J
OHN Cooney has not ruled out playing for Scotland at the World Cup but knows a lot will depend on his performances for Ulster as they chase the United Rugby Championship title.
The scrum half finally ended the debate around his future at Kingspan Stadium by signing a new two-year deal to stay with Ulster.
Cooney has 11 caps for Ireland but, under the new rules, as he has not worn a green shirt in three years, he is eligible to play for Scotland, the country of his father.
Cooney was linked with a move to Edinburgh in the summer when his current deal at Ulster was up and despite being available for Scotland for the last three Six Nations games the scrum half wasn’t called up by Gregor Townsend.
“I can’t even think about this if I’m not playing regularly for Ulster,” reasoned Cooney.
“I’m not going to be in the selection mix, all I want to do is perform as well as I can and try and get back into this team.
“I’m nowhere near playing for an international team at the moment if I can’t get regular game-time here.
“Usually my mentality is the next week to try and go as well as I can. I feel really good, feeling as physically good as I do right now, I want to exhaust everything I can, that’s kind of my mentality.”
Cooney was disappointed with some of the speculation around him switching national allegiances.
“People like a narrative they want to use. I saw one where it said my dad was born in Scotland, I was like my dad is a Scottish as they come, he is just not born in Scotland, he is as Scottish as they come.
“Just small things like that would annoy me the way things can be slightly manipulated in the media, people sometimes made out I wasn’t as Scottish as I am, all my family live there and I’m actually heading there this weekend to see them all.
“A big part of my childhood was always to see my grandad, he was the only grandad that I ever actually met as well, as my other three grandparents had passed away so he meant a lot to me and so playing Scotland when I played for Ireland was important to me.
“It is just the other side that people don’t see like my whole family lived there and it is half of who I am,” he added.
“Other people say I’m Irish, I could never think about doing that but like I would have supported Scotland in the Six Nations when I was younger, and I would have a very soft spot for Scotland.
“It is easy to say if you are 100 per cent fully Irish you would never consider anything else but it is like anyone who is from dual countries you have a liking for both of them.”
For now, Cooney is just focused on helping Ulster win the URC after the disappointment of last year’s semi-final defeat by the Stormers.
Dan McFarland’s side can take a step closer tonight by beating Edinburgh at home which would guarantee a second-place league finish and the right to host a semi-final if they qualify.
“It was so close last year, I’m still heartbroken about that game to be honest given we would have had a home final,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to win the league with Connacht and it would be something quite similar.
“It was the best day of my life, I can’t wait to win here and then celebrate with everyone for three or four days.”
