Rob Herring says Ulster 'owe big performance' against Zebre after shock home defeat last season

There are 31 points and 13 places between the two sides in the League table but with an influx of their Italian internationals back, Herring is expecting a tough night at the coalface.

Italy had the second-best scrum behind England in the Six Nations while Ireland’s was fifth.

“I'm sure they'll have some level of consistency throughout the two teams,” Herring said. “Italy had a great Six Nations and Zebre are getting a few boys back, I'm sure they'll be full of confidence, we need to bounce back from last week.

“I suppose that looks like us putting in another good performance and putting our best foot forward.”

Herring is impressed with the scrummage of the Italian national team and their clubs.

“I think it's a mixture of both power and technique. If you look at the Six Nations pack, I wouldn't say they were the biggest pack in the tournament,” he said.

“Their technique is incredible and they are incredibly strong there; scrum has been hit and miss for us at Ulster this season.

“I think we've made some great strides over the last few games, but we need to keep improving because we have a tough task this weekend.”

Zebre shocked the Ravenhill crowd last January with a 15-14 victory over Ulster, but Herring believes the province have been on an upward trajectory in the intervening 14 months.

“I think the season as a whole last year was disappointing, that game in particular, it was a cold, wet night and we didn't play any decent rugby, we owe them a big performance,” he added.

“What’s changed? It’s hard to pinpoint it, I think it's another year down the line in Richie's (Murphy, head coach) process with the squad and the way he does things.

“Obviously, Mark's (Sexton, attack coach) come in and been brilliant. I think a few of the younger lads who have been given opportunities have already stepped up.

“It's a really good mix in the squad at the moment with a few older guys and a lot of young talent coming through. I think Richie is at the top of all that, making sure we can all be ourselves and create an environment that we can perform in.”

Ulster’s most capped player paid tribute to forwards coach Jimmy Duffy, who will leave Ravenhill at the end of the season.

“Jimmy sat a few of us down and he spoke to us and told us his reasons for leaving,” said Herring.

“It's obviously disappointing for us as players but he's got to do the right thing for himself and the family.

“He's been brilliant. I think a lot of people don't understand the amount of work Jimmy puts in. I don't even want to know how many hours he has on the laptop because he comes in every week.

“He's doing scrum, line-up, more; he does the team's breakdown.

“So, his workrate and work ethics are absolutely second to none. I think being a front-row forward, some of the stuff that he's brought in to coach the pack in scrumming has been brilliant.

“I think we're starting to see a bit of the fruits of that now, it's taking a bit of time but he has put in strong foundations for us to really kick on as a forward pack.”