For the second season running, Ulster host an Irish province in the URC quarter-finals, with Connacht this time providing the opposition on Friday night.
The difference nearly 12 months on is not just that Ulster’s opponents in a knockout league tie are from another Irish location but also that, should Dan McFarland’s squad see off the westerners, then they will also play the semi-final in Belfast instead of the situation in 2022 when, after victory over Munster, the northern province had to hike out to Cape Town and exited the competition.
Ending up nailing down second place in the table – moving up a significant one spot higher than the last campaign – has ensured Ulster will remain in Belfast for their last four games, just as long as they triumph in their impending interprovincial.
“[Finishing second] is not important at all unless you win your quarter-final,” was the obvious message McFarland delivered over the appearance of the now-completed regular season table.
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“In terms of its [being second] relevance to the future, as it stands right now, it’s irrelevant and that way we can wrap our heads around what I consider to be an extremely big task on Friday night.”
Alluding to Connacht’s form which has seen then win five from their last six URC matches, the Ulster head coach continued: “They’ll come hungry, it’s do or die in the playoffs so we’ll expect an extremely physical and aggressive Connacht side.
“The bottom line is that it’s first past the post, it doesn’t matter how much you win by – you’ve just got to win.
“It’s job as usual, game on,” he added of the fact that this will be the third time Ulster have faced Connacht this season, with the slate reading two wins to the northern province, though they have already completed a trio of clashes with Leinster, losing both URC games and a European knockout clash.
In terms of personnel available for Friday, Ulster will still be without Tom O’Toole (calf) while skipper Iain Henderson (forearm) also remains sidelined after breaking down in the Six Nations.
Meanwhile, Ulster Rugby has issued a statement regarding the planning application it has submitted to install an artificial surface at the Kingspan Stadium.
In the statement, Ulster Rugby chief executive Jonny Petrie said: “Following extensive research and exploratory work, which has been in progress since early last year, Ulster Rugby has submitted a planning application to Belfast City Council for a potential 3G pitch at Kingspan Stadium.
“We will continue to investigate the options available to us, which will have player safety at the forefront, and Ulster Rugby will update supporters when a decision on the pitch has been agreed by the club.”
