Investec Champions Cup: Ulster gearing up to face 'brilliant' Antoine Dupont and 'unique' Toulouse

Ulster go into Saturday's crunch European game in buoyant mood after wins over Racing, Connacht and Leinster

What a difference a few weeks make. When Ulster welcomed Racing 92 to Belfast just before Christmas, they badly needed an upturn in fortunes.

But with another star-studded French side in town, there is a much healthier supply of confidence in Ulster.

A pulsating bonus-point win over Racing was just what Ulster craved in their last European outing. Not only did it snap a three-game losing streak, but it teed up a happy festive period with interpro wins over Connacht and Leinster further altering the mood music.

Now, on the back of a well-earned rest following a rare win on the road at Leinster, Ulster host a Toulouse side captained by one of the biggest rugby stars on the planet: Antoine Dupont.

Dupont, who will soon embark on his Olympic journey as part of the France Sevens team which will rule him out of Six Nations duty, headlines a Toulouse team that also features his Les Bleus team-mate Thomas Ramos and Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn.

A quick look at Toulouse's roll of honour would be enough to send a shudder down the spine of anyone of an Ulster persuasion. Twenty-two times French champions and five-time Champions Cup winners, conquering the continental title as recently as 2021, they will rock up to Belfast on Saturday with some degree of comfort after having already secured bonus-point wins over Cardiff and Harlequins.

But while Ulster got back on track against Racing, Dan McFarland's side need a win to decrease the pressure on them before next week's climactic Pool 2 encounter away to Harlequins.

• Hume returns for Ulster as Dupont captains Toulouse

• Ulster 'seeing more of Kitshoff influence on team'

• Cooney was 'quite bitter' about losing Ireland spot

Ulster have showcased cutting edge in attack and steel in defence in recent weeks, but McFarland believes Toulouse present a different proposition given their innovative style of play.

Speaking earlier in the week, McFarland said: "There would be a strong argument to say Toulouse are unique.

"I don't say that lightly because in rugby there are so many generic ways of playing, standardised or categorised ways of playing, both in defence and attack.

"Whenever you watch Toulouse year in, year out, they break the mould. The way they attack and the way they build their team around that attack, I think is very different to most other teams.

"It makes it extremely exciting to watch and also very exciting and challenging to prepare for them."

Speaking of exciting and challenging, Ulster must devise a way to silence another global star in Dupont having already ruined South Africa's two-time World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi trip to Kingspan Stadium with Racing.

McFarland recalled how Dupont "ruined" his night the last time the sides met, with the scrum-half inspiring Toulouse to a thrilling 30-23 win in Belfast which secured the Top 14 side's place in the 2021-22 Champions Cup quarter-finals.

"I have a lot of respect for him," said McFarland.

"He's a great ambassador for the sport. In terms of his play, he's a very instinctive player and has a brilliant skillset, brilliant athlete, which gets him out of trouble a lot of the time.

McFarland says Ulster must try to limit Dupont's 'destructive' abilities

"You've got to be on your toes around the breakdown because anything can happen around there. He'll see gaps, he'll take them but then he has the strength to hold off tacklers to offload to enormous forwards coming into the channel or wingers playing off him.

"His kicking game is super. You've got to get pressure on that because he'll bang the ball out from a ruck five yards from his own line and get it out to 40 metres from your line which in rugby terms is absolutely priceless.

"He's a super player and our guys are fully aware of that. We'll be looking to try and limit his destructive ability."

While Racing are setting the pace in the Top 14, McFarland may view Toulouse as an even bigger test for his players given how they put nearly 50 points on a Harlequins side away from home after Quins had beaten Racing.

But given their winning run, in which they outplayed Racing and withstood a classic Leinster charge to take a big win back up to Belfast, McFarland believes his players

"I think confidence is extremely important.

"Confidence comes from a number of things, process being one of them in what you do and what you're trying to achieve. That's sort of a bedrock of what you're doing.

"You can't rely on winning every weekend for everyone feeling good about themselves. You've got to believe in what you're doing each week."