Predictably enough, Ulster have chosen the strongest available team for this, their final festive interpro. Whatever the desire to maintain a position near the top of the URC table, or the wish to record a third consecutive victory over Munster, there must also be a sense of guilt nibbling at them, like the burden of an unpaid debt.
Ulster’s supporters are among the most loyal and enthusiastic in European club rugby but they haven’t had much value for their season tickets recently. Since the beginning of October their team has played just twice at Kingspan Stadium, delivering relatively facile victories over Ospreys and Zebre.
Real supporters understand that these humdrum league outings are part of the package. The real return on investment comes on the big Champions Cup nights, especially when Ulster have drawn the European champions, La Rochelle. Except when they have to “host” them at an almost empty Aviva Stadium.
Apart from ceding home advantage two weeks ago, Ulster paid a heavy price in lost gate receipts and the cost of hiring the Aviva, reported at between £500,000 and £700,000. When asked whether such losses might be covered by insurance, the club chose not to comment.
There is also the possibility of a fine for a misconduct charge arising from the failure to deliver their designated alternative match venue — in keeping with tournament regulations — once there was no guarantee that the Kingspan surface would be playable. While the Ulster chief executive, Jonny Petrie, and his director of rugby, Dan McFarland, portrayed Ulster as the victims of European Professional Club Rugby bureaucracy, it never felt like they were winning the public relations battle.
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Instead, they need something to distract supporters from the memory of those disastrous 160 minutes, spanning from half-time against Leinster through the defeat in Sale up to half-time at the Aviva, when the aggregate points scored was seven for and 96 against. During that nightmarish period, it felt like the McFarland-Petrie project — which has generally been a positive period for the club in terms of results and the development of local talent — was unravelling before our eyes.
The second-half salvage operation against La Rochelle, sweetened by the acquisition of two bonus points, was continued in Galway last week, when Ulster dominated the under-performing Connacht for most of the contest. However, just as you were admiring their resilience, they appeared to lose their nerve, to such an extent that Connacht’s Jack Carty had an opportunity to secure a draw with the last kick of the game.
Given that Ulster had led 19-3 towards the end of the third quarter, that late lapse hinted at a team still recovering its composure after a hellish few weeks. Nathan Doak, who was on the pitch for Carty’s late conversion attempt in Galway, recognises that a draw would have felt like another defeat.
“It wouldn’t have felt like a draw, not given the position we’d been in,” Doak said. “In that first half we’d had such good play to the five-metre line where we turned the ball over three times. We go in 5-3 up which could easily have been 20-3. That was very frustrating.
“We score twice in the third quarter and it becomes a lot easier from there. Then we shot ourselves in the foot. The kick at the end? I couldn’t watch, to be honest. It’s out of your control at that stage and a few things haven’t gone our way recently. It was actually nice to get a bit of reward for our hard work.”
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The 21-year-old scrum half has impressed as a makeshift fly half but moves to the bench this evening as McFarland fields his most experienced available team. While Munster are obliged to rest Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, Ulster have impressive international experience in every row of the scrum in Rory Sutherland, Iain Henderson and Duane Vermeulen. They also have what looks like a first-choice back line with the exception of Stewart Moore, a handy replacement for Mike Lowry at full back.
In Rob Herring’s absence, the game offers Tom Stewart the opportunity to convince Andy Farrell that he can become Ireland’s third-best hooker. Two tries and an assist against Connacht suggested that the 21-year-old may already be there.
After this, Ulster’s next home fixture is against Sale in the final pool round of the Champions Cup. Given that they visit La Rochelle in the interim, it’s likely that by then they will be chasing a slot in the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup — a competition that they can justifiably have designs on winning. After 16 years without a trophy, that ambition can drive them on and, after such a tough December, a win over Munster would be a step in the right direction.
Ulster S Moore; R Baloucoune, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; B Burns, J Cooney; R Sutherland, T Stewart, M Moore; K Treadwell, I Henderson (capt); G Jones, S Reffell, D Vermeulen
Replacements J Andrew, E O’Sullivan, G Milasanovich, S Carter, J Murphy, N Doak, J Flannery, E McIlroy
Munster M Haley; S Daly, A Frisch, M Fekitoa, K Earls; J Crowley, C Casey; D Kilcoyne, N Scannell, R Salanoa; J Kleyn, K McDonald; J O’Donoghue (capt), A Kendellen, G Coombes
Replacements S Buckley, J Wycherley, S Archer, C Hurley, J O’Sullivan, C Murray, B Healy, P Campbell
Ulster v Munster
Today, 5.15pm
TV: Viaplay/TG4
