Rob Herring hoping hard yards will stand Ulster in good stead to bounce back from Toulouse defeat

Bordeaux were Ulster’s first-ever opposition in Belfast when the European Cup began in 1995, and the clubs haven’t played each other since the 2016/17 campaign when they met twice in the pool stage with the French side winning both home and away.

Unlike Toulouse, who Ulster have met six times in the past few seasons, Bordeaux, currently sitting second in the Top14, will provide a fresh and unfamiliar challenge for Richie Murphy’s squad.

“There is a bit of uncertainty around the profile of players, but we all do our due diligence on that and get to know their pack over the course of the week,” said Herring. “They bring a different challenge, Bordeaux have two pretty big tight heads in their team, scrum wise they have a lot of weight.

“We’ll break it down during the course of the week and see the best way to attack them.”

Ulster failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions Cup last season and after conceding a record number of points to Toulouse last Sunday and leaving the Stade Ernest-Wallon empty-handed, a win against Bordeaux is paramount.

“We have had a lot of meetings and reviews, nailing down the detail of what went wrong,” added Herring. “It’s about changing the energy, I came in on Tuesday annoyed, most of the boys did, but it is rugby and we have to move on.

“We have a great challenge at home this weekend, it is the first European game in front of our fans, so we have that to look forward to and try to put in a good performance.

“It’s a tough start in Europe, Toulouse away. I think the disappointing thing for us was yes they are the best side in Europe at the moment and going to their backyard was always going to be a challenge, but we didn’t put our best foot forward.

“It is hard to say that we gave it a good shot in terms of our actions, accuracy and some of the things we did in defence...it wasn’t our best performance.

“You are not going to go away to Toulouse and win without bringing your best performance.

"It’s good to be back at home. Bordeaux are second in the Top 14 so the challenges don’t get any easier but that is what Europe is now - it is tough and a great competition to be in.

“We have tried to reset the page and bring a new energy into training towards the weekend.”

Herring recently signed a year’s extension to his contract.

“I was delighted to sign on,” he said. “I’ve been here a long time now and to get the opportunity to go again, I’m really happy about it.

“I think there is a lot more excitement around the squad this time compared to last year.

“We have got a young squad and I can see my part in helping the young guys come through. Having that experienced head and wanting to share what I know and hopefully I can help the guys coming through slightly quicker than otherwise.”