ALAN O’CONNOR SAYS Ulster will be treating every game they have left this season as a play-off match.
Their 31-20 win at Parc Y Scarlets was their first on the road since they beat Leinster in Dublin on 1 January and saw them move up two places in the URC table to sixth.
Even so, there are 10 points splitting seven sides, so anything could happen over the last two rounds.
“We have to play Leinster, Munster and then we’ll see where we are at. In my head it’s play-off games all the way from here on,” said the acting Ulster skipper.
There wasn’t much to celebrate after a first-half that ended 6-3 in favour of the down on their luck Scarlets – two Sam Costelow penalties outdoing one from John Cooney.
Italian referee Ginaluca Gnocchi may have played a part in the low score as he ruled out three potential tries for the outstanding Cormac Izuchukwu after he had been driven over the home line. ‘Held up’ was the referees verdict on each occasion.
The Scarlets breathed a heavy sigh of relief, but couldn’t make up for starting the second half with Taine Plumtree and Gareth Davies in the sin-bin. Two of the four tries came while the home side were below par as Stuart McCloskey and Nick Timoney raced in.
David McCann and Jacob Stockdale then ensured there was a bonus-point and John Cooney kicked the rest of the points.
“We were a little bit disappointed with our first half, although it is difficult when you get over the line three times and don’t manage to get the ball down,” said Ulster head coach Richie Murphy.
“We weren’t accurate enough and didn’t build enough pressure, although we were moving in the right direction by the end of the half.
“I gave them a rocket at half time.
“With them down to 13 with two yellow cards at the start of the second half, I thought we managed the next 20 minutes really well.
“It’s incredibly tight in the table and the fact is nobody really knows what it’s going to take. You just have to go into every game and try to win.”
For Ulster that means a double dose of inter-pro clashes with Leinster and Munster. The results against those two old foes will determine whether or not Ulster march on into the quarter-finals.
“Ulster beat Leinster earlier in the season, so there is a lot of play for. It will be a big day,” said Murphy.