No Monday blues for Louis Ludik

Ulster are a point behind Leinster at the top of Conference A while Cardiff are four behind Munster after losing in the top of the table clash at Thomond Park on Monday night.

Ulster winger Louis Ludik scored two tries in the bonus point win over the Dragons and is expecting a stern test against the Blues, even though the game has been moved from Cardiff to Newport.

“I think it will be the first time in 15 or 16 years that I’m going to be playing on a Monday so it’s going to be very odd, I think at school we played a bit on Monday nights but it’s strange times,” said the South African. “They’ve got a really exciting side and it will be a massive challenge.”

The 34-year-old is in his seventh season at Kingspan Stadium, but shows no signs of slowing up.

“In every year there is competition so whenever you get a chance you want to do your best and keep your spot so if I play I’ll do my best and hopefully keep that spot,” he said. “The body is still feeling really good, Dragons was the first 80 for a couple of weeks so we’ll see.

“With the pandemic these are such uncertain times that it’s very difficult to know what direction everything is going in so we just feel lucky to be able to play at this time. Embracing it and enjoying it is how I’m seeing it at the moment.

“I haven’t heard anything yet (new contract) and I haven’t made any decision about next season but we’ll probably see in the next couple of months what’s going to happen in regards to that.

“At the moment I’m still loving it, still enjoying it and the body is feeling good, especially when I score two tries as well.”

Ulster had to travel away from home in the Pro14 semi-final and the European Cup quarter-final for the last two seasons and Ludik knows how important it is to get knockout rugby at Kingspan Stadium as every point is vital.

“In such a short season every game is vital there is going to be points difference and whatever points you can pick up along the way is vital especially when these bonus points are up for grabs,” he said.

“One slip up can cost you heavily and we just have to do our best wherever we go and whoever we play, we just have to grab the points that are on offer.

“Hindsight is an amazing thing, we always say if we had of picked up that bonus point or won that game it would have made all the difference, but when it is past it is past and you can’t do anything about it so you just have to grab all the points.

“The way we are playing the team has got a lot of confidence, we are trying to express ourselves but I think the most important thing is we go out and fire shots and go out there and leave everything on the field, there is no use in saying we could have or we should have.

“After every season we say we could have and we should have, we just have to perform when we get the chance, we have to learn from the past and we just have to make it work.”

Ulster have drawn Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup the side that ended their quest for glory in the quarter-finals last season.

“Toulouse are playing unbelievable rugby at the moment,” said Ludik. “The last couple of seasons they have been outstanding and you can see the way France played against Wales last weekend, Dupont and Ntamack have been unbelievable.

“Toulouse are a top side and it would be great to play against them again especially for the guys that played there they would love to go back and test themselves and improve from the previous performance.”