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Be there for the first home match of the season, as Ulster welcome the Bulls to Belfast.
With halloween celebrations in full flow, make sure you grab your tickets and roar the Ulstermen on!
Ulster's Assistant Coach, Dan Soper, has been speaking to media ahead of the Ulster's first home match of the season, with the province hoping to make it two wins in a row, after last week's bonus point win in Round 1 against Zebre Parma.
On the Round 1 victory
"We were pleased to come out of Parma with five points, Zebre played well , they challenged us, they were kicking the ball a lot more, playing a bit more pragmatic and they don’t roll over. We were happy with scoring six tries and we got a good return from the possession we had, but we had a few challenges on the other side of the ball that we know we need to address. There's nothing like the shock of the first competition game to give you the opportunity to keep grafting."
On the Bulls
"The bulls are such an interesting team, they have such power, they play with such aggression, that’s one challenge and on the flip side the have fast and dangerous backs. You really can't take your eye off the ball. We know it will be a big challenge, we know from our game at the weekend that set pieces are a big challenge and we got stuck into that in training this week- we need to be a lot better."
Playing at Kingspan Stadium
"This weekend is a special opportunity, the players love playing at home as they have family and friends in the stands, and a big crowd at the weekend is always special. It’s a rugby world cup final weekend, so rugby is at the forefront of everyone’s mind this weekend. Playing on a Sunday afternoon is a bit different too. They will all be excited to turn up this week. We are looking forward to playing at home, it feels like it’s been a long time since we have played here. We remember our last game here against Connacht hurt us a lot so we will probably carry that hurt into the weekend as well."
On being reunited with Marcell Coetzee
"He was awesome. He was a great person to work with, I was Skills Coach at the time, I was in awe of him, how diligent he was and he was such a great guy to work with to have around the place. I loved him, he worked hard and he performed for us, he had a big impact. Players moving on is the nature of the business, and we will work out how to deal with him."
Ulster scrum-half Nathan Doak, is hoping to build on his opening weekend performance against Zebre Parma, after he successfully kicked 5/6 conversions. Doak also spoke about how he is enjoying training on the new 3G surface at Kingspan Stadium, as the team prepare kick off a new era.
Thoughts on the new pitch
"I think everybody was actually very excited about it, nobody knew what to expect. We have been on a couple over the years but to be honest with you, it’s the best I have been on!
It's definitely a lot quicker and a lot harder to defend against, it will suit us with our backs, a young team who like to use our footwork but I'm really excited to get out there at the weekend on it.
It’s an exciting opportunity for our backs, we have exciting players who can beat defenders, I know from training how difficult it can be in trying to defend them, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it goes in the match, and hopefully we can attract more fans to come and watch us play on the new 3G."
On Zebre win
"We were happy to come away with the five points but we were lucky at the end, we had a lot to work on this week but it was also exciting that we were able to get 5 points and have things to work on. It’s going to be a big challenge for us this week, we need to work on the things we need to and we’ve had good training sessions this week. We've seen a lot of improvement so we feel well prepped for the Bulls."
On his kicking success in Round 1
"It was nice at the weekend to get my kicking percentages quite high, unfortunately for the Zebre 10, he missed a couple but there is a lot that goes into it, a lot of mental preparation goes into it. Some days it can be really windy and you can have a bad day, but the reward on the weekend is nice, knowing your kicks were the difference was a good personally."
On Bulls test
"Hopefully we can contain the Bulls as they are a good side, they put 63 points on Scarlets, so its going to be challenging and a test. Obviously we were disappointed with our defence and we will be really challenged again so its exciting to see where we are at. They are a top side they have shown it for years, it’s a test for the defence and in attack hopefully we can continue our form and it should be a really exciting match."