Rushed headcoach appointment smacks of a classic Ulster misdirection - Neil Best

That which prematurely arrives at perfection soon perishes

I feel a little bit sorry for Scotland assistant coach Dan McFarland. He’s just bagged himself a great opportunity to move up career-wise, but he finds himself at the centre of another Ulster/IRFU cock up.

I don’t know the guy personally or professionally and have no real idea if he’ll be the answer to Ulster Rugby’s problems or the fans’ prayers. But what I do know is that the announcement and its timing, has been nothing short of another shambles.

To many observers it looked like it was a rushed announcement post-Munster, to overshadow the bad news of the end of another Pro14 season without playoff rugby. And it’s not the first time Ulster have tried what is increasingly appearing to be a rather deliberate trick either.

Remember Arno Botha? In mid-January 2017 Ulster announced he’d signed a two-year deal with the club. The announcement came within a day of Ulster’s drubbing at Exeter -which effectively ended their European Rugby Champions Cup ambitions for another season. By the middle of May the deal had fallen through over concerns about fitness -you could say the deal had been announced before all the i’s were dotted and the t’s crossed.

When Ulster lost badly at Leinster in January this year -operations director Bryn Cunningham began the process of briefing the arrival of Stephen Donald. Only two weeks later that deal was off too due to fitness.

In many ways it’s the same with Dan McFarland. He’s been announced without all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed. Whilst we all may expect that the IRFU will eventually buy out his contract, or “revoke” it -as has become the Irish Rugby term for buying out -there is absolutely no guarantee. Ulster Rugby have made an announcement expecting something will be sorted out rather than knowing it will. That on its own it’s nothing short of madness because the worst-case scenario doesn’t bear thinking about. No coach until January would be a disaster, no matter how talented.

The last time Ulster waited on a coach it didn’t turn out great either. Remember a talented guy in a national setup yet to be given the chance to be a number one, Les Kiss? All these positive indicators sound familiar? On that occasion of course Les did arrive just quite late. But the guy asked to step up in the meantime did a pretty good job -good enough to feel aggrieved about his subsequent demotion. Internal friction followed but the fans were all reassured that Les would get it right when he got his own assistants -but they arrived and he lasted only a few more months.

I’ve heard that Ulster or the IRFU -no one is any longer quite sure who calls the shots on anything -may have only interviewed two applicants for the role. That in itself seems odd -given the perceived need for a big name to steady a big club like Ulster. The other interviewee Andy Friend was apparently impressive to say the least but not well enough known personally within IRFU circles.

If that wasn’t intrigue enough, Connaught – the club McFarland has a strong history with -are apparently dispensing with their own head coach Keiran Keane after just twelve months, yet that natural Connaught fit for McFarland seems to have been overlooked in favour of him being sent to Belfast.

Could that mean that Andy Friend may soon be Connaught bound? If no accommodation is reached with the Scottish Union, I wonder how Ulster fans might feel about Connaught getting the IRFU’s second choice for Ulster only six months earlier.

But with understandable ongoing supporter unrest -those least impressed with the Shane Logan regime and his perception of self, will have already voted with their feet before we know the answer.