ULSTER HAVE RAPIDLY parked last Sunday’s frustration at not being able to play the Cheetahs in the Netherlands and are now fully focused a shoot-out against Stade Francais to determine who tops Pool Three in the Challenge Cup.
An unplayable pitch, due to the freezing conditions, at the alternative venue for the game against the Cheetahs resulted in Richie Murphy’s side being awarded five points, allowing them to host Stade Francais – both have already qualified as indeed have Cardiff and Exeter from Pool Three – and have so much at stake in the knockout stages for whoever comes out on top in Belfast.
Reflecting on the bizarre turn of events from last weekend, Murphy said: “We were told that everything would be okay.
“Then on Friday, we were told the game was moved and that was fine. Then, obviously, we turned up and saw the pitch was unplayable because it was too hard, it was frozen.
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“A huge amount of work went in from the club (Dukes) and Cheetahs to try and get the game on, but player safety had to be taken into account.
“From our point of view, I suppose it’s frustrating because you could probably see that maybe it wasn’t going to happen. But we can only follow the rules of the competition,” he added.
“We prepared to play. We were told all the way up until the time we arrived at the pitch that everything was going to be okay, and the referee postponed the game.”
Murphy is hoping to have something close to a full deck selection-wise for Saturday lunchtime’s clash with Stade Francais who top Pool Three but only by three points from Ulster.
Jacob Stockdale is in the mix after picking up a rib injury against Munster while Robert Baloucoune is also fit again along with Ethan McIlroy while Michael Lowry could also feature at the weekend.
“We have (essentially) a home knockout game,” said Murphy of the Parisian side’s visit.
“The big thing is that we’re in a cup competition. So, the advantage of being at home; if you could get a home last-16, if you win that the quarter, if you win that the semi, if you could all get that (at home), that would be a massive advantage for us.
“But there are still a lot of good teams in the competition, so let’s take it week in, week out, and we’ll go from there,” said the Ulster head coach.
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'Player safety had to be taken into account' - Murphy on cancellation of Ulster v Cheetahs game
ULSTER HAVE RAPIDLY parked last Sunday’s frustration at not being able to play the Cheetahs in the Netherlands and are now fully focused a shoot-out against Stade Francais to determine who tops Pool Three in the Challenge Cup.
An unplayable pitch, due to the freezing conditions, at the alternative venue for the game against the Cheetahs resulted in Richie Murphy’s side being awarded five points, allowing them to host Stade Francais – both have already qualified as indeed have Cardiff and Exeter from Pool Three – and have so much at stake in the knockout stages for whoever comes out on top in Belfast.
Reflecting on the bizarre turn of events from last weekend, Murphy said: “We were told that everything would be okay.
“Then on Friday, we were told the game was moved and that was fine. Then, obviously, we turned up and saw the pitch was unplayable because it was too hard, it was frozen.
“A huge amount of work went in from the club (Dukes) and Cheetahs to try and get the game on, but player safety had to be taken into account.
“From our point of view, I suppose it’s frustrating because you could probably see that maybe it wasn’t going to happen. But we can only follow the rules of the competition,” he added.
“We prepared to play. We were told all the way up until the time we arrived at the pitch that everything was going to be okay, and the referee postponed the game.”
Murphy is hoping to have something close to a full deck selection-wise for Saturday lunchtime’s clash with Stade Francais who top Pool Three but only by three points from Ulster.
Jacob Stockdale is in the mix after picking up a rib injury against Munster while Robert Baloucoune is also fit again along with Ethan McIlroy while Michael Lowry could also feature at the weekend.
“We have (essentially) a home knockout game,” said Murphy of the Parisian side’s visit.
“The big thing is that we’re in a cup competition. So, the advantage of being at home; if you could get a home last-16, if you win that the quarter, if you win that the semi, if you could all get that (at home), that would be a massive advantage for us.
“But there are still a lot of good teams in the competition, so let’s take it week in, week out, and we’ll go from there,” said the Ulster head coach.
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