Kieran Treadwell says Ulster ready for stiff test of credentials at Thomond Park

Kieran Treadwell played 61 minutes in Ulster’s record 64-7 defeat against Munster at Thomond Park last season.
Kieran Treadwell is expecting another tough clash with Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday.Kieran Treadwell is expecting another tough clash with Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday.
Kieran Treadwell is expecting another tough clash with Munster at Thomond Park on Saturday.

The Ireland lock was a 19th minute replacement for Iain Henderson and he is expecting another gruelling night in the engine room as the sides clash in Limerick on Saturday.

He said: “Obviously it’s a tough place to go, Thomond Park; Interpros are tough [and] we want to be playing against the best, we want to be the best team in Ireland so we need to kick it off with a win.

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“I know it’s a tough place to go but we’re fully expecting to go there and win.

“[It is] Always going to be difficult there, as I said, but we’ll be focussing on ourselves, that’s the main thing we’ve really got to look at but yeah, any inter-provincial is going to be tough.”

Treadwell was up against Tadgh Beirne in the battle of the locks last season and he recognises the Irish international who is likely to make his first appearance of the season after coming home from the world cup is one of main dangermen for Munster.

“He is a threat around the pitch whether over the rucks or in the air, he’s a powerful, strong guy,” said Treadwell.

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“He’s almost like another back row for them but, as I said we’re going to try and focus on ourselves this week.”

Both sides are set to have a host of internationals coming back into the fold which should add extra spice to the game as the teams look for a big performance before the European Champions Cup starts next week.

Treadwell continued: “Obviously, we’ve got some internationals coming back in as well as well as their internationals coming back, they’re obviously a bit disappointed (after the World Cup) but they’re coming back and they want to do right by Ulster.

“We’re looking forward to having them back and they’ve fitted in seamlessly; we had a couple of days training and there was good energy, a good vibe they brought, so it will be a good test for everyone.

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“I suppose it’s a case of keeping the ball rolling with Europe the following week so that’s always on the back of your mind a little bit but we’ve had two good wins,” he said.

“We want to keep the winning streak, keep the pressure on, especially at the start of the season because we don’t want to look back at the end of the season and be kicking ourselves.”

Ulster travel to Limerick on the back of three wins, which have propelled Dan McFarland’s side up to second in Conference A of the Pro14.