Though having recently struck a bump in the road in terms of results, Ulster are clearly not downcast as they prepare to take on an also damaged Connacht in Galway in the second of three interprovincials the northern province face over the festive period.
Richie Murphy’s squad come into this weekend having narrowly lost at both Cardiff in the Challenge Cup and against Leinster in last Friday evening’s return to URC action, yet these outcomes have not undermined belief as they bid to avoid three straight reverses.
“This time last year, we went down to Connacht and we had a completely depleted squad, a lot of injury,” said Murphy.
“This year, we’re in a better place than that. We deal in the process of the game. Get the process right, we’ve got a great chance of winning the fixture.
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“Three games away between early December and over Christmas, two of them interpros away, is a difficult period.
“If you look around all the leagues, not a huge number of teams are winning away from home, especially when they’re playing teams that are very equal in quality.
“We know we’re in a position that we need to get a lot of things right to go down and win in Connacht, and that’s what our focus has been,” the head coach added.
The clash could again see his sons Jack and Ben turning out on opposing sides:
Murphy, who could again see his sons Jack and Ben turning out on opposing sides, is helped by the return of Cormac Izuchukwu for the trip west following an illness which ruled him out of the game against Leinster.
Izuchukwu’s importance to Ulster’s long-term cause has also been underlined by a contract extension which will keep the 25-year-old, who has been capped three times for Ireland, in Belfast until 2028.
James Hume is also fit to feature in Galway and is thought likely to make up Ulster’s midfield alongside Stuart McCloskey.
However, there are doubts over the availability of Nathan Doak (calf) and Robert Baloucoune, who was withdrawn early at the Aviva Stadium due to a shoulder problem, while Stewart Moore is contending with an injured wrist.
Captain Iain Henderson, Michael Lowry and Rob Herring are all expected to remain sidelined for another weekend.
Although Connacht shipped a potentially morale-denting defeat away to the Dragons, Murphy is anticipating a highly competitive and confrontational encounter at the Dexcom Stadium.
“Connacht will be massively physical,” he said. “The best games that they’ve played at home, they’ve dominated gain-line, they’ve played on the front foot, and teams haven’t been able to deal with that.
“That’s going to be a huge part of the game. They’re obviously coming off a poor result at the weekend (against the Dragons) and with that in mind, they’ll be extra dangerous.”
Shifting focus away from what Stuart Lancaster will hope his charges bring to this interprovincial, Murphy reflected on where Ulster find themselves and how they intend to bounce back.
“We knew this period (three away games) was going to be a difficult period,” he admitted.
“And we’re coming off two losses as well, (so) we need to step up and try and right that wrong.”
Having led 20-17 with 15 minutes to go at the Aviva, only to ultimately lose 24-20, Murphy added: “We’re a little bit disappointed at the weekend. We didn’t feel that we actually played as well as we probably could.
“That was very much part of the review. Everyone can see what we’re trying to do. Everyone can see the type of rugby we’re trying to play and that won’t change over the next couple of weeks.
“Although we’ve picked up two losses, we’re going to go back to our DNA as a rugby team who try and play. That’s what we’ll do this weekend again.
“As long as we perform to the level that we know we can, and that we’ve shown throughout the year, and we stick to the process, results will look after themselves.”
