Bowfinger - Ireland and Ulster great to make his final Ravenhill appearance

The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause

There is very little that can bridge the canyons that have been blown open by Ulster Rugby with its fans -and now seemingly with a number of the players and local journalists too. But there’s always Tommy Bowe, without question one of the finest players to have worn Ulster and Ireland jerseys. And on Saturday he makes his last appearance at Ravenhill in what is once again, a must-win for game for Ulster.

I distinctly remember the first time we shared a training session at Perry Park. As a more senior player I felt obliged to have a few words of encouragement with the then young Tommy, who was possibly the quietest and most unassuming player to come through at Ulster, during my time there. I did for a moment wonder how this shy young guy would be able to make it -but one training session and several tries later the whole squad were talking about a special talent.

Bowfinger as he later became known -after a Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy movie -because of his awkwardness around members of the opposite sex -scored against Connaught only half an hour into his debut, won the Celtic League in 2006 and the rest is Ulster and Irish rugby history. Although he left Ulster for a highly successful stint of club rugby in Wales, he returned to and just picked up where he left off.

Tommy’s on-field contribution for province and Ireland more than merits him being talked of as an Ireland rugby great, but his legacy is much broader than that. For many years Rugby in Ulster was Belfast centric and at best a six-county game -Tommy Bowe has forever changed that as the first Monaghan man to play for Ireland in over eighty years when he made his debut in Autumn 2004.

It’s true the growth of rugby in Ireland more generally has been a factor in Ulster’s appeal spreading across the nine counties, but the tangible role model Tommy Bowe provided gave it permanence. And maybe even more than anything that’s what I thank Tommy for.

On top of that, he’s an incredibly nice bloke with plenty of time for others, and I’m sure the career overlap between him and Jacob Stockdale has been invaluable to the younger player.

I would caution Ulster fans on boycotting this weekend’s game. I know it’s been the subject of some discussion amongst fans, and there no easy answer of how best to support our team and pay fulsome tribute to Tommy -without being exploited by the club’s leadership as an endorsement of them.

A protest or boycott on Saturday will have little impact on Shane Logan or his self-confidence -it seems to me only failing to renew season tickets will. I know many people who are talking about shifting their match day support to Ulster A or their local club for next season. Maybe that is an appropriate way to continue to support local rugby until there’s regime change at Ulster.

Repressive regimes do not endure change willingly