Les Kiss: We’ll give it our best shot

It hasn’t been easy ride for Ulster’s Director of Rugby Les Kiss since he took over office halfway through last season.

A five-match winning start to the Guinness Pro12 augured well, then came a little hiccup which turned into a full-blown burp as Ulster lost their way a little in both the domestic competition and in Europe.

Consistency is definitely not their forte A handy win over Connacht last Friday, however, has appeared to lift the squad a little and Kiss now looks ahead to what could be a defining moment in the Pro12 with a trip to the RDS where a little miffed, but fully operational Leinster, lie in wait, and Kiss has a novel idea of coming out on top.

“Maybe change their alarm clock so they do not turn up,” he said with a wry smile. “Look it is going to be tough. In all honesty, the depth they have got. I think it is around 29 internationals, the team they put out the other night probably shows their hand a bit and they still have next week if they want to manage players.

“You can only imagine, they are going to be loaded. You have got to go there with a mindset you have to play out the 80 minutes and probably start well. Last time we were there we did not get the start we wanted and they gained confidence in front of the home crowd. I do not remember the last time they may have lost at the RDS but they are a tough, tough proposition,” said Kiss who knows taking the game by the scruff of the neck early on is not an easy task. “Yes that is easier said than done. Look we will go out there and give it a shot. You look through it, it is hard to find the space where you can pry them open or make them work harder.

“You have got some really supreme athletes, guys with massive experience in Europe and internationally and it all comes into a melting point that makes it look difficult that is for sure.

“They lost the other night and they trained the next day after that physical encounter because they had another 15 fresh players who were able to train and most of them probably internationals, but we know we are just trying to be real that we get our heads in the right headspace to be able to go down there and do what we have to do.

“Of course it is possible we can win and we have to have a plan that hopefully we have the mindset to go down there to deliver on that. We just have to make sure we are acutely aware of what we have in front of us. Add in the home factor to that. They are tough. We have got to near our best if not beyond our best,” said Kiss, who believes the win over Connacht did add a spring in the step.

“A win was the priority and we delivered that,” said Kiss about that home derby win. “There are certainly things we need to do better. In those conditions, and the way that Connacht can play the game, it was a pretty good result.

“To win that game, with our game in hand, it was important for us. We now have to front up to get ready for a Leinster side that are going to be super strong. We just need to shift a few things against Leinster,” said Kiss who lauded the presence of Ireland’s Iain Henderson following a spell out.

“Hendy is now up to speed and can go between six and lock. I think he can play anywhere in that forward pack and he would deliver for you to be honest.”

Kiss is confident Andrew Trimble will be back in harness again after injury but there is a worry that tight-head Weihahn Herbst could miss out due to a calf strain picked up in training. Ulster are still awaiting news on lock Pete Brown (concussion) while Stuart McCloskey is fit but Craig Gilroy and Stuart Olding are still sidelined.

Kiss is also hopeful that Springbok number eight Marcel Coetzee, who had knee reconstruction before arriving in Belfast, will finally pull on an Ulster jersey by the end of January.

“At this stage Marcell will be ready for the Edinburgh game,” said Kiss of his star signing. “We might be trying to be optimistic for the second European game. If he is ready then that would be his first one but it is probably not the right game to be bringing him in for.”