Robbie Diack wary of wounded Ospreys

For Ulster’s former international back-row Robbie Diack, tomorrow’s do-or-die clash with the Ospreys is a case of ‘here we go again’. Unfortunately, recent history has brought negative outcomes.

So Ulster’s trip to Swansea to face a faltering Welsh outfit will see them either drop out of the race in the Guinness PRO12 play-offs or, in all probability, bring a trip to Dublin to meet their oft-nemesis Leinster in the semi-final.

With Leinster (79 pts) and Munster (76) having already booked the top two slots, fifth-paced Ulster (64) are battling with the Scarlets (67) and the Ospreys (65) for the final two places. Ulster also face Leinster in the final game of the regular season next week, while the Welsh teams square up to each other.

However, the 31-year-old Johannesburg-born Diack is confident Ulster will finally crack it and get a glimpse of some long-awaited silverware.

“It’s been the situation over the last couple of seasons now and there has been a lot of soul-searching from the hurt of last season, especially this week going into Ospreys game,” said Diack.

“We played them in the last regular game last season as well and had a good performance over there so, yes, we have been in this situation before but we’ve come unstuck (in the semi-finals).

“These two games really are massive for us.”