Ulster’s Sam Carter fired up for huge clash with champions Leinster

With over 100 Super Rugby appearances and 16 test caps for Australia, Sam Carter knows what it takes to win big games.
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And in domestic terms for Ulster they don’t come much bigger than Saturday night’s table-topping clash with Leinster.

The defending league champions arrive in Belfast with a four-point lead over Ulster at the summit of the United Rugby Championship as the battle to be top seeds for the knock-out stages intensifies.

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Three of Carter’s Wallaby caps came against then defending world cup champions New Zealand in the Bledisloe Cup.

Ulster's Sam Carter.Ulster's Sam Carter.
Ulster's Sam Carter.

At 32-years-old, Carter - who has captained Ulster - is one of the leaders and senior voices in the dressing room.

“I am one of the other blokes but with the momentum we have built we have leaders across the park,” he said.

“We have Duane (Vermeulen) and Al (O’Connor) in there, other boys coming back in from the Ireland squad, so it is not solely on me. I need to get my stuff right and the rest of it will take care of itself.

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“I think this far into the season you are relying on everyone to do their job. We have built a fair bit of momentum over the last five or six games but that doesn’t count if the boys don’t turn up and do their job on Saturday.”

With the likes of ex-Leinster players Jack McGrath, Marty Moore, Jordi Murphy and John Cooney in the Ulster dressing room, Carter doesn’t think there will be a lot of motivational speeches needed before the game.

He said: “The blokes with the most to prove are generally the most fired up.

“It doesn’t take much to get up for these games, especially when you are playing one of the best in the league historically.

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“I think if we get all our stuff right and don’t let the emotion take over in a game like this, that is the most important thing.

“I think for me personally it is a little bit different because I don’t have that history, that kind of hatred and rivalry between myself and the other Irish provinces,” he added.

“I see it that Leinster are one of the best teams and that is where you want to show your best strengths as well.

“You want to play against the best teams and be at your best when you play them, because it is also a micro respect of how good they are.

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“And you want to show in these big games that you can play at that level.”

The Wallaby lock is hoping Ulster can reproduce the performance that saw them win in the RDS when the sides met last November.

“There are a few things we are taking from that game - the confidence of being able to beat Leinster and doing it down there,” Carter said.

“They will want to be proving something coming up here and show what they are made of, and that is going to make a really good contest and is something that I’m really excited for.”

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Carter is enjoying the challenge of fighting for his place in the Ulster second row.

“It creates that competitive environment because when you only have three spots in the team, and when you have blokes like Al O’Connor, Kieran (Treadwell) and the skipper (Iain Henderson) as well,you have to fight; you have to be competitive in training, you have to play well or you won’t get in the team.

“I think it is a really good mix, especially with some of the younger guys coming through, getting to see that competitive environment which only makes them better as well.”

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