Dan McFarland shares thoughts on Ulster's upcoming tour of SA

Ulster boss Dan McFarland appears well aware of the enormity of the task at hand as he and his charges prepare to tour South Africa over the next couple of weeks. 

Ulster have had a good start to the tournament with only one loss from their four outings which has put them in second place on the overall standings with a total of 16 log points. However, they now face a tough fortnight with matches against the Lions and Sharks in Johannesburg and Durban respectively. 

McFarland shared his thoughts on playing in South Africa. 

“We know what it’s like,” he said with the benefit of last season’s trips. 

“It’s not a surprise to us. You’ve seen with the South African teams coming here, it’s not a surprise for them. They’ve been totally dominant. 

“Compare that to what happened (at the start) last year, the Bulls were losing by 30 points and were finalists by the end of the season. The South Africans starting so strong tells you something about what we face in the league this year. The standard of the URC is getting stronger and stronger. The South African teams are going to really test us. 

“They seem to be able to play their first teams week in, week out. They don’t really change. 

“The Sharks will have a few Test players coming back in, the Stormers have a few, but the Bulls don’t have many, the Lions don’t have many Test players. Week in, week out, they’re rolling out their first teams and they’ve been pretty impressive.”