Ulster's John Cooney admits battle with former club Connacht 'means more' after last season's United Rugby Championship exit

A bumper crowd is expected at Kingspan Stadium tonight for the final home game of the year and, to add extra spice to the occasion, Ulster face Cooney’s former employers Connacht.

Cooney has fond memories of the festive fixtures but also knows he’s a marked man when he plays against his old club.

“I have always found this game to be one of the most enjoyable of the year in Ulster because I feel everyone comes home – anyone that is away at uni, anyone living aboard all come home for it, so I have always found the buzz for this game,” he said. “We beat Munster in my first year when we came back from losing 17-5 and won.

“I have always found the crowds have been amazing for this game, so it is probably as an enjoyable game as I have been a part of every year.

“I remember playing for Connacht against Ulster on Boxing Day here – I think Rory McIlroy was in the crowd for that one. Ulster won but it’s always a good game.

“This game means more to us because of what they did to us in that quarter-final last year. I think it was the most disappointing loss I’ve ever had especially for Ulster.”

“It actually bugged me for three months over the summer to the point where I couldn’t wait to get back. I didn’t get to play the last one against them.”

“For me, playing against them is always a niggly game. They like to come after me, they like to push me late, they like to talk to me and call me all sorts of stuff – Bundee (Aki) in particular – so I really enjoy these games and look forward to it.”

Despite the animosity, Cooney still has long-term friendships in the Connacht ranks.

“Jack Carty would be one of my closest friends,” he added. “The WhatsApp group gets quieter during the week. In the past we have tried to wind each other up.

“I remember sending him videos of me trying to charge him down and other times ‘I’m coming for you Jacko’ – now after the last couple of loses I should go back to that.

“There are also times when I remember he kicked the ball dead here and I ran 40 metres to get him a slap on the head and say ‘don’t worry about it, next ball’.

“You remember the personal relationships no matter how competitive you want to be. He is still my mate at the end of the day and I don’t want him to be playing bad or making mistakes because I know how I feel.

“It is an interesting dynamic between being friends and also trying to win. He has said stuff to me, so I won’t hold it against him.”

Cooney admits it’s a must-win game for Ulster.

“They are one point behind us,” he said. “We have both had a couple of tough fixtures, bar our resurgence against Racing. They are not going to be satisfied with how they went in Europe over the last few weeks.

“They are a team that will think they have had one over us in the last couple of games and they do at this stage, so it is going to be a huge game.

“Last year’s quarter-final we said everything on a piece of paper and nothing actually happened, so all I care about is people doing what they actually said they are going to do.”