Pro12 leaders Ulster will travel to Galway on Friday night confident that they can keep setting the pace by making it six wins from six.
Ulster have an excellent record against Connacht – the northern province have just lost once in their last 20 meetings (at the Sportsground in 2012) – and this opening interpro of the season has much at stake: Ulster want to remain the league’s only unbeaten side, while the wobbling reigning champions badly need to back-up last weekend’s first win over Edinburgh.
Though Les Kiss’s squad just managed to flop over the line against the Ospreys, they will be looking to up their game. They appear to have a fairly clean bill of health from those who were involved in that bruising encounter against the Welsh region.
Iain Henderson, who missed last week's match with an elbow knock, is hoping to be available for the clash with Connacht, while centre Luke Marshall is believed to have passed return-to-play protocols following a concussion picked up in the home game against the Scarlets, even if it is unclear whether he will play.
It is also not clear if Stuart Olding's groin issue will allow him make Kiss's squad or Andrew Trimble foot problem has been remedied.
Stuart McCloskey won't be available as he continues his recovery from a foot injury picked up away to Glasgow, though with Louis Ludik, Jared Payne, Craig Gilroy and Charles Piutau all thought to be available, it's clear Ulster won't lack for cutting edge against Connacht.
Scrumhalf Paul Marshall started against the Ospreys on his return from a rib injury and could well be given another run-out in Galway, with Ruan Pienaar potentially on the bench again.
“Whenever you’re watching from the sidelines, and not involved at all, you feel a bit like you’re not part of it, so it’s nice to be back involved,” said Marshall, before offering his own take on the rumbling issue of Pienaar’s departure at the end of the season.
“Everyone knows he’s contributed massively to this organisation. Am I a better player having played alongside him? I think so,” he said.
The 31-year-old, who has three Ireland caps, is adopting a patient approach with his own contract up at the end of the season.
Succession
“For me we’ll wait and see what happens and I presume with the ruling [on Pienaar going for national succession reasons] it will be interesting to see what they [Ulster] come up with.
“From my point of view you always just concentrate on playing and getting on with what you can do and everything else looks after itself.”
As for Ulster’s attention-grabbing start to the season, Marshall was playing down their chances to go six from six.
“Every week it gets harder for us and everyone is gunning for us now to take that unbeaten streak off us,” he said.
“We’re not getting carried away by five out of five or trying make it six out of six, it’s just about each game on its individual merits.”
Even so, Ulster will fancy racking up another win.
