mens
United-rugby-championship
Ulster will use the forced break of the United Rugby Championship during the month Nations Championship internationals to reset after a winless start.
However, the challenge is greater than coping without 16 players on the front line, nine in the league Ireland squad, six in the Ireland XV, and veteran lock Iain Henderson, who is not being considered for selection due to injury.
The team vowed to bounce back from their 29-34 home defeat to Edinburgh, which resulted in URC’s draw against Glasgow Warriors (33-all, away) and Munster (26-all, home).
A 40-21 win Zebras in Parma ua Challenge Cup The first round match also gave optimism.
However, reality was harsh on their two-match URC trip to South Africa, with a 26-34 loss to Bulls at Highveld and a demoralizing (7-33) loss to Stormers in Cape Town last weekend.
Ulster coach Richie Murphy insisted the Irish province are “not a million miles away” from success, despite a safe start to the season in the URC.
Pushing the reset button is complicated by the absence of their entire selection on the front line.
Uncapped James McNabney, Tom O’Toole, Tom Stewart, Nick Timoney, Jamie Benson (also uncapped), Nathan Doak, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale and Rob Baloucoune are all in the Ireland Nations Championship squad and will not be available before December.
In addition to the primary Ireland squad, six Ulster players have been named in the Ireland XV (Development) squad to face Fiji ‘A’ later this month.
“We’ll take a few days off to regroup,” Murphy said after the loss to a loaded Stormers team.
“It’s funny timing because we’ll have 15 guys away by the third week of this break,” he added.
Ulster have until December 5 before they resume their campaign against Cardiff at Arm Park.
“We’ll have about two weeks of preparation with most of the guys,” he said, adding: “It’s been a tough start to the year in terms of (team) management.
“We’re not used to having 10 Irishmen in the off-season.
“We’re reintegrating them into our team over these first five games, and now we’re losing them again.
“It puts us under a little bit of pressure.”
Murphy said they will focus on ‘a lot of everything’ when they look to reset in the next few weeks.
He admitted that Ulster struggled with the sheer physicality of the South African teams’ front five, which led to multiple penalties.
A critical scrum penalty in the closing stages of the game against the Bulls cost them a potential bonus point loss, and Ulster also conceded four straight penalties in the first half against the relentlessly powerful Stormers.
Another big attacking tackle broke down early in the second half and was pushed back by the Stormers, resulting in a yellow card for Keynan Knox.
“The scrum played a big role in the outcome of the game,” said the coach.
One runner, after an Ulster knock on five meters from the Stormers line and Ulster leading 7-0, resulted in a penalty.
That penalty became a line-out, followed by two consecutive maul penalties and a score for the Stormers.
A potential 14-0 lead for the visitors resulted in a seven-all score at a key moment in the game.
Murphy admitted that the strength of the South African scenery presented a unique challenge in the game.
