Three wins from four and second in the table, Ulster head to South Africa today fully equipped with the knowledge that the gradient is now about to steepen.
Putting seven tries past an anaemic Ospreys selection in Belfast is one thing but trotting out results against the Lions and the Sharks will certainly test the squad’s resilience and strength in depth.
With injuries to Marty Moore (concussion), Kieran Treadwell (chest wall) and Ian Madigan (knee requiring an MRI scan) seemingly ruling them all out of immediate participation, and it being unclear if Iain Henderson’s comeback is going to take place on the mini-tour, Ulster’s resolve for Saturday’s meeting with the in-form Lions in Johannesburg will be immediately challenged.
Yet Dan McFarland looks to have Stuart McCloskey and Billy Burns in good shape despite losing them to knocks against the Ospreys, and the hope is that James Hume will get his first game-time since Ireland’s tour to New Zealand. Rob Herring should be available again, and new arrival Rory Sutherland is also believed to be on the plane.
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Also the 10-squad members who were with Emerging Ireland are awaiting them and well acclimatised to altitude and the warmer weather.
“The results speak for themselves,” Ulster assistant coach Roddy Grant said of the Lions, who are currently sixth in the table but only three points behind the northern province.
“They have beaten good teams, Edinburgh away at the weekend, the third one away from home. They have done a lot of travelling and still managed to beat them,” Grant added, regarding the Lions having won twice in Wales before hitting the Scottish capital. “So this will be a big challenge and they (the Lions) are better than they were last season. Ellis Park as well, not many teams go there and win, but we are up for it.”
Should Moore sit this tour out Ulster will be digging into their depth chart at tight-head prop which could be a big ask facing South African scrums. Tom O’Toole should shoulder most of the burden, but his back-ups may either be the rather unused Jeff Toomaga-Allen or Gareth Milasinovich, though Andy Warwick can shift across if necessary.
As for loosehead Sutherland’s arrival, Grant knows the British and Irish Lions prop well from Edinburgh and is enthused as his presence for the remainder of the season prior to Steven Kitshoff’s arrival post-World Cup.
“Just a quality player,” Grant said of Sutherland. “He’s had injuries but has worked really hard and is a resilient guy with a good outlook.”
All the attributes that will be required over this two-game mini-tour and having Duane Vermeulen on board can also only be of benefit to McFarland and co as they bid to get a better return than last season when they lost to the Bulls in Pretoria and twice at the Stormers, though the trips to Cape Town, the last one being the URC semi-final, were close affairs.
