Ulster forwards coach Jimmy Duffy says victory all that matters in Champions Cup clash against Exeter
Ulster forwards coach Jimmy Duffy wants to simply win against Exeter Chiefs in their last Champions Cup pool game on Friday and not worry about any permutations.
Ulster must avoid defeat against the former European and Premiership champions to qualify for the knock-out stages.
There is a scenario where Ulster can make the last 16 of the premier competition if they beat the Chiefs with a bonus point, hope the Sharks are empty-handed in Bordeaux and have a 56-point swing in their favour.
However, with Ulster having only won one of their last seven games in all competitions and only two wins in their last 12 Champions Cup games, Duffy knows how important any victory will be in the context of the season.
“I know where we are in everything, for me, it's all about those fundamentals; we go out to win every game, play smart and put ourselves in a position to win it and then we'll know what we need to do,” Duffy said.
“You're playing against a very experienced side who have been in games and had a big win over Gloucester a couple of weeks ago, so we know exactly what we need to do.
“Number one is put ourselves in a position to win the game and minimise those errors that cost us last weekend and then we can chase what we need to chase. You go out there to get your stuff right and put yourself in the position to win the game and then, if something happens after that, fantastic,” he added.
“They're former European and English champions with a coaching team that have been there for many years, so they know how they want to play and they're very effective at it.
“Results can lead you astray – they're still very experienced and they have a lot of talent, very physical up front and a very capable back line as well. We're paying them the ultimate respect, they're former champions and they know what they're about, so we need to be on our stuff.”
Despite having lost all three games Ulster could still reach the knockout stages but Duffy preferred the old format of the competition when teams played everyone in their pool home and away.
“The old system, personally, I loved it,” he said. “The fact is the rules are the rules, and you make them work to your benefit.
"Whatever format it's in, we just want to win games.”