The fact that Ulster are within touching distance of knockout rugby is understandably the most pressing concern on Dan McFarland’s agenda rather than this weekend’s other issues surrounding playing for the first time after six months and having to do so at an empty Aviva Stadium.
The pandemic’s unwanted impact is one thing, beating Connacht on Sunday – though Ulster can make the Pro14 semis should Edinburgh see off Glasgow on Saturday evening – is quite another and the Ulster coach is mindful of being waylaid by distractions.
“We’ve got to win a game and that’s where our focus is,” said McFarland ahead of this weekend’s opening round of inter-provincials which kick-start the bid to wrap up last season’s Pro14 campaign.
“This first game is a game we need to win, mathematically we need two points but that’s not how we’re looking at it.
“We need to win and take it from there,” added McFarland as the northern province aim to make it a second successive year in the Pro14’s knockout stages albeit, this time around, a scaled-down version of the competition.
With Ulster’s aim being very much on continuing all the way to the Pro14 final before then switching – Covid-19 permitting – to knockout ties in the European Champions Cup, starting with their quarter-final at Toulouse on September 20th, there could be a series of season-defining games coming down the track in quick succession.
Hardly ideal then that promising winger Robert Baloucoune (hamstring tear and out for several months) and consistently-performing flanker Sean Reidy (calf and missing for four to six weeks) have now been added to an injury list which already includes skipper Iain Henderson and utility back Will Addison.
“If we get to a position where we’re playing five games in a row we’re not going to have any issues going into a quarter-final or semi-final,” stated McFarland who is expected to put his strongest side out on Sunday.
“We’ve got fresh bodies and we’ve got hungry bodies here and we’ve got enough talent and depth to make the adjustments we need as per the time it comes along.
“If we manage to get what we need to get done against Connacht we may be able to rotate the squad a little bit [against Leinster the following weekend].
Different angles
“But that’s getting ahead of ourselves,” he added while mentioning that Connacht, where he previously played and coached, will be well primed for Sunday.
Key to Ulster’s approach when it all goes live on Sunday – they have already played a number of full-on games in training at the Kingspan – will be the on-field leadership provided by key squad members with McFarland mentioning both John Cooney and Billy Burns as a half-back combination likely to hook up again after the pandemic-enforced break.
“John’s a great mindset person and he’s always looking to develop some aspect of what he’s doing. He’s always looking for some aspect to get better at and part of that is developing how he plays in our system and pulling along the guys around him to make us better as a team.
“I like guys who look at different angles and try to find their own way,” said the Ulster coach of Cooney’s mental approach to playing.
With new signings Ian Madigan and former Munster squad member Alby Mathewson also being pencilled in as half-back cover at the Kingspan – Madigan will be pushing hard for Burns’ number 10 shirt – McFarland looks to crucially have some decent options in that area.
“There is no surprise that when you look at the best club in Europe, Leinster, one of the things that stands out is competition for places.
“Alby and Ian offer a lot of experiences as well and you just know that as they are good players they will push those ahead of them but not just that they will push everybody around them.”
