United Rugby Championship: Ulster optimistic over Burns and Herring fitness for Leinster game

Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper says the province are hopeful that Billy Burns and Rob Herring will be available for Monday’s URC game against Leinster.

A bicep injury sustained against Racing saw Burns also sit out Friday’s match.

“Those two guys are looking pretty good so I would be optimistic they’ll be ok this weekend but we’ll wait and see how it pans out,” said Soper on Wednesday.

Michael Lowry is expected to be fit for selection after withdrawing from the starting team that overcame Connacht 20-19 in Belfast because of sickness.

Ethan McIlroy has returned to team training but is having “some tests with the medics” this week ahead of the New Year’s Day encounter in Dublin.

Ulster ended a three-game losing streak with their home European success over Top 14 leaders Racing and backed that up with that hard-fought interprovincial win over Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on 22 December.

Table-toppers Leinster ground out a 9-3 victory on the road against Munster four days later at Thomond Park.

Soper believes Ulster’s additional time for recuperation and preparation will not be a major factor in Monday’s contest however.

“They [Leinster] will be on a six-day turnaround but they have rotated a few guys out,” reflected Soper.

“I think most of the guys are used to that, although if you get a wee bit of extra rest it can be great and gives you an opportunity to get a step ahead in your prep.

“But I’m not sure it will have a huge bearing on the outcome on Monday.

“The Irish derbies are so hotly contested. You look at the Munster-Connacht game and it was equally as tight as our game on Friday night.

“I’d expect on Monday they will be two games that are tight again. It has a big bearing on the league table as well – Munster, Connacht and ourselves are all sitting pretty tight to each other – so you don’t want to fall behind. You want to stay chomping at the heels of the guys at the top.”

Taking belief from win at RDS

Soper added that Ulster can take confidence from their 20-10 triumph over Leinster at the RDS two years ago, plus the fact that they built up a 19-point lead over their Irish rivals at the same venue 12 months ago, before 35 points on the spin from Leinster saw the northern province succumb to a 38-29 loss.

“We’ve taken a lot of belief from that because there are a lot of guys who were involved in that game a couple of years ago.

“We only have to go back 12 months to when we were in a good position at half-time and then the wheels came off a wee bit.

“That’s the kind of team they are. You know when you turn up to play them you have to be on it for 80 minutes. If you’re not they only need 10 minutes to swing a game and you’re suddenly chasing your tail.

“The guys all know each other so well through being in Irish camps over recent years so we have a real good understanding of a lot of their players. That gives you a bit of a leg up but vice versa, they are the same.

“We just have to make sure we prepare well and we turn up and be ready for what will be a great challenge at the start of the year.”

Nienaber influence evident

The Ulster assistant coach says the influence of South Africa World Cup-winning coach Jacques Nienaber can be seen in the way Leinster are playing this season, the Springbok having taken up a senior coaching role with the team after guiding his native country to the Webb Ellis Trophy.

“It [the RDS] is right up there with one of the most difficult places to go anywhere. Leinster have set the standard for the past number of years and you have to respect what they have done.

“They’ve played great rugby for a number of years and you can see they’ve made a few wee tweaks this year with Jacques Nienaber being in there and I think it looks even more a fortress doesn’t it.

“You can see an increase in their line speed. They’ve always been a very good defensive team and it’s always been very difficult to find space against but they’re putting even more heat on teams now and going pretty aggressively at your breakdown so if you don’t get that right you’re behind the eight-ball from the start so it’s important that we get that right.

“Hopefully the weather plays ball as the weather on Friday night was pretty grim, pretty tough. You saw two teams Leinster and Munster, who have been playing such good rugby too, and it was a pretty tough night for them, given the conditions.

“When you play a team like Leinster you have to go there to win and really take it to them. If you don’t, they’re just too good a team and eventually they’ll wear you down and get on top of you.

“You’ve really got to go after them from the off. You don’t want to die wondering. We’ll get a plan together and hope everyone arrives with clarity and we’ll have a go at them.”

Going to Leinster remains the most difficult place to go in rugby, Ulster have to be at their best but they go with confidence after feisty derby win over Connacht and Racing win. Memories of away win in 2021.

The expansive game they’re trying to play could help them v Leinster but they need the weather to ‘play ball’.