Much has been made of the strength in depth of the Ulster squad this season. Such references tend to focus on the wing berths where Trimble, Bowe, Gilroy and Allen compete for two places, or in the back row where Mark Anscombe must choose between players like Williams, Henry, Diack, Wilson and Henderson. However, the front row is equally competitive, with Afoa, Lutton and Fitzpatrick all having played tighthead, Best, Annett and Herring all represented Ulster at hooker and Callum Black and ...
Much has been made of the strength in depth of the Ulster squad this season. Such references tend to focus on the wing berths where Trimble, Bowe, Gilroy and Allen compete for two places, or in the back row where Mark Anscombe must choose between players like Williams, Henry, Diack, Wilson and Henderson. However, the front row is equally competitive, with Afoa, Lutton and Fitzpatrick all having played tighthead, Best, Annett and Herring all represented Ulster at hooker and Callum Black and Tom Court competing for the right to wear the Number 1 jersey.
Both Black and Court have performed extremely well this season, with Court outstanding against Montpellier and Leicester Tigers and Black proving against Cardiff that he is much more than a stand in. This week against Scarlets, he is looking to boost his claim to a regular starting berth with another big performance:
"It was good to get the win last weekend against Cardiff because obviously they were coming off a good win against Toulon so we knew that their confidence would have been up," says Black. "Now it's on to Scarlets who themselves are going really well. They have had two good games in Europe and they have some dangerous players, so we are going to have to be at our best.
"I was pretty happy with my performance (against Cardiff). Obviously it's always good when the scrum goes well. It was good to get a start and to show what I am all about. Now my aim is to try and keep that Number 1 shirt for as long as possible."
And what of that rivalry between Black and Court?
"We are good mates off the pitch and its good to have healthy competition in the squad," he concludes. "If you get comfortable in your position then you are not going to improve as a player. We always push ourselves in training and obviously if we can both do that then we are both going to be better players."
One of the hallmarks of Ulster's past six games has been the strength of the scrum. Black puts that down to long hours on the training pitch:
"The scrum has been going well but we do work extremely hard - two or three sessions a week. Obviously you have to get your set piece right. With the personnel that we have in our squad - we have a lot of strong props, some good hookers and throughout our whole pack, even our back 5 put great weight into our scrum. After every game we sit down and analyse our performance, even if we have had a good scrumming performance we are always looking to improve."
And what are his aims for the season?
"I am looking to improve week in week out," says Black. "Now that I have got this start, I want to make sure that the set piece is solid and to try and offer myself around the pitch. Hopefully if I can show what I can offer the team, I can keep that place as long as possible."
Much has been made of the strength in depth of the Ulster squad this season. Such references tend to focus on the wing berths where Trimble, Bowe, Gilroy and Allen compete for two places, or in the back row where Mark Anscombe must choose between players like Williams, Henry, Diack, Wilson and Henderson. However, the front row is equally competitive, with Afoa, Lutton and Fitzpatrick all having played tighthead, Best, Annett and Herring all represented Ulster at hooker and Callum Black and Tom Court competing for the right to wear the Number 1 jersey.
Both Black and Court have performed extremely well this season, with Court outstanding against Montpellier and Leicester Tigers and Black proving against Cardiff that he is much more than a stand in. This week against Scarlets, he is looking to boost his claim to a regular starting berth with another big performance:
"It was good to get the win last weekend against Cardiff because obviously they were coming off a good win against Toulon so we knew that their confidence would have been up," says Black. "Now it's on to Scarlets who themselves are going really well. They have had two good games in Europe and they have some dangerous players, so we are going to have to be at our best.
"I was pretty happy with my performance (against Cardiff). Obviously it's always good when the scrum goes well. It was good to get a start and to show what I am all about. Now my aim is to try and keep that Number 1 shirt for as long as possible."
And what of that rivalry between Black and Court?
"We are good mates off the pitch and its good to have healthy competition in the squad," he concludes. "If you get comfortable in your position then you are not going to improve as a player. We always push ourselves in training and obviously if we can both do that then we are both going to be better players."
One of the hallmarks of Ulster's past six games has been the strength of the scrum. Black puts that down to long hours on the training pitch:
"The scrum has been going well but we do work extremely hard - two or three sessions a week. Obviously you have to get your set piece right. With the personnel that we have in our squad - we have a lot of strong props, some good hookers and throughout our whole pack, even our back 5 put great weight into our scrum. After every game we sit down and analyse our performance, even if we have had a good scrumming performance we are always looking to improve."
And what are his aims for the season?
"I am looking to improve week in week out," says Black. "Now that I have got this start, I want to make sure that the set piece is solid and to try and offer myself around the pitch. Hopefully if I can show what I can offer the team, I can keep that place as long as possible."