United Rugby Championship: Ulster 'have learned from previous South Africa trips'
- Published
Ulster's John Cooney (in action against Glasgow) will be part of the squad which travels to South Africa
Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper says the province will use learnings from previous trips to South Africa as they prepare to face the Sharks on Saturday.
The United Rugby Championship match was rescheduled after initially being called off in October because Ulster were hit by a gastroenteritis bug.
Ulster must acclimatise to the hot conditions they will face in Durban.
"A lot of thought has gone into how we can best prepare ourselves," said Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper.
"The players will have learnt from previous trips [to South Africa] so it definitely becomes less of an issue," added the New Zealander.
"The more you do it you get used to it and you can adapt, the travel and the humidity, you know what to expect.
"Things we have learnt from previous trips we have factored into our preparation this week.
"It's a challenge but the medical team and athletic performance team have advised us and we'll be well ready for the game on Saturday afternoon."
Home quarter-final 'in our hands'
Ulster sit third in the URC table after Friday's 17-11 defeat by Glasgow, six points ahead of the seventh-placed Sharks as the battle for places in the end-of-season play-offs hots up.
"For the neutral the league is exciting but it is still in our control. If we go and perform and win games we should be in a position to get a home quarter-final," said Soper.
"If we don't perform we're relying on results elsewhere and that's never a nice place to be.
"The Sharks have some dangerous players, powerful players, and they have a real line speed to their defence so it'll be a challenge for us.
"We weren't clinical enough against Glasgow so we've been addressing that and some other things. We can follow the Italy v Ireland game after our match has finished. Before that our focus will be firmly on what we do on Saturday afternoon."
Ben Moxham is undergoing return to play protocols after suffering a concussion in the loss to Glasgow, while Robert Baloucoune and Sean Reffell remain out.