European Challenge Cup: 'We have to get monkey off our back' says Ulster hooker Rob Herring

A dejected Rob Herring takes off his silver medal following Ulster's Pro14 final defeat by Leinster last September

Rob Herring's pursuit of silverware with Ulster has floundered many times on blue Leinster rock.

The good news is their Irish rivals are not involved in the Challenge Cup, yet Ulster's first game in the competition is as tough as it could have been.

An away game against in-form Harlequins in the round of 16 on Sunday represents a difficult prospect but Herring believes this could be Ulster's year.

"We just have to get that monkey off our back and move forward," he said.

"I'm a big believer in the squad we have now and the young guys coming up."

Something new

When the season was condensed due to the pandemic and certain fixtures had to go, narrow Champions Cup defeats by Toulouse and Gloucester meant that Ulster did not qualify for the knockout stages.

Instead they were ushered into European club rugby's secondary competition for the first time.

The Challenge Cup represents a journey into the unknown yet for long-serving players like Herring, who has missed out on silverware so many times during his nine years at Ulster, the opportunity is exciting.

"No one in the squad has won anything with Ulster, we have been so close on multiple occasions but we just haven't got across the line for various reasons," he says.

"I think as a province we are in a really good place and there is so much to be excited for, but we have to take that next step now to go and win something.

"There is a big difference in believing you can do something and actually doing it - that breeds another level confidence and a bit of know-how in how to win those tight play-off games.

"When people have that feeling of winning, it makes them want to have it again."

Rob Herring celebrates winning a scrum penalty for Ireland in the Six Nations win against England

Now established as Ireland's first-choice hooker, Herring has only played six games for Ulster this season, compared to 18 last season and 22 the previous year.

International duty has been his focus and he is now considered a live contender to make the Lions squad this summer, but that has in no way weakened his desire to land a piece of silverware so desperately craved at Ulster, now 15 years without a trophy.

So often a reliable alternative for Ulster at hooker when Rory Best was away with Ireland, Herring now be finds himself in that role of trying to ease his way back in at club level at a critical juncture with two new competitions to fight for in the Challenge Cup and the Rainbow Cup.

Herring said: "It is a bit of a different situation for me, because past Six Nations campaigns have been back and forward and the Autumn Cup this season took a lot of time away from Ulster".

"I love playing with the guys here and it's a really tight squad to come back into and add energy to your game."

Ulster defeated 'Quins, currently fourth in the English Premiership, home and away in the 2019/2020 Champions Cup campaign but Herring knows their opponents are vastly improved since then.

"You look at Harlequins at the moment and they are probably the in-form team in the Premiership," he said.

"They have definitely gone back to their DNA and doing things off the cuff.

"Their backs are playing brilliantly, they have a good maul, and yes we have had good times there in the past but it's going to take a lot to achieve that again this weekend."