'More confident than last week' - Ulster coach McFarland hopeful of Munster game going ahead
- Published
McFarland says the Ulster squad are in a 'pretty good place' before Saturday's trip to Munster
Ulster coach Dan McFarland is hopeful of Saturday's game at Munster going ahead after the northern province's festive schedule was hit by Covid-enforced postponements.
The interpro games against Connacht and Leinster were called off due to Covid-19 cases in the Ulster squad.
But McFarland believes his side are in a "pretty good place" ahead of this weekend's trip to Thomond Park.
"We're in a better position than we were last week," he said
McFarland also revealed Ulster will have a "better handle" on squad matters when the results from the latest round of Covid testing come through on Tuesday.
"We've got rounds of testing so you can never be completely confident, but I'd be a lot more confident this week than I was last week," he added.
"We're in a pretty good place as of today. In terms of morale, it gets frustrating but it is what it is.
"We started preparations for the Leinster game and that was called off relatively early.
"The Connacht game was called off later. I knew there was a possibility that might happen, but the players didn't know it was a possibility until late on.
"We arrived this morning, we've got a good chunk of the squad here and we've started looking at the Munster game. It's a great place to be when you're back in work and prepping to play a massive game."
Ulster had been hoping to build on European wins over Clermont and Northampton only for the Connacht and Leinster games on Boxing Day and New Year's Day to be called off, which McFarland admits was "really frustrating".
"Having two good wins in Europe and then coming into the interpros was really exciting, two home interpros, with the fans here, we were really looking forward to that.
"Yes, it's frustrating, but it's a funny old world, you can take it in your stride and get on with it.
"The bottom line is if people are getting sick, we have to make sure we're doing everything to make sure they are healthy. These things happen and we'll move on."