Lack of depth and quality mean Ulster will have to excel to be still in contention for silverware by January
Ulster head coach Richie Murphy will have to deal with disruptions affecting his team in the early weeks of the season. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
With caretakers in both roles, the Under-20s coach Richie Murphy guided them to four successive URC wins and the quarter-finals plus Champions Cup qualification. Billy Burns, Will Addison and Greg Jones were among those released, while Dave Ewers departed after one season, with Ulster mostly refurbishing their squad from within.
“Really, we are starting in round five again,” said Murphy in preseason, in what was a justifiable plea for patience. “It’s a disruptive start to the season but we are hoping that we are being clear enough in what we expect from a rugby point of view that players can come in and out without a huge drop off in performance.”
Ulster resume at home to Leinster the night before Ireland meet Australia in an additional fourth Autumn Series match to celebrate the IRFU’s 150th anniversary. Attendances held up well, matching the previous season, which had surpassed the one before, although the old Ravenhill appeared to lose some of its fervour last season until the lift-off of that 23-21 win over Leinster in May, which was serenaded to the rafters.
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