Chris Henry has his eyes firmly on a spot in the Champions Cup quarter-finals, ahead of Sunday's crucial clash against Wasps in Coventry.
A bonus-point victory for Ulster would clinch top-place in Pool One, while a win of any kind would be sufficient to hold down at least one of the three best runner-up slots, which would also ensure progression.
It promises to be a hugely intriguing weekend with various possible outcomes, but Ulster will at least have the advantage of knowing what they have to do after Saturday’s games across the other pools.
“Yeah, it’s nice that it’s the last game and we’ll have a good idea of what points are required,” said Henry.
“Those games when you play early in the weekend, it is tough watching all the other games and waiting for the results to come in.
“I think we’ll probably get to the hotel and, no doubt, like a lot of the teams, we like to watch the other games anyway. I’ve no doubt we’ll all be sitting in the team room, fueling up and watching.
“It’s a European Champions Cup weekend and it’s exciting to be able to watch other teams as well. It gets the adrenaline going, you’re sitting there watching all the other big teams play.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling knowing you’re going to go out the next day and do the same thing.”
Last week’s 20-13 win over La Rochelle and Wasps’ surprise loss to Harlequins have combined to leave Ulster in a strong position going into the final round. However, Henry is acutely aware that it will take a big effort on Sunday to secure that spot in the last eight of the competition.
“I’m sure Wasps will be hurting from that defeat - they are a team of serious history – and there’s no doubt there’s going to be a reaction from them.
“We know that, we accept that, but it’s about imposing ourselves on them. We are backing ourselves to go over and get the result.”
A bonus-point victory for Ulster would clinch top-place in Pool One, while a win of any kind would be sufficient to hold down at least one of the three best runner-up slots, which would also ensure progression.
It promises to be a hugely intriguing weekend with various possible outcomes, but Ulster will at least have the advantage of knowing what they have to do after Saturday’s games across the other pools.
“Yeah, it’s nice that it’s the last game and we’ll have a good idea of what points are required,” said Henry.
“Those games when you play early in the weekend, it is tough watching all the other games and waiting for the results to come in.
“I think we’ll probably get to the hotel and, no doubt, like a lot of the teams, we like to watch the other games anyway. I’ve no doubt we’ll all be sitting in the team room, fueling up and watching.
“It’s a European Champions Cup weekend and it’s exciting to be able to watch other teams as well. It gets the adrenaline going, you’re sitting there watching all the other big teams play.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling knowing you’re going to go out the next day and do the same thing.”
Last week’s 20-13 win over La Rochelle and Wasps’ surprise loss to Harlequins have combined to leave Ulster in a strong position going into the final round. However, Henry is acutely aware that it will take a big effort on Sunday to secure that spot in the last eight of the competition.
“I’m sure Wasps will be hurting from that defeat - they are a team of serious history – and there’s no doubt there’s going to be a reaction from them.
“We know that, we accept that, but it’s about imposing ourselves on them. We are backing ourselves to go over and get the result.”