European away days hold no fear for Ulster, says Alan O’Connor

Since European competition started in 1995, Ulster lost their first 11 European games on English soil before breaking their duck in January 2010 with a 28-10 victory at The Rec against Bath.

Before McFarland took the Kingspan hotseat, Ulster had only won four of 19 games across the Irish Sea to English opposition in Europe and also lost the 2012 Heineken Cup final to Leinster at Twickenham.

Under McFarland there has been a change of fortunes, with Ulster winning six times in England including big knockout games in the Challenge Cup at Harlequins and Northampton and losing only three times.

Despite last week’s performance at the RDS, lock Alan O’Connor feels Ulster’s form on the road will inspire them at the AJ Bell Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

“We beat Munster away for the first time in eight years so we are no strangers to going away and getting big results,” O’Connor said.

“I think we have the game plan to do that, we have the players and characters to do that as well and there is definitely no fear about going away from home anymore, there is no real [feeling of] ‘oh they will be too good at home’.

“Either way you rock up 15 v 15, 23 v 23 on the pitch – it does matter with the crowd – but you definitely don’t want to use that as an excuse.

“It is the prefect week to be getting back onto the horse,” he added.

“Sale have a massive pack, good runners, good maul defence; we have a good maul attack so we will look forward to that.

“There are plenty of things in the game where we can impose ourselves and impose our will on the opposition.”

Ulster kicked off last season’s Champions Cup assault with a 29-23 win over Clermont at the hostile and intimidating Stade Marcel Michelin when McFarland’s team quickly neutralised the home crowd, and O’Connor is expecting another red-hot atmosphere on Sunday.

“You are never going to be able to block them out, you just have to deal with them and take them for what they are,” he said.

“They are going to be aggressive, they are going to be in your face. Ninety per cent of that crowd want to see you fail so that is a challenge that you probably have to relish.

“Most people probably say you can’t do it and then you go out and do it, and that feels better than people going ‘they will just win anyway’.”

O’Connor has given a decade of service to Ulster and as one of the senior players in the squad he has become one of the side’s leaders, but always he chooses his words carefully when it comes to pep talks.

“It is always a hard one but I suppose it is always when you feel you can add value, I’m not going to talk for the sake of talking,” he said.

"I don’t like talking to people really but if I have something to say I have to say it, or else you are letting other people down and letting yourself down.”