Following last weekend's 31-5 away defeat against the same opposition, this week offers Ulster 'A' the opportunity to bounce back quickly in front of home support in Belfast.
Tickets for Friday's fixture can be purchased from the link below, from £11.50 per adult and £6 per Junior/ U17. (Booking fee not included).
The fixture will also be available to watch via Ulster Rugby Live.
How has preparation been ahead of this week’s fixture?
There was initial disappointment following last week’s defeat as there were aspects of the game where we felt we were second best in. We must give credit to Munster in how they managed the game and how they managed territory better than us. We have the opportunity this week to put things right and there is a bit of excitement to correct things. We’ve trained well and things are building nicely, it’s great for these players to have a chance to play and perform in front of home supporters.
What positives did you take from last week, despite the result?
We did create plenty of opportunities but our accuracy let us down at key moments. I felt our goal line defence was strong at times against Munster’s attack. Some areas of our attack were coming to fruition, but we didn’t keep the ball well enough for longer periods of time. Hopefully with the squad together for a few more days we can produce more accuracy.
It was also fantastic to see both Ethan McIlroy and Ben Moxham getting minutes as both have come through long term injuries, so it’s important for them to get those minutes and some match sharpness under the belt.
How important are these ‘A’ games for coaches and players?
Every time we go into these games, we talk about the opportunities it creates for individuals. Each player will have their own motivations heading into these games. Some senior players are returning from injury and want to stake a claim for future selection moving forward.
Some younger players can showcase themselves to the senior coaches and demonstrate that they can make that step up into more challenging rugby. Sometimes it can be a task bringing guys together in a short period of time but that adds to the excitement.
As we get into the back end of the season, hopefully the senior team will have more matches to be involved in and that adds to the amount of fixtures required that puts strain on the squad. We’ll have three ‘A’ games in that busy May period as well. It’s always a hectic end to the season but these games are very important for players to put themselves forward.
The Academy must be buzzing right now with seeing Bryn Ward’s rapid progression this season. How much pride has that brought you and what effect does it have on the Academy players?
That’s the purpose and why we are all in the job, to support these guys and play a role in their development. A lot of credit must go to the senior coaches for showing that trust and giving the young guys the opportunity to play.
With Bryn, he deserves a huge amount of credit for the way he has developed over the past few years. A lot of staff like Willie Faloon in his previous EPDO (Elite Player Development Officer) role, Jonny Graham and Niall Annett have supported Bryn in his development.
For the other players in our system it gives them a huge lift, knowing that if they play well in their All-Ireland-League games or ‘A’ games, you can get that opportunity and then hopefully stay in there to make the most of it.
We’ve also seen Joe Hopes and Charlie Irvine take their opportunities too this season after progressing into their Development year. I think there has been a lot of learn around those two in terms of staying patient. Take Charlie Irvine for example, there’s a bit of luck involved too.
Charlie was acting as a 24th player against Benetton and due to play for Queens University that weekend but a couple of injuries means he’s on the pitch for the senior side.
And massive credit to Charlie for taking his opportunity and performing well. Suddenly after a few strong performances over the next few weeks, he found himself involved with the national set-up with Ireland XV a couple of weeks back.
Both Charlie and Joe have worked really hard to get their opportunities and both are balancing professional rugby with academic study as well.
How difficult is it when players miss out on these windows with injury?
We are always looking at ways to see if we can improve our programme and try minimise injury. Sometimes it's rugby incidents and that’s the nature of the game. It’s always tough for a few individuals who miss out on this time of year with the playing opportunities around Ireland U20s Six Nations or these ‘A’ games.
I’m conscious of always checking in with our injured guys and making sure they are supported. We say that injury can create an opportunity to work on other aspects that they wouldn’t have time to focus on otherwise. Areas like more specific physical development and parts of the game they can study but injuries are sadly part of things too.
How beneficial is the ‘A’ Championship to all provinces?
For us, they are the most important games in the season for the Academy and younger senior players. It provides that stepping stone from All-Ireland rugby into URC and European competition. It’s a chance for provinces to benchmark their talent against each other and rank guys in the same positions. There are always challenges about when to fit them in, especially with players playing club rugby on a weekly basis.
Without these games, sometimes it’s difficult to make a true assessment of where performance sits, so that’s why we get excited about these matches. It’s so important for the players involved.