Ulster’s Sam Carter happy to be back clocking up the air miles

Capped 16 times for the Wallabies, the lock spent eight season with Canberra-based Super Rugby outfit – but with the introduction of four South Africa teams into the URC Ulster made two trips to the Rainbow Nation last season and face the Lions this weekend before the Sharks the following on this season’s mini-tour.

“I thought I was done with the South African teams when I came over here but they’re back in the comp now, but it’s been great for the URC and it’s been great for Ulster as a team to challenge ourselves against a different style of rugby,” said Carter. “It’s going to be tough and it’s something I’m really looking forward to.

“I’ve played in Joburg and Durban once and I’ve had some good experiences there and some pretty tough ones as well.

“I’m looking forward to getting back out there and playing the best I can.”

Whether playing for the Brumbies or Ulster, games in South Africa are no different and Carter knows what to expect.

“I think the challenge is still the same,” he said. “It’s a bit closer this time and it’s pretty much the same time zone which makes it a little bit easier.

“Whenever you go to South Africa and play those big physical teams it’s tough and the mindset has to be switched on, otherwise they can make it pretty tough for you.

“South African teams, as we’ve seen from some of the results, are playing good footie and especially at home it’s going to be a big challenge for us.

“We’ve got three away games in a row now so we want to play at the standard we can play to so, hopefully, we can get some good results as well.

“We’ve got a few things to focus on this week and we know how best to get a good result down there.

"So the challenge in producing that on Saturday night in Joburg.

“The South Africans are incredibly physical and pride themselves on the set-piece and physicality around the pitch.

"So for where we are and where we want to be as a pack, we need to take it to them in Joburg and in Durban.

"So that’s the main focus for us.”

Carter believes competition for places in the second row is the strongest since he arrived at Kingspan Stadium.

“It’s been tough the whole time I’ve been here but this season, with Cormac (Izuchukwu) coming through and he has a lot of potential,” said Carter. “’Hendy’ (Iain Henderson) is always there, Al (O’Connor) is in great form and ‘Treads’ (Kieran Treadwell) had a great tour of New Zealand, so it only helps when we’re consistently pushing for those two or three spots in the team.

“It only makes us all better so I’m enjoying that and I’ve just got to keep fighting for it.”