United Rugby Championship: Ulster's Herring relishing South Africa return as Henderson misses Stormers game
- Published
Herring played at under-21 level for Western Province, now known as the Stormers
Ulster hooker Rob Herring says he never thought he would have the opportunity to return to his native Cape Town to face his former side The Stormers.
The Irish province will aim to become the first visiting team to beat a South African side on their home soil in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
"It's just great to be home - it's been a while," explained Herring.
"It's not something I ever thought I'd be able to do with Ulster, come to my hometown to play against the Stormers."
"Members of my wider family have been coming along to watch us in training this week and it's great to catch up with them all," added the 31-year-old.
Henderson to miss Stormers game
Herring will start against Stormers in an Ulster team that is missing Ireland lock Iain Henderson.
Henderson has travelled with the province to Cape Town but has not been named in Dan McFarland's 23-man squad for the Stormers game.
Nathan Doak and James Hume are also absent with Kieran Treadwell and Mike Lowry both starting after returning from international duty with Ireland, while scrum-half John Cooney starts his first game since January.
Alan O'Connor skippers the side on his 150th appearance while Luke Marshall could play his first game following a 15-month injury layoff after being named among the replacements.
Ulster: Lowry, Gilroy, Moore, McCloskey, Lyttle, Burns, Cooney; O'Sullivan, Herring, Moore, O'Connor (capt), Treadwell, Jones, Rea, Vermeulen.
Replacements: Stewart, Reid, Milasinovich, Kearney, Murphy, Shanahan, Marshall, McIlroy.
Among the Western Province players Herring sought to emulate when he was growing up were Springbok internationals Schalk Britts, Schalk Berger, Jean De Villiers and also a young Duane Vermeulen, now playing back row for Ulster.
"My school was just up the road from Newlands and we used to have season tickets there on the scholars' terrace where you'd go and watch matches," added Herring.
"I went to a lot of the games when I was at school and growing up. It's a shame we're not actually playing this game at Newlands this time but Cape Town Stadium is great as well, so I'm looking forward to that."
Herring, who qualified to play for Ireland through an Irish grandfather, concedes that the team Ulster will face on Saturday is "a much-changed" one since he was part of the Western Province under-21 set-up in 2012, the year he moved to join the Irish province.
"I played under-21s with [prop] Stephen Kitshoff and [hooker] Skarra Ntubeni," outlined the 26-times capped forward.
"There's been a lot of turnover in the squad, a lot of changes, and it's quite a new-look team but Duane Vermuelen has played a lot of them and has quite a lot of inside knowledge for us! But, for myself, it's a much-changed side since I've been there.
Ulster forward Duane Vermeulen formerly played for the Stormers/Western province
"Obviously, it's not something I would have imagined happening but it's a great addition to the tournament.
"To be able to come home - and I haven't been able to see a lot of family in the last few years. There's a few South African boys in our squad in a similar situation.
"To be able to play in front of a big group of my family is really special and it's something I'm really looking forward to.
"My wife and my daughter and I have settled in Belfast now and Ulster is a team I take great pride in playing for but to come full circle and play against the team that I grew up watching…that's pretty cool."
'We must try and impose our game'
After facing the Stormers on Saturday, Dan McFarland's side continue their two-game South African tour by taking on the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday 2 April.
"Obviously you spend a lot of time together on tours like this so it's a chance for the group to make those memories and get closer together.
"But we are here to do a job first and foremost and that's get two wins on South African soil.
"It's going to be a massive challenge and we expect a lot of physicality on Saturday. They [Stormers] have a really good attack and can score tries from anywhere, likewise with the Bulls.
"We must try to impose our game and do what we do well against them. Some of our strengths are suited to a game like this."
Ulster go into the match second in the URC table, one point behind leaders Leinster, while Stormers sit seventh with six wins from 10 matches.