Tuohy hopes for Ireland’s call

Twice-capped lock Dan Tuohy wants another bit of action in New Zealand during the summer and hopes playing with a confident Ulster side will give him the opportunity to give Declan Kidney a nudge in the right direction.

Tuohy, who made a try-scoring debut for Ireland against the All Blacks in June 2010, has five RaboDirect Pro12 League games and a massive Heineken Cup quarter-final shoot-out with Munster to parade his wares, starting with a trip to Treviso this afternoon.

“The next two months will really define our season and what we’re trying to achieve and this is why you play rugby to be in this high pressure environment and I think that this squad has shown, particularly in this season and in the last one, that we thrive off it,” said Tuohy.

“We got a win over at Aironi earlier in the season but Treviso beat us at the start of the season so we’re under no illusions as to the task ahead.

“I think our consistency has been an issue. Home has not been a problem but away from home as in Cardiff those tough games define us and that’s why we’re fifth at the moment.

“We’ve got to address this if we get two wins from our next two and then come back from hopefully a Heineken win, we’ve got only one more home game in the league so we’re going to be on the road over the next few weeks.

“It’s something we need to address, our consistency is key to getting into the play-offs, really.”

Ulster: A D’Arcy; C Gilroy, D Cave, P Wallace, S Terblanche; I Humphreys, R Pienaar; T Court, A Kyriacou, J Afoa, J Muller (capt), D Tuohy, C Henry, W Faloon, R Diack.

Replacements: N Brady, P McAllister, A Macklin, L Stevenson, N McComb, P Marshall, I Whitten, N Spence.