Ulster working on try-scoring ahead of Connacht clash

Ulster’s Nick Williams insists there is no issue at the province and they are ready for battle in the first of the Rabo Direct Pro 12 inter-provincial derbies this week.

Mark Anscombe's side makes the trip to Galway to face a Connacht side which seems to have been strengthened since the arrival of new coach Pat Lam.

Ulster go into the game on the back of two losses in a row after they lost at home against Glasgow last Friday, so they will be eager to avoid a third straight defeat.

William said: “It’s always going to be hard to pick yourself up after any loss it’s really tough but like I have said through my career that the great thing about early season rugby is that if you lose, you always get another week to redeem yourself and hopefully we can do that this weekend.”

Last season Ulster were unbeaten through their first two months and were top of the Pro 12 before the play-off’s started.

Williams suggests that because of that, and being in the Heineken Cup final the season before, perhaps there is now a higher expectation of the squad.

He said: "There is always an expectation that people expect from us and that importantly we expect from ourselves, so far it’s not gone the way we want but we can’t dwell on it and have to think of the positives and hopefully a result against Connacht on Saturday could send us on the right track."

One of the main things the squad will be working on this week is converting opportunities when they present themselves.

In the second half of the loss to Glasgow, Ulster had three stone-wall try scoring chances, one was knocked on, one was deemed a forward pass and the third was held up in a game where Ulster really should have claimed a bonus point win.

"We were disappointed to let the opportunities go to waste and we will be making sure that we finish off chances not only on the training pitch but on game day as well and hopefully we create a domino effect," said Williams.

Just like Ulster, Connacht will arrive at the Sportsground on Saturday looking to make up for their loss against Cardiff last week and Nick is under no illusions of how tough going to Galway and getting a result will be.

He said: "We have taken a look at some footage of them and their games and I know Pat is a strong coach, I know a little bit about him and I can see he has put some good systems in play there and it’s going well for them.

"They always bring their best game when they play us and we will be looking forward to showing up on Saturday."