Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
THERE IS NO WAY DIACK IF WE LOSE
Ulster in last chance saloon for top 4 spot
ROBBIE Diack accepts it’s boom or bust for Ulster in tomorrow’s crucial Guinness Pro12 clash with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.
To say Les Kiss’s men have little or no wriggle room heading into the penultimate game of the regular season is an understatement. Lose and the province’s hopes of climbing into the top four and reaching the playoffs are all but gone. Win and they’ll leapfrog the Ospreys and head into the last game of the season - at home to Leinster on May 6 - with renewed hope of gatecrashing the knockout stages. “These games are massive for us,” said back row forward Diack. “Hopefully we can create some momentum from the Ospreys game, but it will be a huge test for us. “We’ve both got something to play for and we know what a task it’s going to be, especially over there, but we’re going there with a mindset to give it our all. “We feel motivated and fresh and we all enjoy playing under pressure. “I think it brings out the best in us, especially with the guys we have here. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.” While a recent upturn in form revived Ulster’s prospects of securing a playoff berth, a losing bonus point 22-20 defeat to Munster in the province’s last outing a fortnight ago left an air of frustration. It was the club’s first loss in the league since a 16-13 reverse to Scarlets on January 6. Diack said: “We’ve had a hard look at ourselves. It (the Munster defeat) hurt us, but we also thought we played very well. We felt we left a whole lot of points out there. “If we can string phases together and open up their defence like we did in Munster, then we feel we can do it this weekend. “There were individual errors though that we could pinpoint and things we can fix which is a good thing for us as a collective. “We feel that if we rectify those small judgment errors and individual errors, then we’ll have a great game.” The Ospreys hope to be boosted by the anticipated return of Wales out-half Dan Biggar who missed his team’s last defeat to Cardiff in the Principality.