Ulster v Munster: 'Different mental dynamic' to knockout tie - Ulster head coach McFarland
- Published
Ulster's Stuart McCloskey with Jack O'Donoghue and Craig Casey of Munster
Ulster head coach Dan McFarland says the knockout nature of the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals provides a different psychological context to Friday's tie with Munster in Belfast.
Ulster have lost both meetings between the sides this season but finished three places above their Irish interpro rivals in the final league standings.
"There's a very different mental dynamic to it because you lose and you're out," explained McFarland.
"The reward is a semi-final place."
"We have played many important games but they didn't spell the end of the season if you lost.
"From the psychological point of view and from the technical point of view it is quite exciting.
"We are against a really good team who will have their superstars back and have beaten us twice so far this season.
"They will come here expecting to win and probably carrying the hot favourites' tag."
McFarland revealed that prop Marty Moore would miss Friday's encounter at Kingspan Stadium and indeed the remainder of the season because of multiple concussions.
Michael Lowry also remains a doubt and is "in the hands of the medical team", the Ulster coach informed reporters at Tuesday's press briefing.
Ulster 'weren't intense enough'
Munster emerged 24-17 victors in the last game between the sides on 22 April, Ulster's defeat coming on the back of a one-point reverse at the hands of Toulouse over two legs in the European Champions Cup and two losses in South Africa in the URC.
"That was a pretty tough period for us and to be fair to Munster they came up here with a lot of intent and played a good game of rugby - created chances for themselves and converted those chances," reflected McFarland.
"We weren't intense enough in how we went about our business and there were a couple of key areas around the aerial game where we didn't perform as well as we normally do.
"We also did some good stuff in that game and on another day we may have pushed them a little bit closer.
"We had a good analysis of that game and we will have a plan in place."