IT’S BEEN PAYNE & GAIN FOR ULSTER

Ulster Munster Tomorrow, 7.35pm

v LOUIS LUDIK says former Ireland and Ulster centre Jared Payne has been an “outstanding” addition to the province’s coaching ticket.

The Kiwi, who was forced to retire in May due to recurring headaches, has quickly emerged as a key component of Dan Mcfarland’s backroom team at the Kingspan.

Famed for his astute rugby brain as a player, Payne (inset) won 20 Ireland caps and has brought the same expertise and eye for detail to his role as defence coach.

Ludik never doubted his former teammate’s ability to make the transition from player to coach and said: “Jared’s really brilliant and we’re very fortunate to have him as a coach.

“He’s so knowledgeable of the game and doing an outstanding job. He’s really professional and very good at what he does.

“The way he has stepped from player to a coaching role is really, really good. His knowledge of the game is unreal and he’s also approachable.”

Ludik believes the fact Payne was a key component of Joe Schmidt’s

Ireland side just 18 months ago is a big plus for Ulster as they bid to progress under Mcfarland.

He said: “Jared played a year or two ago, so he knows exactly what’s going on. He knows the way we think, so when we do something and maybe make a mistake or a positional error, he understands why we have made that error.”

Ulster approach tomorrow’s Pro14 clash with Munster hoping to build on back-to-back bonus point wins over Scarlets in Europe.

Ludik said: “It’s great getting two wins in Europe and 10 points is good, but in rugby momentum can be broken very quickly.

“Munster won’t make it easy, but we have to take it to them.”