With Ulster Senior Women building their preparation through weeks of intense training sessions ahead of the upcoming interpros, there is an air of positivity in the camp.
With a new coaching team led by Head Coach Murray Houston, former players/ now coaches in Grace Davitt and Amy Davis, there is a feeling of a fresh chapter in the camp.
Fiona Tuite can be counted as one of the more experienced players in the side, and she feels the new coaching staff combined with new additions to the playing squad, is adding to the quality of the training sessions.
"It's been going really well, we are really fortunate to have a big coaching panel with good experience there along with some new faces in the team. Training has been good and there have been a lot of new ideas, which is exciting for us heading into the interpros."
To kick things off, Ulster will hope to upset the reigning champions, Munster, who won 34-0 in the fixture last time around. For Tuite and the team, that serves as motivation to show progress.
"A home game against Munster is something we are all relishing, we want some revenge from the last game! We are putting in good preparation for it and working on the details in training. Everyone is working hard to try and get a result."
Interpro grind 😤 pic.twitter.com/dKMtsPu4tL
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) July 31, 2023
Tuite says that the new staff have been working at trying to build a more attack- focused threat for this new campaign adding: "With Murray's background of being a former back player, we are looking at building a faster, more attacking style so that our strengths can flourish.
I feel that we are making good progress on individual and team skills with the experience that Eric O'Sullivan, Grace Davitt and Amy Davis have."
After a difficult campaign as a team last championship, Tuite says that the early signs during training has showed a team with growing to do but with more belief in the air.
"We are coming into the championship as underdogs but we stuck together as a group, have a good collective spirit and it's an exciting time to be in the team. We want to shock a few people."
The match is being hosted at City of Armagh RFC, a venue that the Ulster lock is excited to play at.
"I think it’s great, not everyone is in Belfast and our supporters live all around the province. The opportunity to play at another club is something we look forward to."
On a more personal level, Tuite feels that her recent call up to the Irish squad for the 2023 TikTok Six Nations, along with other teammates, will only increase performance levels for Ulster.
" It was phenomenal, I got a chance to play in the Celtic Challenge and had a good AIL campaign which led to the call-up and to train at that level with international coaching was amazing. I'm really excited for the future, being part of the centralised programme is fantastic and being in the squad for the Six Nations has gave me a taste for it, so hopefully I can earn that first cap!
You also look at young players like Brittany Hogan, Sadhbh McGrath and India Daley who are involved in the Irish set-up, which is brilliant exposure for them and they will look to kick on with Ulster."
So for Tuite, what would progress look like at the end of the new interpro campaign?
" I think if we can show development as a province, and the main way to show that would be getting results. If we can that will only improve players who will then go back to their clubs and improve across the board."
Want to be there?
Ticket information for the opening clash against Munster can be found here.