Herring 'short of minutes' but ready for Bordeaux

Herring made his first Ulster appearance of the season off the bench in the Toulouse defeat on Sunday

Ulster hooker Rob Herring said he is "short of minutes" but is "feeling good" ahead of their second Champions Cup game against Bordeaux on Saturday.

Herring made his first appearance for the province this season off the bench in their heavy 61-21 defeat by Toulouse on Sunday.

And Herring believes he is finally getting back to full fitness after a calf problem that saw him miss the start of the campaign.

"It was a frustrating pre-season for me, I got back close and then it was a re-injury, and it took a bit of time," he said.

"I'm feeling good, I've been training well, a little bit short of minutes but I'm trying to put in a better performance than last week."

With Herring and Tom Stewart out injured, young hooker James McCormick has been given a chance and he scored a try in the hammering against Toulouse.

Herring has been impressed with the performances of the 22-year-old and believes there is good competition for places developing at hooker.

"I've been watching him closely and helping him when I can, but he's had a really good season," Herring added.

"He has had a few injuries in the past which stunted him but it's good to see him going well. We have a really good hooker unit so it's good to see us all challenging."

The 34-year-old is hoping Ulster's return to the Kingspan Stadium can spark a big response against another high-quality opposition and he has called on the crowd to play their part.

Bordeaux opened their European campaign with an impressive 42-28 win over Leicester on Sunday and they currently sit second in France's Top 14.

"It's good to be back home and the challenges don't get any easier but that is Europe so hopefully we can reset and bring new energy into training this week.

"On European nights, the crowd want to get behind you and it's up to us to give them moments in the game where they can do that, whether it's momentum swings, big mauls or scrums, those get the crowd going and that's up to us to deliver."