When looking back on the squad’s first win on South African soil in the United Rugby Championship, Dan McFarland referenced the challenges that the team faced last year in the country, having been narrowly beaten by the DHL Stormers on two occasions.
“We had a couple of close games in South Africa last year, and we did use that as motivation as we felt that we hadn’t got over the line, but we knew we were well capable.
“One game against the Stormers, we were unlucky, and another we let go right at the death, so there were two elements. One was getting the win in the new United Rugby Championship, and the other was sealing games at the end.
“I’m really proud of the efforts of the guys, and I don’t think many people would appreciate how difficult it is to win in South Africa.”
When asked what impact he thought the temperature and altitude had on the players, as had been much discussed in the run-up to the game, McFarland felt that the heat, which hit 33 degrees at Ellis Park, had more of an impact than the altitude in Johannesburg.
“We know it’s difficult conditions to play, but sometimes I think the altitude side of things is a little over-hyped. But the heat is very different for us, and the Lions guys are used to that. They play a lot in that heat, and it takes a little bit extra. But we were prepared for that. We’ve been to South Africa a lot now, and we know it’s going to be tough. The way the game played out, it’s very similar to many games down here in that you have to get your game right in the first sixty minutes.”
With South African rugby known for its physicality, it was set to be an additional challenge when facing the Emirates Lions at their home ground.
“We didn’t get our physical collision right in the first half, but we addressed that at half time, and the guys took a really good attitude into the second half. Obviously, we got that score just before half-time, which was huge, but we came out with real physicality in defence in the second half, and then scored a maul try off the back of a line-out, went through a few phases and scored off the back of that, and it set us up for the win.
“As is often the case in South Africa, at sixty minutes, you have large blokes who are extremely tired, and you’ve got little blokes who are very fast, and feeling better, and that’s when the game opens up.”
With rivalry between the Irish and South African teams heating-up in the URC, after Ulster and Leinster featured in the inaugural competition’s semi-finals against the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls, McFarland said this was natural after the end of the last season, but didn’t write off the wider competition across the league.
“Rivalry between Irish and South African teams comes naturally because of the semi-finals, with the two South African teams deservedly in the final. The Irish teams have been doing well in the competition for a while, but then you look at the Ospreys who scored off the maul at the end of their game at the weekend to draw level with last year’s champions. There is plenty of competition in the league, and with that comes rivalry.”
Looking ahead to the Cell C Sharks, which Ulster will face this Saturday in Durban, McFarland shared some of the mentality that the team will be working on in the week ahead.
“We have gradually been making developments over the last four years. Partly this is to do with the game, and looking at different aspects of how we can try and advance that, and you can see evidence of that in our play in the small details. It’s also the mental approach to the game, and the leadership, and our ability to manage the game in difficult situations.”
Ending on a high, the Head Coach summed-up what made Saturday’s victory such an important win for him.
“There were a number of things I was really proud of. One was that in the third quarter, when we had our opportunities, we took them. We squeezed the Lions, and we won penalties and were able to get our maul going, putting our phases together to score tries – even at the end when the Lions were playing some really good and exciting rugby. To be fair to us, we were struggling physically, and we had to pull something out of the bag, and we did.”
Ulster will face the Cell C Sharks in Round 6 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday, KO 5 15pm (UK/Irish time).
