Ulster Rugby vs Newport Gwent Dragons

ROB HERRING SCARE TACTICS

Ulster’s Halloween fixture against Dragons is a must-win for the side who succumbed to the French force of Toulon just seven days ago.

claims the scrum has now found its groove and the guys are working hard to improve every week… “Wiehahn (Herbst) has been great in the front row, he has come in and is doing an awesome job. He is solid as a rock and has been an anchor in the tight of the scrum. Him and Franco (van der Merwe) both – they have played every game so far, have so much experience and are consistently putting in good performances. They both love to scrum so when it comes to tactics, having Wiehahn on one side and Franco behind you, you know they are going to give it their all to go forward.” Ninth placed Dragons will be looking to upset Ulster’s unbeaten home run in the PRO12 this season, but Neil Doak’s side have been doing their homework and know what to expect from the Welsh side. “Dragons have a big physical forward pack,” claims Herring. “So we have been looking at them over the past few days. They get some good go-forward ball from their mauls and drives. And as a forward unit, we have been focusing on stopping their pack to get our backs some good ball. “This season we have made a solid effort to improve work in the maul, Allen Clarke reviewed the last couple of years and our maul hasn’t been where we need it to be, so we set ourselves the goal of improving it to result in tries, penalties or creating a good platform for the backs. It is probably the most improved aspect of our game compared to last year but we have a way to go and will keep working. This game against the Dragons will give us the opportunity to put that work into practice – when it really counts.”

“Monday was a bit bleak to be honest,” explains Rob. “In our meeting Neil Doak sat us all down and said we need to put that game behind us and look forward to this weekend and putting in a massive performance for the home crowd in the PRO12.” Having recorded victories over Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow in recent weeks, the opening day tie with Scarlets and a defeat away to Zebre leaves Ulster third in the Guinness PRO12 table. “Another PRO12 victory is essential,” says Herring. “This weekend is really important to keep ourselves in the top four, pushing for the first or second spot. Dragons are a good side but we are determined to give it everything. It’s a massive game for the guys who have just missed out on the Irish squad and also for the fringe players. We really need to prove ourselves with a big performance this weekend.” The 24 year old won his first cap for Ireland when he came on as a substitute against Argentina in June this year, but missed out on a call up to the squad for the Autumn Internationals. “I was disappointed when I got the call from Joe (Schmidt) but I was almost expecting it this time around. I haven’t had the same amount of game time as last year and I haven’t been able to show the same run of good form. Over the next few months I need to kick on and get more game time, put in good performances and put my hand up for the Six Nations. With Rory away this is a great opportunity to show that I can perform and I have got to maximise my chance.” The forward line up has changed dramatically from last season with Tom Court and John Afoa moving on to pastures new, however despite taking a while to get used to each other, Herring

ROB HERRING

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ULSTER RUGBY

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