IT HASN’T BEEN an ideal last five weeks for Ulster having lost four of their last five games, exited Europe and dropped out of the top-four in the United Rugby Championship, and yet skills coach Craig Newby insists the squad are still excited looking ahead.
Last week’s inter-provincial defeat to Munster at Kingspan Stadium marked a low point in the province’s season as they fell to fifth in the table, leaving them staring the prospect of no home advantage in the play-offs full in the face, with that disappointment coming hot on the heels of their exit from the Heineken Champions Cup at the hands of Toulouse.
Perhaps more frustrating is the manner of how things have come about, their 50-49 aggregate defeat to Toulouse coming after they had won the first leg in France and only confirmed when Antoine Dupont crossed with five minutes remaining and Ulster down to 14 men after Tom O’Toole’s red card.
Then, only a week later, the coaching staff did not get the response they were looking for as Ulster were a long way from their best in being beaten by Munster in Belfast which, along with back-to-back defeats in South Africa at the hands of the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls, means they are winless in three league outings.
It also means that, after playing the first three-quarters of the season strongly, their five-week spell has seen the province’s hopes falter to the extent that they are scrambling just to ensure they are back in the Champions Cup again next season let alone competing for the URC title.
But Newby claims they have not lost any faith in what they are trying to do and, ahead of their trip to Edinburgh on Saturday, nobody is reaching for any panic buttons or drawing up a whole new game plan based on their recent form.
“We didn’t have just a positive start, we’ve been very good for a lot of the season. The last month has been a tough one for the squad physically and mentally for the boys, but we’re all pushing forward and trying to learn as much as we can,” insisted the former flanker.
“We want to be in a better position but our destiny is still in our own hands, we’ve got two games where we can control our own performance and we’re working extremely hard to do that.
“We’re actually playing good rugby against very, very good sides, we’re just not playing good enough rugby. We’ll try and bridge that gap between how we can be a bit more consistent throughout the 80 minutes and find the best of each player, then we’ll be winning against those big sides.
“Confidence is a big thing but we’ve got a very confident group here in our abilities and how we want to play, and we’re going to keep going at it.”
Indeed, even though they face two challenging fixtures to end their season and determine their URC fate, Newby adds that nobody within the squad is shying away from the task of turning around their fortunes and ensuring they finish the season on a high.
After their trip to the Scottish capital at the weekend, Ulster have two weeks off before they welcome another play-off chasing side in the Cell C Sharks to Kingspan Stadium for their final regular season tie, meaning they will have to be switched on from now until the end of the campaign.
“I don’t think it’s a mentally challenging week at all, I think it’s an exciting week. This has been the most exciting time I’ve had since I’ve been here with the big games and the chance to push for play-offs,” adds Newby of the task at hand in Edinburgh.
“As the end of the season nears it gets more exciting and you can’t wait to get to work. It’s such an invigorating time of year, the sun’s starting to come out more. As it gets to the end of the season, this is the reason why you play and it’s why I coach, these big games.”
Newby revealed that captain Iain Henderson and tighthead prop Marty Moore are undergoing the return to play protocols after both failed head injury assessments in the defeat to Munster, with both doubtful for the trip to Edinburgh.
Moore’s absence would be particularly felt given that O’Toole is also unavailable as he awaits a hearing for his sending-off against Toulouse, meaning Gareth Milasinovich could be in line for only his second Ulster start at the DAM Health Stadium.
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