Ulster travel to Thomond Park on Friday to take on Munster in what will be the first inter-provincial clash of the season.
Darren Cave, fresh from Rugby World Cup duty, will make his first start of the Guinness PRO12 season after coming off the bench in last week’s 24-17 win over Cardiff Blues.
For the Ireland centre, the games don’t come much bigger:
“The inter-pros are up there with the big European games, especially now that Connacht are proving themselves to be a real force in the league. There’s great rivalry between the players and the fans and they are games that we really look forward to.
“Last season we drew at home and had a one point loss away, so they were really tight games and we’re expecting Friday to be no different."
While Cave recognises the importance of these fixtures for players with international aspirations, he’s keen to stress that it’s not the priority.
“There’s no doubt that they are great opportunities to show what you can do against players that you’re matching up against internationally, says Cave. “The Irish coaches are going to keep a special eye on these games, but at the end of the day there are league points up for grabs and that’s what our focus will be on.”
Having trained with many of the Munster squad in Ireland camps over the past three months, the 28-year-old is wary of the threat they can pose:
“They have a few of their internationals back, like (Simon) Zebo in the back three and Donnacha Ryan, who I’m sure will come off the bench at some point. We know they are going to bring great intensity to their game, but sometimes it’s still hard to stop. That’s a massive strength of their team.
He continued: “We were talking the other day about how few set pieces they’ve had in their own half, and particularly in their own 22, so far this season. Their territory game is very good; Ian Keatley is a class act at number 10 and he puts them into the right positions on the pitch. He’s also a quality goal kicker.”
But Cave is equally aware of the strengths of his own team-mates and has backed Ulster to get the win: “I’ve won down there a couple of times before and I see no real reason why, if we tidy up a few things, we can’t test them and come out on the right side of the result.”
Darren Cave, fresh from Rugby World Cup duty, will make his first start of the Guinness PRO12 season after coming off the bench in last week’s 24-17 win over Cardiff Blues.
For the Ireland centre, the games don’t come much bigger:
“The inter-pros are up there with the big European games, especially now that Connacht are proving themselves to be a real force in the league. There’s great rivalry between the players and the fans and they are games that we really look forward to.
“Last season we drew at home and had a one point loss away, so they were really tight games and we’re expecting Friday to be no different."
While Cave recognises the importance of these fixtures for players with international aspirations, he’s keen to stress that it’s not the priority.
“There’s no doubt that they are great opportunities to show what you can do against players that you’re matching up against internationally, says Cave. “The Irish coaches are going to keep a special eye on these games, but at the end of the day there are league points up for grabs and that’s what our focus will be on.”
Having trained with many of the Munster squad in Ireland camps over the past three months, the 28-year-old is wary of the threat they can pose:
“They have a few of their internationals back, like (Simon) Zebo in the back three and Donnacha Ryan, who I’m sure will come off the bench at some point. We know they are going to bring great intensity to their game, but sometimes it’s still hard to stop. That’s a massive strength of their team.
He continued: “We were talking the other day about how few set pieces they’ve had in their own half, and particularly in their own 22, so far this season. Their territory game is very good; Ian Keatley is a class act at number 10 and he puts them into the right positions on the pitch. He’s also a quality goal kicker.”
But Cave is equally aware of the strengths of his own team-mates and has backed Ulster to get the win: “I’ve won down there a couple of times before and I see no real reason why, if we tidy up a few things, we can’t test them and come out on the right side of the result.”