Wounded Ulster are ‘quietly confident’

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 3

Ulster’s head coach Neil Doak says his resources are being fully stretched due to the attritional nature of the game at present.

Ulster had five players taken off in the 24-9 win against the Scarlets in Belfast last Saturday and also have internationals Jared Payne, Andrew Trimble and Iain Henderson still on the long-term list.

“Nick Williams, Wiehahn Herbst and Stuart McCloskey are definitely out from last week’s game,” explained Doak, “Franco (van der Merwe) and Stuart (Olding) are still being assessed with player return protocols after taking bangs to the head, and we will know more at the back-end of the week. We have an extra day to play with the return game against the Scarlets being on Sunday and we are quietly confident.

“Stuart got a split head as well, so we will just have to wait and see how the wound heals up. He has a few staples in the head at present. So obviously we are being stretched just a little bit. When you have a European squad, you can be under a little bit of pressure. But that is like most teams at present. There are bodies on the physio table, but it was good to get Dan Tuohy and Ruan Pienaar back last week while Luke Marshall is ready to step in again.

“Jared Payne is still troubled with ligament damage to his foot while Iain Henderson is still a few weeks away from being ready for action. He is progressing really well and looking good,” said Doak.

The Ulster boss is slightly surprised Pool 3 is still fairly wide open after Leicester’s win over reigning European champions Toulon last Sunday.

“I’m a bit surprised yes. You lose the first two games like us, it’s a pretty tough ask to still in be the mix. Saturday’s win with a bonus was very much key to us still being there and Leicester’s win has thrown the group wide open.

“Everybody is now saying ‘win three games here and you will not be too far off qualification’. So, obviously, this week’s game is a must-win game again for not only us, but Scarlets as well. Whoever loses, that’s the end in Europe.”

Doak believes Ulster will have to raise their game as the Scarlets will provide an even tougher test this week.

“There was probably a bit of indiscipline on their part with the two yellow cards and we obviously got in for a couple of scores and we had a bit of a buffer.

“They will be a different animal this weekend. They are a quality side with very good runners, particularly in broken field. I know they will be better this week, which means we have to up our game.”

“Certainly last week’s win was a great boost, but they will also be disappointed that they got nothing from that game and they will be looking to turn that around. They have not been beaten at home this year in the two main competitions, so they are a decent side at home, and a proud team.

“We are under no illusions that the game will be as fractured as last week and If we allow them to get some quality platforms with the midfield and back three runners, they have they will cause some dangerous damage. They have this aptitude for stretching defences with ball in hand.”