Marshall: Improvement needed for Munster test

Ulster scrum-half Paul Marshall believes his team must raise their game for the visit of Rob Penney’s Munster side to Ravenhill on Friday (7.05pm).

Both provinces are unbeaten through the opening two rounds of the RaboDirect PRO12 after Munster overcame Treviso and Ulster saw off Ospreys at the weekend.

Munster will be seeking revenge for the shock defeat they suffered to Ulster in the Heineken Cup quarter-final last season, only their second ever Heineken Cup defeat in Thomond Park.

Despite getting a victory against champions Ospreys in Liberty Stadium on Saturday, Marshall maintains Ulster need to raise their level even higher for this weekend’s showdown with Munster.

“Next week will be a really tough encounter as all the inter-pros are” he said. “I’m assuming they will come up to Belfast with their full contingent of Internationals and we will have a couple more back as well.

“We will have to be firing on all cylinders if we are to come away with another win, a performance like the one on Saturday night won’t be good enough.

“It’s our first inter-pro of the season so it’s exciting for the fans, but also the players.”

With star player Ruan Pienaar unavailable due to his participation in the Rugby Championship for South Africa, Marshall has an opportunity to prove his value to Mark Anscombe.

The 27-year-old grabbed that opportunity with both hands on Saturday when he darted over for the match-winning try five minutes from the end but he credits his teammates for giving him the platform to attack.

“I didn’t have much to do for the try; I just squeezed over the line when John [Afoa] was brought down just short.

“It was a good team try and it shows what we are capable of producing. We didn’t play very well but I thought we showed great character in the second half and the most important thing is that we got the win and it keeps us on track.”

After a disappointing tour of New Zealand with the Irish squad which yielded no game time for Marshall the scrum-half underwent surgery on his elbow which affected his pre-season preparations but he is delighted to be back in the thick of the action.

“Injury wise I feel good; my elbow isn’t giving me much trouble at all. It was good for me to get back on the pitch.

“I got 20 minutes last week and another 40 on Saturday night so it’s good to catch up a bit with the players who have had more game time.”

With the likes of Conor Murray, Eoin Reddan, Isaac Boss and Tomás O’Leary all still vying for the Irish number nine jersey, Marshall has had little opportunity to impress at international level.

Murray could lineout against him this weekend and Marshall is excited by the prospect of testing himself against Ireland’s current first choice scrum-half.

“I’m expecting Conor Murray to play on Friday night and he’s currently the number one scrumhalf in Ireland so it will be a big test if I’m selected.

“But the main thing for me is getting more game time with Ulster. Blane McIlroy and Michael Heaney have been playing well so my focus first and foremost is to fight for a place in the Ulster team.”