ULSTER OPENSIDE FLANKER Chris Henry is still easing his body back to full fitness after the attritional Heineken Cup meeting with Leicester, but he’s ready to put it through the wringer again.
The northern province head south this weekend for Saturday’s pool 5 meeting in Montpellier hoping to double their winning tally in France at the first attempt.
Under their belt already are those four hard-earned points from Ravenhill. The new-look venue hasn’t yet taken the shape of a fortress this season, but chiseling out that 22 – 16 victory brought genuine smiles on top of the winces.
“Everyone’s extremely happy after it with plenty of smiles on the faces,” Henry said in an interview with CornerFlagTV.
“Obviously it would have been nice not to give them the losing bonus point, but if you said that before the game you’d take that result any day.”
He adds: “A game like Leicester, the intensity goes up a notch. It’s the closest thing to Test match rugby.
“After the game you’re a bit exhausted and battered and bruised, but whenever you put your body on the line and get the win it’s worth it.”
Time will tell if that ‘battering’ they took at home to the Tigers will battle-harden Ulster or just soften them up. In any case, evidence from Treviso last week suggests the Top 14 club will be in no mood to pull any punches.
“They have a really good team. They’ve had a great start to the season and we’re under no illusion it’s going to be a really tough battle.
“If we focus on ourselves and play the way we played against Leicester and hopefully finish off a few of these opportunities we’re creating then we’ll give ourselves a great chance.”
