O’Brien braced for fierce challenge as Ulster set to re-jig side

With Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien both on call for various media duties this week, it is only natural that the focus has centred on their prospective meeting with Ireland back-row colleague Stephen Ferris in Ravenhill this Friday.

O’Brien was as effusive in his praise for ‘Fez’ yesterday as Heaslip had been on Monday, but it may all be irrelevant if, as suggested yesterday, Ferris will be omitted along with Rory Best for the RaboDirect Pro12 meeting in Belfast.

With both Leinster and Ulster due to play Heineken Cup semi-finals the following week, it remains to be seen exactly which players are risked and which are rested ahead of their respective fixtures with Clermont Auvergne and Edinburgh.

Though perfectly understandable, such dilution of talent would be a pity given not just the usual trappings that come with a full-blooded intepro derby but the possible ramifications any full-tilt tussle might have for Ireland’s summer schedule.

Ulster centre Darren Cave has already spoken, prior to the European quarter-final defeat of Munster, about the sense of dissatisfaction among some of his teammates when it comes to the selection policies of Irish management.

Cave and the likes of Chris Henry and Dan Tuohy can do wonders for their international prospects in the next few weeks and O’Brien yesterday stressed the virtues of another man whose area of expertise coincides with that of Ferris and himself.

“Chris has been around a good while. I played against him at underage as well and up through the ranks and he is a smart player. This year he has really come on, performed week in, week out and he has been one of Ulster’s top performers.”

One man who will definitely play no part in two days’ time is Ulster’s Paul Marshall. The highly-rated Irish scrum-half, who has played back-up to Ruan Pienaar for much of this season, is ruled out with an elbow injury.

O’Brien has been as impressed as everyone else with Ulster’s re-emergence and even refuted the suggestion that their win in Thomond Park this month was a shock, but he added that it is premature to talk of a definitive shift in the provincial power base.

“You can never really write off Munster and when their backs are to the wall is when they are at their most dangerous,” O’Brien warned.

Anthony Foley, who was seconded into service with the Irish team as an emergency forwards coach during the Six Nations, may yet be the man tasked with redirecting Munster to the summit of Irish and European rugby and there have been calls for Joe Schmidt to perform a similar role with the national side’s backs.

“It would come naturally to him,” said O’Brien showing neat dexterity in answering a tricky question, “but that is up to the Ireland management. It isn’t for me to say, Joe is a world-class coach and he certainly would have input. Les (Kiss) is doing a fantastic job. Our running and counter-attacking was good this year, we put some nice phases of play together.”