Franco van der Merwe has urged his Ulster team mates to keep producing after Les Kiss' men secured a second consecutive bonus point win, the most recent of which came against Glasgow on Saturday afternoon.
Reflecting on the recent successes, the South African said, “I think there was a lot of pressure on us in the previous game against Edinburgh and the guys delivered. To follow that up with another five-pointer is pleasing and even more so given that we’ve denied Glasgow picking up anything.
“But we can't get ahead of ourselves. Every single season we have to focus on next week's game, but there is a big buzz in the group and good energy.
“When we got back after the break there was a real hunger in the squad for each session and the guys worked hard. We know what's at stake here and we know we have to work every single game. We are going to have to refocus again for Zebre.”
In his first couple of seasons in Belfast, van der Merwe continually put in 80-minute performances due to squad injuries and limited resources at lock.
But the emergence of Kieran Treadwell and the availability and form of Alan O’Connor, Pete Browne and Iain Henderson, has allowed Kiss to rotate his players more often.
“It's been a while since I played 80 minutes so it was really good to do that again, although it was a little bit of a blow out at the end.
“A lot of the second row guys have been really playing well; Treaders has come in this season and has really performed, while we know Alan has shown great form ever since he starting playing for us. He's one of the guys who has come through the Academy and it's good to have that progression and competition.
“That's the system we've got at the moment, it's not just the 15 or 23 players, we've got a strong squad. I think what Ulster has been working on the past couple of years has meant that throughout the Six Nations, even with a couple of injuries, we've got a strong enough squad.”
It was confirmed last month that van der Merwe will leave Kingspan Stadium to join Cardiff Blues at the end of the season and the 33-year-old is determined to make the most of his time here.
“It would be nice to leave on a high, but for me, just playing in a white jersey is such a big honour,” he said.
“You never know when it’s going to be your last game, and I just want to enjoy it. If there's silverware it'll be brilliant, but I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as possible.
"This is my third season at Ulster but there are guys who have been here for a lot longer and they deserve it more, guys like Besty (Rory Best). We’ve also got to remember a lot of the guys that are not here anymore, but who have contributed in a big way - if we could just do it for them as well.”
Reflecting on the recent successes, the South African said, “I think there was a lot of pressure on us in the previous game against Edinburgh and the guys delivered. To follow that up with another five-pointer is pleasing and even more so given that we’ve denied Glasgow picking up anything.
“But we can't get ahead of ourselves. Every single season we have to focus on next week's game, but there is a big buzz in the group and good energy.
“When we got back after the break there was a real hunger in the squad for each session and the guys worked hard. We know what's at stake here and we know we have to work every single game. We are going to have to refocus again for Zebre.”
In his first couple of seasons in Belfast, van der Merwe continually put in 80-minute performances due to squad injuries and limited resources at lock.
But the emergence of Kieran Treadwell and the availability and form of Alan O’Connor, Pete Browne and Iain Henderson, has allowed Kiss to rotate his players more often.
“It's been a while since I played 80 minutes so it was really good to do that again, although it was a little bit of a blow out at the end.
“A lot of the second row guys have been really playing well; Treaders has come in this season and has really performed, while we know Alan has shown great form ever since he starting playing for us. He's one of the guys who has come through the Academy and it's good to have that progression and competition.
“That's the system we've got at the moment, it's not just the 15 or 23 players, we've got a strong squad. I think what Ulster has been working on the past couple of years has meant that throughout the Six Nations, even with a couple of injuries, we've got a strong enough squad.”
It was confirmed last month that van der Merwe will leave Kingspan Stadium to join Cardiff Blues at the end of the season and the 33-year-old is determined to make the most of his time here.
“It would be nice to leave on a high, but for me, just playing in a white jersey is such a big honour,” he said.
“You never know when it’s going to be your last game, and I just want to enjoy it. If there's silverware it'll be brilliant, but I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as possible.
"This is my third season at Ulster but there are guys who have been here for a lot longer and they deserve it more, guys like Besty (Rory Best). We’ve also got to remember a lot of the guys that are not here anymore, but who have contributed in a big way - if we could just do it for them as well.”