Ulster hooker Rob Herring wants to impress Ireland coach Joe Schmidt
With Ulster skipper Rory Best to be rested along with Tommy Bowe under Ireland’s Player Management Programme, Herring will want to put down a marker to be selected in Schmidt’s enlarged training squad ahead of the Six Nations and also consolidate a place in the Irish Wolfhounds match-day 23 that faces England Saxons at the end of the month.
The Cape Town-born Herring has proved a more than useful replacement for leader Best and will see tomorrow’s Champions Cup clash against the mighty Toulon as an ideal opportunity to state his case.
“I’m really looking forward to this game. I haven’t had much game-time in the last while so I’m raring to go. It has been frustrating, obviously, but hopefully I’ll now get a run of games and be able put my hand up a bit,” said Herring, who won his sole Irish cap as a replacement during the Argentina tour last summer and wants Ulster to stand up to be counted.
“Obviously they are a great side who have achieved so much over the last few years so you’ve got to respect that. But at the same time, they’re just players as well and although realistically we are probably out of Europe, we don’t want to go there and just throw in the towel,” stressed Herring who was signed from London Irish three season ago.
“We want to go and play good rugby. I’m not going there just to make up the numbers. Obviously it’s a big game but you can’t big them up too much, you’ve got to go there and show what you can do. I want to go there and win and as a rugby players that is the attitude you’ve got to have going into these kind of games.”
Herring highlighted the fact that Ulster appear to be blowing hot and cold this season, particularly in the narrow 24-20 squeaky win against Treviso last week.
“We were massively pleased with our first half performance and it showed what we can do when we hold the ball and put phases together. But our second half defence wasn’t good enough and that let them back in the game and got the crowd going. They were lifted by that.
“So we’ve got to step it up massively on the defensive side this week, I think if we can defend very well, have a good set-piece and attack, we’re in with a chance.”
Meanwhile, Richard Cockerill accepts Leicester have to chase a perfect 10 out of 10 in their quest for a European Champions Cup quarter-final place.
Leicester host the Scarlets tonight, and then tackle Ulster in Belfast next weekend, with their last-eight hopes likely to be dashed unless Tigers can collect a five-point maximum on each occasion.
“Eighteen points might just be good enough to allow us to creep in as one of the three best runners-up, but 16 or 17 probably won’t be,” Leicester rugby director Cockerill said.
“I’ve told the players that we need to get our attacking mindset right and go for two bonus-point victories.
“We need to win, we need maximum points out of our final two games to have any chance of qualifying, and it is a big ask.”
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