team achievements have meant more to him than any personal accolades.

"People often ask about highlights of my career and at this stage I can't really pick out one or two," added Humphreys, who this week was voted Ulster's favourite player of all-time in a supporters' poll run by Vodafone.

"The Friday nights at Ravenhill, the big crowds, the big Heineken Cup games, that is the memory I will always have of playing for Ulster.

"The individual achievements don't really bother me, it is the team achievements that stand out — beating Toulouse, Stade Francais.

"We didn't always play sparkling rugby but we played with an intensity and the players around me were very good friends. We went through a time when rugby in Ulster was developing and it was a great time to be a professional."

He attributes his place-kicking success down to two year's spent working with Simon Mason, the former Ulster full-back whose metronomic boot was the central plank of the province's European Cup win.

Humphreys says he has never seen a better kicker than Mason. But he is reticent to select the best player he played with in the white shirt.

"There have been some very influential players," he adds after a pause. "There was a core group of players that I came through with. We weren't necessarily the best individuals around but as a team, we were very hard to beat. The players that played were just so competitive, they had a huge amount of pride in the jersey and what it represented and sometimes I wonder now that we are so professional we forget about what has driven Ulster rugby players for so many years.

"It is hard to instill in the professional era because there is so much going on. Everything is so technical and tactical whereas a few years ago, if you went through our team — Wardy (Andrew Ward), Gary Longwell, Doaky (Neil Doak), Jonny Bell and Tyrone Howe, they were all proud Ulstermen who did not lie down.

"Every game we knew we would battle to the end and that's why we won so many games at the start of the decade. Especially at home. We just knew we were going to win. It is important that Ulster never loses that identity because Munster thrive on it, even though they are being professional."

The Humphreys' dynasty will live on at Ravenhill next season with the return of younger brother Ian to Ulster from Leicester while given his knowledge, experience, contacts and intellect, David could yet find some role off the field with Ulster.

Tonight however, he will turn back the years for one last time. Thanks for the memories, Humph.