Ruan Pienaar is hoping Ulster will learn from the mistakes of previous years as they prepare for a Guinness PRO12 play-off showdown with Leinster this Friday 20th May at RDS Arena.
Speaking at a press conference at Kingspan Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, Pienaar referred to previous games against Leinster and highlighted what he felt could be the defining factors this Friday:
"I think doing the basics well will be the key. In the past we’ve gone down to Leinster and a few soft mistakes have cost us. They were able to build scoreboard pressure and we ended up chasing the game. When you’re chasing the scoreboard against a team like Leinster, that’s when more mistakes start to creep in. So we need to make sure we do all the basics well, discipline wise, being accurate with the plays in front of us, and making sure we take chances when we get them. Otherwise a team like Leinster will punish you."
It took a run of four successive victories, including two bonus points, for Ulster to clinch the play-off spot and the South African international feels that the pressure his team have been under in recent weeks will stand them in good stead this weekend:
"We’re really excited to still be involved at this stage of the competition, we had to work hard to get here. We’ve been under pressure to get wins in each of our last four games so I think mentally and physically we are in a good place. We’ve probably played our best rugby in the past month so hopefully when the pressure comes on again this Friday we’ll still be able to operate and perform well."
Kick-off at RDS Arena is at 7.45pm this Friday 20th May. The game will also be shown live on Sky Sports 1 and BBC2 NI.
Speaking at a press conference at Kingspan Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, Pienaar referred to previous games against Leinster and highlighted what he felt could be the defining factors this Friday:
"I think doing the basics well will be the key. In the past we’ve gone down to Leinster and a few soft mistakes have cost us. They were able to build scoreboard pressure and we ended up chasing the game. When you’re chasing the scoreboard against a team like Leinster, that’s when more mistakes start to creep in. So we need to make sure we do all the basics well, discipline wise, being accurate with the plays in front of us, and making sure we take chances when we get them. Otherwise a team like Leinster will punish you."
It took a run of four successive victories, including two bonus points, for Ulster to clinch the play-off spot and the South African international feels that the pressure his team have been under in recent weeks will stand them in good stead this weekend:
"We’re really excited to still be involved at this stage of the competition, we had to work hard to get here. We’ve been under pressure to get wins in each of our last four games so I think mentally and physically we are in a good place. We’ve probably played our best rugby in the past month so hopefully when the pressure comes on again this Friday we’ll still be able to operate and perform well."
Kick-off at RDS Arena is at 7.45pm this Friday 20th May. The game will also be shown live on Sky Sports 1 and BBC2 NI.