Pro14: No sympathy from Ulster coach McFarland over Leinster 'player drain'
- Published
Ex-Leinster players John Cooney and Ian Madigan are integral members of the Ulster squad
Dan McFarland has rejected the idea that he should sympathise with Leinster boss Leo Cullen over the number of players who have left the Dublin-based side to join other provinces.
Several former Leinster players such as John Cooney and Jordi Murphy will return to the RDS on Friday as Ulster men for a crucial meeting at the top of Pro14 Conference A.
"Do I feel sorry for him? I mean are you joking?" laughed Ulster head coach McFarland.
"Of course I don't. He's sat in amongst 10 or 12 of the wealthiest schools in the country, plying people from rich families through those schools, churning out bursaries to the best prospects."
Conference A leaders Ulster have benefitted from the arrival of several ex-Leinster players over the last number of seasons, and are now hoping to deliver a considerable blow to their provincial rivals' hopes of winning the trophy for a fourth consecutive year.
Having fallen to a shock defeat by Connacht, Leinster are 10 points behind Ulster having played two games fewer than the unbeaten northern province.
"I love it up here, as Andy Friend loves it in Connacht, doing the hard yards," McFarland said.
"When guys like Nick Timoney, Dave Shanahan and Alan O'Connor or Jordi Murphy, when they run out with the white shirt on they're Ulstermen, plain and simple."
While Leinster have had two games suspended due to Covid-19, Ulster have so far been able to fulfil all their fixtures - winning all 10 of their league matches to date.
With the regular season shortened to just 16 games, a win at the RDS would put Ulster in pole position to reach the final on 27 March, while delivering a hammer blow to Leinster's ambitions.
"It's an opportunity, but it's an opportunity for us. It wouldn't even cross my mind thinking about ruining anybody's anything," said McFarland.
"I have a huge amount of respect for Leinster as a province and a club.
"What they've done over the last number of years is totally deserved and fair play to them.
"For us it's an opportunity. It's a huge challenge, winning away in Dublin in itself, forget about anything to do with the league, is something that you aspire to and want to be a part of."
'Ulster can learn from Connacht's energy and intensity'
Connacht owed their stunning win in Dublin to a blistering start, which helped them reach half-time with a 25-5 lead.
Leinster fought back in the second period but could not close the gap sufficiently as they fell to a first league defeat in 27 games.
McFarland, whose side scored all their points in the opening half hour of their win over Munster, said their are elements of Connacht's performance that he would like to see his own team produce themselves at the RDS.
"I think their energy and intensity physically in the first 20-30 minutes of that game," he said.
"I don't think that's wishful thinking or anything that's brand new.
"If you don't have that, that kind of physical intensity, and I'm talking in terms of the speed of your play but also in the collision, you're going to find it really difficult to live with them.
"That doesn't matter who you are... if you don't live with the speed and the physicality of the game in the first 20 minutes you're in trouble."