Ulster look as if they will be able to deploy four of their Ireland squad members for Friday evening’s URC clash with Connacht in Belfast.
Tom O’Toole, who has made a notably effective switch to loosehead prop in the Six Nations, is back with the province this week after starting against Wales and Scotland, as are Jacob Stockdale, Nathan Doak and Tom Stewart.
Ulster go into the interpro match with a spring in their step after they banked an impressive 40-19 victory at Edinburgh last Friday in the rearranged round two league game and they now sit third in the URC table.
“They’re coming back with a little bit of extra confidence,” said head coach Richie Murphy. “And I think that win at the weekend [in Edinburgh] sets us up in a really nice position within the league. And I suppose the guys that have been here and not in Irish camp, they feel like they’re contributing to our goals.
“All in all, it sets us up really well for the run-in,” Murphy added while pointing out that Stuart McCloskey, Robert Baloucoune and Nick Timoney will be back in training at Ulster at some point next week.
In terms of those who turned out at the Hive Stadium last Friday, Cormac Izuchukwu, James Hume and David Shanahan all picked up head knocks and are undergoing the return to play protocols. Jude Postlethwaite left the action with a suspected broken hand.
It was an attention-grabbing performance from Ulster who scored 26 unanswered points in the second half and came away from the Scottish capital having scored six tries.
“There’s a maturity starting to grow within the squad,” said Murphy. “They’re starting to understand how to apply pressure to an opposition team and not let them off the hook.”
“It was nice to turn up, be under pressure and come out the other side of it. I thought the way the players navigated their way through that second half was really good.”
As for Friday’s opposition, he stated, “Connacht have gone well the last few weeks.
“[They’ve been] Pretty direct in the way they’ve been playing.
“At the moment, we’re in a decent place, but it’s really important that we play our own game.”