Cormac Izuchukwu determined to see his long road end with a regular starting place in Ulster’s second row

For instance, he is about as far from a born-and-bred Ulsterman as you could imagine. Born in London and having moved to Offaly aged seven, he hadn’t even set foot in Ulster until he agreed to join their Academy in 2020.

Before that, the path led him into Gaelic football and hurling, before rugby took over and after starring for Roscrea College in the Leinster Senior Cup, brought him to Scotland, then to the Newcastle Falcons and finally to the Ireland Sevens before he pitched up in Belfast.

Still, the accent may still reside in Offaly, but Izuchukwu is very much at home in Ulster both on and off the field.

“I was in IKEA recently and some lady came up to me. That made my day,” grins the affable 24-year-old.

“It is nice to get that feeling that you are appreciated and supported and that’s important.”

The challenge he wants now is to feel more at home on the team sheet with the province. Despite having broken into the professional ranks in 2021, he has only made 25 appearances for Ulster, the vast majority of which have been from the bench.

When he has come on, he has made plenty of impact with some impressive ball carrying and some notable moments — that controversial try-saving tackle against Cardiff perhaps the most eye-catching — but a string of starts has eluded him.

Playing in the second row at Ulster is a tough nut to crack, though. Captain Iain Henderson is a certain starter when available, while Alan O’Connor, Harry Sheridan and Kieran Treadwell are all strong operators, too.

“It’s a tough one and still something that I am working on because as every player does you think you are good enough to play every week,” admits Izuchukwu.

“You have to take a minute step back and respect that they have done so much and maybe I haven’t proved as much to the coaches, so maybe it is just a case like the last two weeks, whenever you get and opportunity just try and make sure you show the coaches what you have.

“For me it is just about going back to your basics, sticking what you are good at and not trying to do too much, I find you make mistakes trying to force stuff.”

“You just need to play the game that you are good at and that will take you places and also you need to have belief that if you are having a bad game you need to pick yourself up and go to the next moment, this isn’t the end of it you just have to go again.”

Originally a winger and then a centre — “I wasn’t the best passer that was a big sign for me so I should have switched earlier” he quips — before settling in the forwards, firstly as a blindside flanker and now as a second row, Izuchukwu will hope to continue his rugby education at the Parc y Scarlets on Saturday when Ulster take on the Scarlets.

He knows he still has a way to go before he reaches the peak of his powers, but the Offaly man is excited to continue learning as he looks to lay down a marker to interim coach Richie Murphy.

“You have Hendy, Al, Treds and Rob Herring throwing you ball and it is important that you learn how to do that,” he says.

“You have boys like Billy (Burns) or Big Stu (McCloskey) who will always give you a shout if you are doing something wrong, it’s been class.

“Those boys really drive you on and it has been such a good space to learn here.”