Richie Murphy rarely misses an opportunity to crack a joke when he’s addressing the media and as he furthers his preparation for Ulster’s final pre-break game against Cardiff, he’s at it again.
When it’s put to him that he won’t have to deal with the media again for the next few weeks, he flashes a grin and quips back: “Well, unless you want to come on holiday with me.”
A short break in Tenerife will follow Saturday’s trip to the Welsh capital for the Ulster head coach, although you would forgive him for wanting to be back in Belfast instead.
Not for the sunnier climes, of course, but rather because his team have started to build up something of a head of steam having racked up back-to-back wins for the first time this season, downing Connacht before swatting aside an understrength Ospreys side at the weekend, and the timing of the break for the November internationals could hardly have come at a worse time.
“I don’t even think about those things. The League is laid out at the start of the year,” retorts Murphy.
“We’ve had an eight-week block with the two pre-season games. Coming towards the end of this week, it’s a real focus on one last big effort and knowing you get a week off after that.
“It’s the way it is, I’m not really excited or disappointed either way, it just is what it is.”
What he will be excited about, however, is the growth his team has shown since the first round of the United Rugby Championship to now, namely in how certain players have done exactly what he hoped for and stepped up to give him more options.
Hooker James McCormick, for instance, is one who has stepped up and already seems to have wrestled the third choice jersey off John Andrew after a string of impressive performances, in particular a two-try outing against the Ospreys. Centre Ben Carson is another, thrust into an unexpected first start for the province on their South African tour due to an injury to Stuart McCloskey but emerging as a viable option in the midfield.
Richie Murphy’s side have three wins from their first five games
That was what Murphy was looking for when he was pushing for players to make their mark early in the season and, as we approach the end of this first block, he’s encouraged by players stepping up across the board.
“Those two guys in particular have played Irish Under-20s and played under Jimmy (Duffy) as well, so we knew the qualities that they had and we knew they were good players,” says Murphy.
“What we’re trying to do is create an environment where, if you put your head down and work hard, it will be fun and there will be chances that will come if you earn it, and then it’s up to you to take it.
“If you look at James and Ben in particular, both of them, and say that when given the opportunity, they’ve put their hands up. That creates that competition. I don’t know if you remember but when I first came in I said I wanted to create competition within the squad, we don’t want a senior team and 20 other players that sit in behind them.
“We want a squad that will represent Ulster and be ready to play when we call on them with a clear direction. Over the last six weeks I think we’ve done that. We haven’t won all the games but we’ve had guys step up, guys do quite well in their position and get rewarded.
“Players that have been left out are getting feedback and directed. The likes of Charlie Irvine, for example, has things to work on to get his next opportunity and that’s the way we’re doing it.”
Still, not all has been perfect at Ravenhill and there are still the teething problems that come with a side that consists of mainly young, untested players and is trying to build its way back into a competitive position.
But to be sitting with 15 points, three wins from five games and fifth in the table is something that Murphy can’t be all too displeased with and he is targeting a fourth win of this block that would turn a “pass” grade into a “satisfactory” by one by his own metrics.
“There’s loads of work-ons. I’m not going to tell you what they are here but there’s loads of them that we’re trying to get better at,” he concedes. “There’s been a consistent improvement in a lot of areas, like a lot of our phase work in attack was better, defence coming forward and under pressure is improving.
“We’re trending in the right direction but with the squad we have, a mix of young and old, we have to stay on top of things so we can deliver week in and week out.
“The first thing (about Cardiff) is that they’re playing at home and they’re coming off losing three games, so they’re going to be very difficult and fully committed to finishing off with a win.
“With ball in hand they can cause a lot of problems in the outside channels, there’s a bit threat at the breakdown with Thomas Young and the likes. We’re fully aware of that and we’re trying to concentrate on our own game to prepare ourselves the best we can so we can use the strengths we have.”
Despite initially being listed on Ulster’s medical update as being monitored throughout the week to determine whether they would be available for selection this weekend, Murphy confirmed that all three of Iain Henderson (concussion), Ethan McIlroy (ankle) and Sean Reffell (ankle) will be available for the trip to Cardiff on Saturday.