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Reds fullback has final fling in Ireland with Ulster
By Jim Tucker Schifcofske joins Reds exodus - Super 14 - Fox Sports
May 16, 2008 12:00am
Queenslander Clinton Schifcofske is Belfast-bound for a final fling which has turned Saturday night's Reds clash into an emotional sign-off.
Confirmation from sources on Thursday night that Irish province Ulster will be the goalkicking fullback's home for the next three seasons siphons another class act from the Reds' ranks.
Schifcofske is believed to have informed teammates of his decision this week but has kept it from the public forum so he takes none of the spotlight from retiring stalwart David Croft.
It's typical of the modest yet highly valued Schifcofske, who thoroughly deserves fanfare of his own as he brings to a close a fine 13-year career in two codes.
Fittingly, the unpredictable stepper's farewell will be at Suncorp Stadium and against NSW, two landmark cues in his career.
This same ground was home in 1996 for an apprentice diesel mechanic from Moranbah when he cracked rugby league's top tier with South Queensland Crushers.
A decade later he put the icing on a memorable State of Origin triumph for Queensland with the clutch conversion which killed off NSW in Melbourne.
Schifcofske, 32, would dearly love to snuff out another NSW challenge on Saturday night when the underdog Reds strive to topple the Waratahs for the first time since 2004.
"Come fulltime it will be a massive part of my life over and I only want to remember one result ... a win to regain the Bob Templeton Cup," Croft said.
Added France-bound halfback Sam Cordingley: "This is the biggest game Queensland can play. These are the nights you remember and it's the last for me."
They are sentiments shared by a tight group of teammates because this 80 minutes of glory-or-bust rugby will be a watershed for Queensland rugby.
It is also the end for hooker Stephen Moore, off to the ACT Brumbies, and almost certainly Rodney Blake, the prop set to head to France.
Bench lock Ed O'Donoghue, who can ply his trade in Europe as a local because of his father's Irish heritage, was also revealed as a "certain" Ulster capture on Thursday.
If you add England-bound fullback Chris Latham, whose on-field farewell was cruelly scuttled by a ruptured pectoral muscle, more than 400 games of experience is leaving the Reds.
The youth revolution the Reds are pinning their future on inked one quality recruit into the books on Thursday when sharp Australian under-20 winger-centre Blair Connor was signed for two years.
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