Artificial surface will allow us to play a more expansive game, says Ulster flanker David McCann

Ulster will their first game on the new Kingspan Stadium pitch when the Bulls visit Belfast on the final Sunday in October.

McCann has already experienced playing on artificial pitches starting in Ulster’s victories at Connacht and Cardiff last season.

“There are fears in rugby all the time, is there added ones potential but you can’t really think about that because there is always danger,” stated McCann.

“If it allows faster more entertaining rugby then it is definitely a benefit for people watching so the game needs to go for that.

“The way I play it definitely suits me, from a selfish point of view I like playing on those surfaces, but I know there are two sides to the story, but I’ll see when I get out there and get a feel for it.

“If in the summer you are playing in 22 degrees on a nice hard surface you can run fast, you can step off both feet and the ball is dryer.

“I think on 4G when it is wet it is still close to that than a grass pitch, it allows us to try to play a more expansive game, you can move faster and better in the wider channels as if it was good weather in the summer even when it is really wet in the winter.

David Ewers a two-time English Premiership and European Cup winner with Exeter Chiefs was one of the few new signings to arrive at Kingspan Stadium in the off season.

McCann is relishing the opportunity to learn from the Zimbabwe born loose forward who made 236 appearances for Exeter and was called up to the England squad for the 2016 Six Nations rather seeing his arrival as more competition for one of the three starting back row slots.

“It is pretty good to have him there,” he added.

“He is different to Duane (Vermeulen), if you look at Dave he is massive and he is really good at carrying ball, he makes big hits and he can jackal.

“Duane was maybe a bit more set piece based but obviously could do those things.

“It is actually quite good from my perspective being able to learn of two different types of people and two different types of players.

“I think it will be clear when we start playing our games and get into the season what Dave has to offer, he will get over the gain line for us and he will put in some big shots.

“It is good to have the competition and I want people like him in the team, we need people like him in the team and that pushes me to play as well as I can to get into the team so I can’t see it as a negative.”

McCann has already played in all three backrow position during his 26 appearances for Ulster but he doesn’t think the number on your back necessarily defines your role.

“I see it more as the make up of the people playing in the three positions, Duane would have been very much in the set piece, five man, six man lineouts, Dave maybe won’t be he’ll be carrying off so then we will need somebody in the lineout that is a good jumper,” he continued.

“If Marcus (Rea) is playing seven you know you know what to expect from him, he’ll get over a lot of ball Nick maybe not as much.

“I see it more as the makeup of the three and the balance rather than the number on people’s backs.”

As well as Ewers, Ulster signed World Cup winning prop Steven Kitshoff but lost a lot of experienced players in the summer with the likes of Craig Gilroy and Vermeulen exiting the Kingspan.

Tom Stewart captained the team against Leinster recently and Nathan Doak wore the armband in Benetton last week, and McCann believes the younger players need to show leadership.

“The likes of Tom Stewart, Jake Flannery they know that some of the stuff that has been passed on to us is the only way that we can move forward is if we make the team our own now,” he explained.

“You still have guys like Will Addison, Billy, Greg, Al who are still there driving and are still the leaders.

“I think it is a good balance, but we need to learn quickly as younger players.

McCann is still smarting for Ulster wasting a big opportunity to end their trophy drought last year after exiting the URC quarter final at home to Connacht.

“It was obviously disappointing in regards that it was in front of our fans, we had beaten them earlier in the year and we didn’t show upon the day, and we had a home semi-final coming up but I feel that is sport and we can’t really dwell on it.

“We have learned from it and we have reshaped a wee bit.

“You have got to put it to bed at a point so I wouldn’t think about it now but it was definitely the one that got away but at the same time we didn’t deserve any better so you can’t expect anything when we didn’t play well enough to win.

“We know we are capable of playing better but we didn’t on the day, it is just disappoint that we put all the prep in and didn’t show up on the day.

“There were reasons why and we have addressed those internally and hopefully it doesn’t happen again, and it shouldn’t if we put things in place.