It’s certainly not a case of ‘job done’ for Ulster as they travel to Castres for the last pool game in the Heineken Cup.
Victory over Glasgow at Ravenhill last Friday means Mark Anscombe’s side have qualified for the quarter finals with a game to spare, but South African scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar knows there is still a lot to play for in France.
“It’s great to know you have qualified, but there is a lot to play for and to get a home quarter final would be massive for us, and that is probably or aim – to get the win and secure a home quarter final,” said Pienaar.
It’s a simple equation for Ulster – win with a bonus point and they are guaranteed a home quarter final. Any other result and they will be dependent on results elsewhere.
“We won’t put any pressure on ourselves, we have to look after the result first and the process of getting there. It would be great to get the five points and get the home quarter but it is going to be difficult and we have never had a win in France so that’s a challenge for us, but this group is talented enough to go there and get the result.”
Ulster went into the last group game last season against Clermont knowing they had already qualified and they should have won that game.
“Yeah, for sure we should have won that. I think the last couple of weeks we have made mistakes as well at crucial times. This is about us being clinical and taking opportunities and taking the points when they are up for grabs and building pressure, hopefully we can get those things right and the scoreboard will look after itself.”
Pienaar admits no matter where or who Ulster play in the last eight it will be a difficult.
“It’s going to be tough, it could be Clermont or Toulon and those teams aren’t easy to beat over there and our results aren’t great in France. But this team believes no matter where we go we can put up a good fight.
“We want to get the home quarter final and give something back to our fans. We want to play at Ravenhill because it is a special place for us to play as we have great home support.”
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