Though there is no sense of alarm just yet for Ulster, having to now face Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun, after tripping up badly at home to Edinburgh, has still created a certain sense of anxiety.
The prospect of losing their first two games has sharpened Richie Murphy’s focus as he bids to get his side back on track. Their cause ought to be assisted by having several Ireland internationals available for deployment.
Tom Stewart, Cormac Izuchukwu, Bryn Ward, Nathan Doak and Jacob Stockdale are all fit, though the luckless Robert Baloucoune is out for a second week running after he suffered a concussion against Edinburgh.
Also out of the reckoning are Michael Lowry (concussion) and Aitzol Arenzana-King (knee), while James Hume is once again stood down having missed the Edinburgh fixture due to a hamstring problem.
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What is less certain is whether Ulster can call upon any combination of Tom O’Toole, Nick Timoney and Stuart McCloskey, though it’s more likely they will return for next week’s interprovincial with Munster at the Affidea Stadium.
Murphy will require reinforcements for the short hop over to Glasgow as the hosts will be in buoyant form for their first home outing after snatching a bonus-point win over Munster at Thomond Park last weekend.
“They’re a formidable outfit,” said Murphy of Franco Smith’s side. “They’re a settled team with a settled coaching team as well. They play with fast ruck speed and play with plenty of width, the things that probably caused us trouble last Friday night (against Edinburgh).”
Murphy admitted the pressure his side came under in Belfast “is probably even going to go up a level”, adding: “We need a reaction from our troops, and that’s what we’ve been doing over the last couple of days, trying to prepare for that.”
Although Ulster managed to escape Edinburgh with two bonus points having trailed 34-5 early in the second half, overall, they were loose and frayed for far too much of the game.
“We’ve turned up at home and we haven’t performed, and we’re trying to work out exactly why that is,” said Murphy.
“Whether it’s team preparation, or it’s individual preparation, if we’re not accurate and we don’t look after our ball, that means we go into defensive sets.
“And if we don’t connect (in defence), if we don’t work together as a unit, and if our collision work isn’t good enough, then we end up defending for long periods of time.”
He added: “The review process from last week was around the contact and the collision, around defensive structure and making sure we look after the ball.
“We have to make sure that our defence is a weapon to get the ball back, and not just to contain the opposition. That was probably the difference on the night (against Edinburgh).”
