Perhaps the fact Ulster's new coach Matt Williams will be close at hand this week to see how much damage has been inflicted on the Ulster team in their slide to the bottom of the Magners League will help to somewhat transform a side in the throes of desperation.
Grievously underperforming, in a tailspin from the beginning of the season and without a head coach since Mark McCall resigned in November, the province will face the might of Munster at Ravenhill tomorrow night, and Williams, who is to be unveiled today in Belfast, will be present.
Normally in the run-up to the Six Nations this would be a fixture of some import, the traditional provincial rivalry intensified by the competition for Ireland squad recognition.
But with Ulster holding up the bottom of the table with 11 points from nine matches and Munster in fourth place with 25 points, Declan Kidney's men will arrive in Belfast as hot favourites.
And given the following weekend sees round five of the Heineken European Cup pool stages, Kidney will be looking for some form as his side head into their critical meeting with the star-studded Clermont Auvergne in France.
Defeat in Belfast would be far from ideal preparation for taking on arguably the form team in France on their own patch.
Ulster meanwhile will be striving to climb clear of the bottom of the table, and Williams, the former Leinster and Scotland coach, will be looking at a side selected yesterday by the interim coach Steve Williams.
The former Wales international has made several changes to the team defeated 29-0 by Leinster in Dublin on St Stephen's Day and has named the Italian international Carlo Del Fava as captain for the night.
It is an interesting decision given that the former Ireland outhalf and Ulster captain David Humphreys returns to the starting line-up.
The regular skipper Rory Best was injured in the RDS match and is out of action for some weeks with ankle-ligament damage
"With Rory out for some weeks we needed a captain and Carlo was the obvious choice," said Steve Williams.
"He is very well respected among the squad and leads from the front and he is a player that the team will follow."
Humphreys, who made a second-half appearance against Leinster, lines up alongside scrumhalf Paul Marshall.
Marshall gains just his second start of the season at the expense of the World Cup number nine Isaac Boss, who is among the big names to pay for the humiliating defeat inflicted by Leinster and is named on the bench.
Paddy Wallace accommodates the return of Humphreys and moves from the 10 position to inside centre to partner one of the few players in the Ulster squad who has shown some verve and ambition recently, Andrew Trimble.
Tommy Bowe and Simon Danielli cover the flanks with Bryn Cunningham at fullback. Niall O'Connor and Mark McCrea are named as cover on the bench.
In the front row Nigel Brady is named as hooker with loosehead Justin Fitzpatrick and Declan Fitzpatrick propping.
Del Fava is joined in the second row by Ryan Caldwell, who starts in favour of the former Australian lock Justin Harrison, who is among the replacements.
Matt McCullough is in at blindside flanker and the new Ulster signing Grant Webb is handed his first start at number eight.
Munster, who yesterday announced an extended squad, will today select their starting line-up to meet Ulster.
Leinster will tomorrow name their team to meet Ospreys. They play at the RDS on Saturday at 7.30pm.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, S Danielli; D Humphreys, P Marshall; J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick; C Del Fava (capt), R Caldwell; M McCullough, N Best, G Webb. Replacements: B Young, S Philpott, J Harrison, D Pollock, M McCrea, I Boss, N O'Connor.
MUNSTER(squad): S Payne, A Horgan, B Carney, D Howlett, K Lewis, B Murphy, R Tipoki, L Mafi, T O'Leary, G Hurley, P Stringer, R O'Gara, P Warwick, M Horan, T Buckley, J Hayes, F Sheahan, J Flannery, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, D Ryan, D Leamy, N Ronan, D Wallace, A Foley.
CONNACHT(squad): Andrew Browne, Mel Deane, Tim Donnelly, Gavin Duffy, Andy Dunne, Peter Durcan, Andrew Farley, Adrian Flavin, John Fogarty, David Gannon, Ronan Loughney, Michael McCarthy, Conor McPhillips, Robbie Morris, Matt Mostyn, John O'Connor, Ray Ofisa, Conor O'Loughlin, Colm Rigney, Daniel Riordan, Michael Swift, Brett Wilkinson, Aidan Wynne, Darren Yapp.
