Ulster forwards coach Jimmy Duffy expressed his delight after seeing the energy gained from last weeks win over Connacht being put to good use on Friday night as Ulster saw off the Ospreys 36-12.
“Massive for us,” was how Duffy described the win.
“We spoke about it all week. The inter-pros tend to generate their own momentum with the players, there’s a lot of national stuff on the line and we wanted to be really professional this week.”
In all, Ulster ran in five tries there was also a penalty try thrown in for good measure when Ospreys scrum-half Kieran Hardy helped to pull down an Ulster maul just short of the Welsh sides try line.
Jacob Stockdale was the star of the show and the Irish International winger continued his excellent start to the season by claiming a try in each half.
“In a large part the guys are really happy where we are. There were some big performances, Jacob on the wing is playing out of his skin.
“He’s in top form, he’s in a great space. His finishing in the corner was superb,” said Duffy who fully expects Stockdale to be named in Irelands squad for the upcoming Autumn International series which will be named later this week.
Another player to claim a double was young hooker, James McCormick.
McCormick went over the whitewash once in each half to claim his first tries in an Ulster senior shirt. And his sudden rise from the Academy ranks to senior squad comes as no surprise to Duffy.
“I worked with James in the 20′s back in 2021, or 22 I think it was. He’s been growing and tonight was his fifth cap I believe. He looked really good; he’s maturing and he’s got good people around him as well. So, it’s encouraging to see.”
McCormick’s first effort came after the hooker found himself at the back of a maul. An effort that came as no surprise as it’s a weapon that continues to serve Ulster well.
But his second try caught most onlookers by surprise, and in particular, the Ospreys defence.
Waiting to see what Ulster were deciding to do from a penalty, McCormick spotted a gap in the visitor’s defence and took a quick tap penalty to crash over from five metres.
While the Ulster players and supporters celebrated, the Ospreys were left looking at each other on the back of another try easily conceded.
“It didn’t surprise us,” admitted Duffy.
“He’s a good carrier and he got good aptitude to learn and we’re really excited to where he can go over the next couple of years.”
After next week’s trip to Cardiff, Ulster the URC takes a break for the Autumn Internationals but they have used the opening phase of the season to blood a number of new players.
Something which Duffy thinks will stand to them as the season continues.
“I suppose by the end of this block it will be eight games, so, you literally can’t roll the same people out every week because you’ll get yourself in trouble.
“We have a big one against Cardiff next week and then over Christmas is incredibly tough.
You got inter-pros, Europe, inter-pros, Europe with URC games at the back end. So, it’s eight, nine games on the bounce and you have to be building depth.
“I mentioned it a few times. It’s quite a young squad. The likes of these guys coming through now is incredibly important for Ulster and the more experience we can get into them, that’s imperative for the club going forward.”
