Andy Warwick is set for his third start for Ulster Rugby in was many weeks, having made just two in the first five months of the season.
The run of games coincides with Head Coach Jono Gibbes assuming responsibility for team selection, but Warwick attributes his increased involvement to the improvements he's made to his game.
“At the start of the year, personally, I let myself down a bit,” said the Ballymena man, who has 88 Ulster caps to his name. “I’ve trained really hard and hopefully that is starting to show on the pitch.
“I suppose it all comes from training at 100% in every training session - to be in contention to play you have to be better in training. Jono preaches that week on week and it is beginning to show with a lot of players now.
“I hadn't had much of a go at the start of the season but I've been keeping the head down, working hard on the basics and trying to get around the pitch a lot better,” said Warwick, in reference to his improved showings in the loose. “I’m feeling good out there now,” he enthused.
John Cooney's 16 points weren't enough for the Ulster men last weekend against Edinburgh as Duncan Weir's last-gasp drop goal gave the Scottish side a victory, placing them just above Ulster in the Guinness PRO14 Conference B standings.
While far from catastrophic, the defeat certainly increases the pressure on the Province as the business end of the season approaches.
“To lose on the final whistle is never easy to take but the defensive performance was very good," he said.
"We were getting off the line a lot better and with the amount of possession they had, it was always going to be difficult.
“Jono is always pretty tough, but he has to be. I think aspects of the game were really pleasing, but our exits and restarts weren't good enough on the night and we’ve worked on those things this week to make it right.”
As his thoughts turn to tomorrow’s fixture against reigning champions Scarlets, Warwick notes that the Welsh outfit are particularly testing at Parc y Scarlets.
“We're definitely ready for Scarlets and training has been really good this week. We're ready for them to fling the ball about and we have been working on our units to get around the pitch.
“I think they haven't lost a game at home in the league since 2016, so it's a difficult place to go. We'll just go there, put a shift in and hope it’s enough to secure the points. We have the quality and determination to do that.”
The run of games coincides with Head Coach Jono Gibbes assuming responsibility for team selection, but Warwick attributes his increased involvement to the improvements he's made to his game.
“At the start of the year, personally, I let myself down a bit,” said the Ballymena man, who has 88 Ulster caps to his name. “I’ve trained really hard and hopefully that is starting to show on the pitch.
“I suppose it all comes from training at 100% in every training session - to be in contention to play you have to be better in training. Jono preaches that week on week and it is beginning to show with a lot of players now.
“I hadn't had much of a go at the start of the season but I've been keeping the head down, working hard on the basics and trying to get around the pitch a lot better,” said Warwick, in reference to his improved showings in the loose. “I’m feeling good out there now,” he enthused.
John Cooney's 16 points weren't enough for the Ulster men last weekend against Edinburgh as Duncan Weir's last-gasp drop goal gave the Scottish side a victory, placing them just above Ulster in the Guinness PRO14 Conference B standings.
While far from catastrophic, the defeat certainly increases the pressure on the Province as the business end of the season approaches.
“To lose on the final whistle is never easy to take but the defensive performance was very good," he said.
"We were getting off the line a lot better and with the amount of possession they had, it was always going to be difficult.
“Jono is always pretty tough, but he has to be. I think aspects of the game were really pleasing, but our exits and restarts weren't good enough on the night and we’ve worked on those things this week to make it right.”
As his thoughts turn to tomorrow’s fixture against reigning champions Scarlets, Warwick notes that the Welsh outfit are particularly testing at Parc y Scarlets.
“We're definitely ready for Scarlets and training has been really good this week. We're ready for them to fling the ball about and we have been working on our units to get around the pitch.
“I think they haven't lost a game at home in the league since 2016, so it's a difficult place to go. We'll just go there, put a shift in and hope it’s enough to secure the points. We have the quality and determination to do that.”