Ulster's Richie Murphy calm over turning to 'hungry' young players

​Jack steered Ulster to a first win in seven games in the inter-pro against Connacht on his first start for the province and has firmly put his hand up to make his European debut against the Tigers and Pollard, the leading points scorer for South Africa when they lifted the World Cup in 2019.

In the 2023 World Cup, Pollard nailed a late penalty to defeat England 16-15 in the semi-final and in the decider against New Zealand scored all the Springboks’ points.

“No, we wouldn't...if it's the right thing to do, we'll throw him in,” said Murphy about his son’s selection. “I know Jack better than anyone but his training performances the four weeks before that (Connacht game) were really strong, he's comfortable with the ball in hands, he has a good kicking game and his communication is sharp and good, so he gets players into positions he wants them to be in,” said Murphy. “If he wants to play the game physically then he'll have to develop and learn how to cope with some very big men running at him...but that's part of growing up as well."

Whether through design or circumstances Murphy has been forced to give youth a chance this season.

“Any of these young players, the likes of James McCormick, Jude (Postlewaite), Ben Carson...you want them to get a taste for it,” said Murphy. “And then take them out for a week or two, debrief them and re-goal them and let them work away on those areas they need to be better at.

“We haven't been able to do that enough this year due to the stress on the squad. We have four hookers but two of them have been injured for most of the season, so John Andrew and James McCormick have taken on a lot of the stress, much like Jude and Ben Carson.

"Zac Ward...our plan wasn't to give him his debut against Bordeaux but that's where he got it and he ended up carrying more than anybody else in the URC that week. Now, he could have passed some of them, but that's the way it goes. We're bobbing and weaving but these lads are resilient and they're hungry.”

Murphy knows if Ulster want to progress to the knockout stages in the Champions Cup they must pick up points in the East Midlands as he comes up against Leicester coach Michael Cheika.

“If we want to stay in the competition we have to win our last two games, Leicester away is a really tough place to go,” said Murphy. “They have a massive pack and set-piece, scrum, like to kick the ball and have a back three that are very good in the air...so there's a massive test in regards to that and obviously the physicality at the breakdown.

"We're there to put our game in front of them and see where we get to...I was thinking about it during the week, Michael gave me my first coaching job in professional coaching, I was part of the Leinster Academy when he took over the senior team and I worked for him as the kicking coach.”