No such thing as a dead rubber for lock Tuohy

Ireland lock Dan Tuohy is keen to make up for lost time.

With an expected weakened side to be announced for the trip to Limerick, Ulster will finish fourth no mater what happens this weekend. But they can expect Munster to throw the kitchen sink at them in the hope they can garner second place and a home tie for the semi-final.

Tuohy, though, just wants to front up and prove he is back up to speed after a broken arm ruined his season just when he was in full flow with Ireland.

“It’s about proving a point and for myself personally it is quite an important game for me, fitness wise, tour wise and trying to get a starting place for the semi-final,” he said.

“At present Hendy [Iain Henderson] is doing a decent job of things at lock. For me there is a lot riding on it, and Callum [Black] as well. I’m not too sure what the story is with Tom [Court] regarding the semi-final, but there are a lot of guys leaving and they are motivated to win in the Ulster shirt.

“We have lost three of the last four games in the Pro12, although it has no bearing on what happens on the league table. I think personally it has a bearing on your pride and what you want to achieve as a player.

“Realistically, Munster will be pushed to grab second slot with Glasgow playing Zebre. But I’m not sure what their line-up will be. It’s a personal battle between the second rows, we will be looking to implement our physicality.

“Sometimes when you have no pressure on you, like Ulster at present, you can go in and enjoy the game, play a little bit of rugby. Let’s be honest, no one is going to give us a hope in hell so we can go out and play and hopefully get a positive result.”

Ulster have re-signed fly-half Ian Humphreys from London Irish on a two-year contract. Humphreys left Ravenhill two years ago after making 110 appearances for Ulster and scoring 617 points.