Neil Doak: Every Game Now Is A Cup Final

Having watched his team beat Cardiff by 36 points to 17, score four tries and secure the bonus point, Ulster Head Coach, Neil Doak, is now looking ahead to the province’s next Guinness PRO12 match, against Connacht. The game will be the first of three interprovincial matches in a row, with Leinster and Munster coming to Kingspan Stadium, before Ulster travel to Glasgow for the final match of the regular season.

“We are delighted with the result (beating Cardiff), says Doak. “We are in the final four games and it is now cup final after cup final. We just have to make sure that we get the job done. Sometimes, against Cardiff, it wasn’t pretty but ultimately we got there and I am delighted.”

If there was one negative from the Cardiff performance it was the yellow cards to Nick Williams and Franco van der Merwe:

Doak says: “Our discipline just has to be better. When you go down to 14 men against teams it’s always going to be difficult. That’s maybe why it got a bit loose because players were working harder and fatigue set in. Credit to Cardiff they caused us some problems.”

With the exception of Stuart Olding who suffered a serious knee injury in the Cardiff match and Andrew Trimble who is out for the rest of the season, Doak will find himself in the unusual position of having a virtually full squad to choose from for the trip to Galway:

“The players know that we are getting almost everyone back on board,” the Ulster Head Coach says. “We have almost everyone fighting fit and selection will be a good headache to have. There will be people disappointed that they are not playing but we obviously take to the pitch with the best 23 that we have. It is great to have competition. I am not sure that I have had too many selection headaches this year! I have been trying to plug a few holes at times so it will be great to have everyone available.”

Having won so comprehensively against Cardiff, Ulster will have to wait two weeks before getting back to action. While building on the momentum would have been good, the coaches are planning on using the extra week to their advantage:

Doak says: “For our returning players it would be nice to have a game next week as they would have liked to have had a run of matches. While we are disappointed not to be in a European quarter-final, the break gives us the chance to prep a bit more for Connacht and the other teams for the back end of the season. We will have a couple of days next week and hopefully that will put us ahead in our plans for that game.”

With four games remaining and a handful of points between first and fifth in the PRO12, every match is now a cup final.