Rugby

Ulster looking on the bright side despite disappointing European loss to Leinster

Morale boost after contract extensions unveiled by province — Jacob Stockdale and John Cooney being the most noteworthy

Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale is tackled by Leinster’s Jamison Gibson Park in the Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16 at the Aviva Stadium this month. File photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

Michael Sadlier
Tue Apr 11 2023 - 05:00

With two regular season United Rugby Championship (URC) games remaining and a home quarter-final already banked, Ulster have reason to feel reasonably upbeat so, as such, it’s understandably best to try and put their tame European exit at the hands of Leinster firmly in the rear-view mirror.

The third-placed northern province still retain aspirations for clambering into second though this requires the Stormers —as Ulster have two home matches left — to trip up and Dan McFarland’s squad to chalk off victories starting with the lowly Dragons at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday night.

Another factor in giving Ulster a leg-up in terms of morale can be drawn by the number of contract extensions the province announced when they filled the awkward space last week without a game, Jacob Stockdale and John Cooney being the most noteworthy so far, both agreeing deals to remain until 2025.

What McFarland and his coaching team certainly want to avoid are stuttering displays over the next two weeks — after the Dragons sign off by hosting Edinburgh — as the guaranteed quarter-final looms and, indeed, any prospect whatsoever of being overtaken by Glasgow and finishing up in fourth place.

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“It’s [now] a really big opportunity to push forward in the URC and we’ve got goals in that as well and they don’t stop just because we lost [to Leinster],” said Ulster skills coach Craig Newby.

“It’s obviously hugely disappointing to lose [to Leinster] and we had aspirations in the Champions Cup, but we’ve moved on.”

Shifting further away from matters European the New Zealander added: “Can we catch the Stormers in second?

Ulster skills coach Craig Newby: 'We certainly can’t afford to give 15 penalties away against any opposition and expect to win games.' File photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho

“Yeah, we can. We need things to go our way, but we need to prepare and try and win these next two games and that’s all we can focus on and then focus on a quarter-final at home.

“We’re lucky that we’ve earned that right,” he said of playing their URC last-eight tie in Belfast. “But beyond that it is in our hands and out of our hands at the same time. We want a home semi-final if we get that far but we can’t control that at the moment.”

One definite work-on for the clash against a Dragons squad who have won just three times this season in the URC is Ulster’s discipline which let them down badly in the pressurised environment of their European knockout reverse to Leinster.

“We certainly can’t afford to give 15 penalties away against any opposition and expect to win games,” said Newby, referencing what occurred at the Aviva Stadium the week before last.

“We’ve [actually] found two or three key things that we know will drive us forward in the Dragons week and that will help us win big games,” he added.

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