United Rugby Championship: Focus shifts as Ulster have ‘moved on’ from Champions Cup disappointment

Ulster have “moved on” from crashing out of the Champions Cup at the hands of rivals Leinster in the last-16 and are looking to finish strong in the final two rounds of the regular season in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

The side lost 30-15 a fortnight ago to a polished Leinster side who are one of the favourites to go on and claim the coveted title.

However, what remains is two home games against the Dragons and Edinburgh in the regular season of the URC. With Ulster placed in third and in striking distance of the Stormers, a strong finish is required from the province.

Looking ahead

Ulster skills coach Craig Newby says bowing out of European contention means the focus can solely go on the URC and catching the Stormers, who face Munster and Benetton in Cape Town for the final two rounds.

“It’s [now] a really big opportunity to push forward in the URC, and we’ve got goals in that as well, and they don’t stop just because we lost [to Leinster],” said Newby.

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“It’s obviously hugely disappointing to lose [to Leinster], and we had aspirations in the Champions Cup, but we’ve moved on.

“Can we catch the Stormers in second?

“Yeah, we can. We need things to go our way, but we need to prepare and try and win these next two games, and that’s all we can focus on and then focus on a quarter-final at home.

“We’re lucky that we’ve earned that right,” he said of playing their URC last-eight tie in Belfast.

“But beyond that it is in our hands and out of our hands at the same time. We want a home semi-final if we get that far, but we can’t control that at the moment.”

Focus on discipline

One of the key areas that contributed to Ulster’s downfall against Leinster was their ill-discipline, something the side looks to focus on for their clash with the Dragons this weekend.

“We certainly can’t afford to give 15 penalties away against any opposition and expect to win games,” said Newby, referencing what occurred at the Aviva Stadium the week before last.

“We’ve [actually] found two or three key things that we know will drive us forward in the Dragons week and that will help us win big games,” he concluded.