These weekends are always laced with optimism. In Ulster that takes on a broader dimension as they face into back-to-back meetings with Scarlets and hope to use a critically needed two wins as a springboard back into the heart of Europe.
Tommy Bowe knows theirs is a fraught ploy, where plenty can go wrong. But as Ulster seek their first win in the pool, the Irish winger can also see through the doubt and work a way out of the current mess they are in.
There are others who wouldn't have the same perspicacity as Bowe. Trailing the other teams with just one point, Bowe's view and that of coach Neil Doak is that there is an unlikely path but one they must take if their interest in the competition is not to perish.
“Not winning our first two matches, we have made it incredibly difficult for ourselves,” said Bowe. “But we’ve seen how other teams have gone. There’s very few teams have gone out there and got maximum points. You know in the past everyone talks about you having to make 20 points.
“I don’t think this year to qualify you have to. I think there’s going to be a few teams this year can make not quite 20 points and still qualify so we are still . . . we know we’ve a massive task but also excited about the next two weeks.”
Bowe can swagger a little. His confidence should be up after his tries in the November series and while he concedes he still has work to do on his game, his head is also “in a good place at the moment”.
Fallen away
But Ulster have staggered in past weeks and fallen away in games. Missed opportunities.
But Bowe knows the danger of looking beyond the main goal. Lots of wins. Lots of points. But not before the issue of the Welsh visitors.
“Two wins first and foremost,” he says. “We’ll have to look at getting bonus points. We’d love to pick up maximum points and that’s the aim. That would definitely be our aim but that can’t be in our minds at the start. We’ll go out and get the win and if we can pull away at the end and get the points.
“Obviously Scarlets are looking forward to this match as well. They’ve won one. It’s not going to be an easy match. They put in a great performance against Toulon away, so we know that. We’ve great history with the Scarlets.”
As expected this week Dan Tuohy and Ruan Pienaar are gunning to come into the squad.
They have both trained and Doak is waiting nervously for any signs of a physical reaction to the Springbok’s medial knee ligaments or the lock’s mended broken arm.
“It’s good to have them back on the paddock,” he says. “If there’s no reaction they’ll be involved at the weekend.”
Ruthless streak
But his mind also falls to the same place as that of Bowe where the team has lacked a ruthless streak. Their falling away needs to be fixed if anything is to come of Bowe’s Houdini-like grand plan.
“Yeah, that something we’ve talked about as a team,” says the Irish winger. “We probably haven’t had a full 80-minute performance this season yet. But I think the next two weeks . . . that’s when we are going to have to pull it out.”
