FRANCO WANTS TO GO ON A HIGH

FRANCO VAN DER MERWE is getting ready to pack his bags after three years at Ulster but doesn’t want to leave on a downer. The province has made the knockout stages of the league for the last four seasons in a row but defeat at the Ospreys on Saturday could end that run, even before next week’s final home PRO12 game against Leinster. “I hope we can end the season on a high and go to the play-offs but it’s not about me,” admitted the South African. “It is about the team and the organisation and if they are doing well I’ll be pretty happy. “If I’m involved it will be brilliant and if I’m not I’ll still celebrate.” The former Springbok lock, 33, is joining Cardiff Blues for the 2017-2018 season. He’s made 72 appearances for Ulster and while they haven’t won a trophy, at least they made the play-offs each year. That record is now under threat with Scarlets (67 points), Ospreys (65) and Ulster (64) chasing the final two spots behind Leinster and Munster. Van der Merwe says he will keep his emotions in check as his Ulster career winds down. “Whenever the last game is, I can start to think about Cardiff after it. Sometimes it’s in the back of the mind but I have to keep focused on the process and what we want to achieve. “I still have to do my video analysis because if you get side-tracked you’re going to miss the boat a little bit and probably not be involved in the next game. My focus is on this weekend.” Ulster’s backs are to the wall having lost 22-20 at Munster two weeks ago (left) and a poor draw home to Cardiff before that. They’ve slipped down to fifth but play-off rivals Scarlets and the Ospreys will take points off each other in the last game. “We were on a good run until slipping up against Munster and Ospreys have had a couple of games that haven’t gone their way (losing the last four),” said van der Merwe. “They have a lot to play for and if they win the last couple they can make the play-offs. We’re at their home ground and it will be extremely tough.” But Van der Merwe is still backing Ulster to sneak into the top four. “Every season I’ve been here has come down to the last couple of games and every time we have shown we can perform under pressure.”