Ulster captain Iain Henderson makes public plea to 'Irish coaching staff'

Ulster Rugby are up to third having leapfrogged over Munster Rugby by beating them 28-3 in front of a bumper Belfast crowd on Friday night, with try-scoring No 8 Bryn Ward named Player of the Match.

That’s now six wins out of eight for them in the league, while they have a game in hand on all the teams towards the top of the table apart from the Stormers.

Skipper Iain Henderson said: “As I’ve been spouting for the last six months, we’ve seen the progress behind closed doors and it’s great to see it coming out in matches like this.

“The young lads coming through are showing such promise and the quality of our training sessions has just been getting better and better and the way the coaches have been coaching us. We are seeing that all transferring onto the pitch now. It’s exciting to see it finally coming out.

“When times are tough, it is so difficult to drag yourself back and get the feeling good, so we are just thriving in this environment. There is a good buzz about the place. It’s a good craic, which is positive.

Fixture

United Rugby Championship

Ulster

28 - 3

Full-time

Munster

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“I really hope the Irish coaching staff have a look at these young lads and see how they fit into an exciting Ireland squad going forward.”

Reflecting on the full house at a snowy, bitterly cold Affidea Stadium, second row Henderson said: “We love the fact that we had a sell out and we really fed off that.

“As bad a night as it was with the weather, you could see the guys wanting to still try and play, wanting to put on that spectacle to bring exciting rugby and an exciting night.

“We know we’ve been guilty in the past of waiting for the fans to pick us up, so we said we were really going to try our best to lift the roof and give what we want to give to them.”