Sport

McLaughlin keen for Ulster to finish on a high at Ravenhill

GERRY THORNLEY hears from the Ulster coach ahead of Friday night’s clash with Leinster, a potential dress-rehearsal for the …

Wed Apr 18 2012 - 01:00

GERRY THORNLEYhears from the Ulster coach ahead of Friday night's clash with Leinster, a potential dress-rehearsal for the Heineken Cup final

BRIAN McLAUGHLIN admits Ulster will be obliged to put their best foot forward against the reigning European champions Leinster at Ravenhill on Friday night, a week before hosting Edinburgh at the Aviva Stadium in the Heineken Cup semi-finals.

Aside from the need to flex their pecs a week before Edinburgh, they sit a point behind fourth-placed Glasgow in the RaboDirect Pro 12, courtesy of the latter’s last-ditch converted try for a losing bonus point at Musgrave Park last Saturday and their own defeat in Connacht when resting up a dozen of their frontliners.

“Last week week we took a bit of a gamble and it didn’t quite pay off for us,” admitted McLaughlin yesterday. “We let in three soft tries and we didn’t take the chances we had but all credit to Connacht – they were the better team. But with the other results, Glasgow losing and Scarlets not picking up a bonus point (away to Aironi) means we still have an opportunity to push for that top four spot so Friday night becomes a very big game for us. The fact it’s at Ravenhill and leads into Edinburgh the following week gives it even more importance.”

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Friday night’s game is a potential dress-rehearsal for the Heineken Cup final but any inclination to place all their eggs in their Euro basket are tempered perhaps most of all by the Ravenhill factor – Ulster having lost just once (to Treviso) in their last 20 games in front of their own supporters and this is their last game there this season. Over 9,500 tickets have been sold, and McLaughlin admitted: “We’re very proud of our record at Ravenhill and it would be nice to finish off our season with another win there.”

Furthermore, Leinster are the biggest draw around. “They’re the best side in Europe. We’re looking forward to playing them and giving a good account of ourselves to see where we are. They’ve got great strength in depth and that’s why they are able to challenge in Europe and in the Pro 12. Even when you leave Brian O’Driscoll out until recently and they still performed to a fantastic level.

“I think Joe (Schmidt) is a fantastic guy too,” added McLaughlin. “You can tell he’s well clued in, he is a fantastic coach and he has a great relationship with his players. And . . . they’re are a really exciting team. They’re the top team in Europe. We’ll have to be at our best.”

However, Ulster must do so without the suspended All Blacks’ World Cup winner John Afoa and back-up scrumhalf Paul Marshall, who damaged his elbow when scoring for Ulster at the Sportsground. “He’s got a little tear in his ligament in his elbow so he’s getting treated and he’ll get another scan at the beginning of next week,” said McLaughlin yesterday at Ulster’s media day in the Newforge sports club in Belfast, but while “hopeful” with regard to the Heineken Cup semi-final on Saturday week, the Ulster coach admitted it was “a long shot”.

Such has been his scrummaging, high and effective tackle count and ball-carrying skills since Afoa joined last November, his influence has been pronounced. Ulster have won 15 and lost only one of the 16 games he has played for the province, whereas by stark contrast, last Saturday’s 26-21 defeat away to Connacht was the fourth game out of four they have lost without him.

While Ulster’s frontline XV has begun to pick itself when fully fit – and duly lined out against Munster in their epic Heineken Cup quarter-final success at Thomond Park – Marshall has probably been their most influential player off the bench – noticeably ratcheting up the tempo when employed as a replacement on 10 occasions as well as being more than capable in his 15 starts. “Paul has been tremendous all season. Even when Ruan was away at the World Cup he really put a marker down and showed how much he had improved . . . he’s been biting away at his (Pienaar’s) heels.”

With Afoa sidelined for another three weeks, Tom Court looks likely to start at tighthead in the next couple of outings while of the two other scrumhalves in yesterday’s 36-man squad – academy player Blane McIlroy and Ian Porter – the latter looks likelier to back up Pienaar. The 24-year-old Porter is a neat passing and quality kicker; indeed he has been a prolific contributor for Belfast Harlequins, who lead Division One B from Dungannon going into Saturday’s final round by a point.

It was striking that not even Marshall was used off the bench in their win over Munster, when Ulster finished with their starting XV, and the demands of juggling his relatively limited resources while seeking to win their remaining two leagues games (they travel to a wounded but vengeful Munster in their final League game a week after playing Edinburgh) and up to four knock-out matches looks a tall task for McLaughlin.

So it is possible for Ulster to win both? “From where we’re sitting at the minute it’s a really tough challenge,” conceded McLaughlin. “But the key thing for us is keeping as many of our squad as fit as possible, and if we can get a victory against Leinster on Friday night then who knows.”

ULSTER SQUAD (v Leinster) – Forwards: C Black, T Court, D Fitzpatrick, A Macklin, P McAllister, A Kyriacou, N Brady, R Best, L Stevenson, J Muller (capt), D Tuohy, I Henderson, N McComb, S Ferris, W Faloon, P Wannenburg, A Birch, M McComish, C Henry, R Diack. Backs: B McIlroy, R Pienaar, I Porter, I Humphreys, P Jackson, P Wallace, I Whitten, D Cave, L Marshall, N Spence, M Allen, S Terblanche, C Gilroy, C Gaston, A Trimble, A D’Arcy.