When Ulster last met Scarlets two weeks ago in Llanelli, they spent two-thirds of the game defending wave after wave of red jerseys charging towards their line. Only for some remarkable big hits, included in their 251 tackles made during that onslaught, they would have been hammered more than the 29-12 scoreline that favoured the home side in that PRO14 game.

Ulster head for South Africa today for a ten-day stay during which the Guinness PRO14 tests against the Southern Kings and the Cheetahs could further the province’s challenge in Conference B.

Ulster’s new head coach Dan McFarland set out his stall for the future in no uncertain terms as he prepares for his first PRO14 outing against the Scarlets at the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday evening.

Ulster Rugby got the head coach they wanted in Dan McFarland yesterday and the province is now hopeful the former Connacht man will take the reins much sooner than the mid-January date the Scottish Rugby Union are holding him to.