Kick-off details had barely been confirmed for Ulster's BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-final against Leinster this Saturday, and Richie Murphy was already embracing the underdog tag.
Ulster's regular season ended in defeat on Saturday, when they were outlasted by Munster 29-24 at Thomond Park, but the newly appointed head coach's confidence didn't appear shaken by the result, in which his side led 24-14 into the second half.
Had it not been for some bad luck on the injury front, which saw them lose both starting second rows in the opening quarter of the game, it could have been a different story for the province, who took the game to Munster impressively.
The losing bonus-point was enough for them to finish the regular season in sixth place, which guarantees them Champions Cup rugby next season. Securing top-tier European rugby was imperative for Murphy's side after he was initially appointed on an interim basis following the departure of Dan McFarland in March.
The bonus-point also saw them avoid a trip to South Africa to face the Bulls in the quarter-final this weekend, and while an away quarter-final against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium is as tough as it gets in this competition, Murphy believes his side have nothing to lose in Dublin.
"A free shot," is how Murphy framed this Saturday's quarter-final.
The province have already beaten Leinster twice this season in the URC, but the Ulster coach recognises that knockout rugby is an altogether different proposition.
"It's hard to win qualifying games when you go away from home. Obviously we’re not going that far, we’re going to the Aviva.
"We’ll go into it with confidence but we’re going to play a really good side that are hurting so we need to put them under pressure and that will be part of the plan, what can we do to apply as much pressure as possible to Leinster because realistically, I don’t think anyone will give us a shot down there."
As those words left Murphy's lips, the slightest hint of a wry smile followed it.
Some people may not be giving them a shot, but the head coach certainly is.
"Our ambition now is to go and beat Leinster. That's the game that’s coming next. We’ll deal week to week so the only thing that we’re preparing for is Leinster.
"When we run out of games, we run out of games. Win or lose, that’s the way it will be.
"If we start thinking about winning the whole thing we’re distracted and we’re taking away from what we need to do. What we need to do now is prepare to play Leinster and it’s going to be a very tough task."
Ulster's chances of pulling off an upset this weekend could be dictated by their injury list.
Kieran Treadwell will be assessed for a calf injury suffered in the opening minutes on Saturday, while Alan O'Connor also departed the first half following a head injury assessment.
Stuart McCloskey was a late withdrawal due to an ongoing groin problem, while Ulster lost wing Ethan McIlroy before kick-off due to a back spasm.
Saturday's loss was Ulster's first since their Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat in April, ending a run of four successive wins in the URC which saw them lock in a play-off spot.
Crucial to their improvement in this final third of the season has been back-row David McCann, who has started every game since Murphy's arrival, and has scored four tries in his last seven games, one of which sent Ulster into a 17-7 half-time lead on Saturday.
"You can see watching us we've made a progression the last four, five weeks," McCann said on Saturday evening.
The former Ireland U20 international's form this season makes him a dark horse for a senior call-up for the tour to South Africa in the summer, especially with his ability to cover all three positions across the back- row.
McCann, Nik Timoney and Cormac Izuchukwu have settled in as the starting trio at the back of the scrum for Ulster in this god run, and look set to do so into the play-offs.
And McCann says they're striking a good balance.
"Personally, it's been good. I played well at the start of the year, got injured which was disappointing, but I played my way back into a bit of form so it’s definitely positive in some ways when maybe there was other things going on.
"I feel a strong finish to the season [coming], I’d be happy with how it’s gone from a personal point of view. We’ll see how next week goes, I suppose.
"Izzy [Izuchukwu] is special at times, so physical and athletic. He's able to do some things that other people aren’t able to do.
"Nick [Timoney] is just really good at everything, it’s handy having those two on the pitch. Nick speaks a decent bit, but it’s more the way he speaks and the way he plays. He doesn’t leave anything behind, he’s straight and to the point and he is a direct person, people listen when he speaks and watch when he’s doing things," McCann added.
The 23-year-old was injured when Ulster claimed an impressive win away to Leinster at the RDS in January, but has played in two wins over the province in recent seasons.
And he says they will have no fear of taking on Leo Cullen's side.
"Well, we've played them away a lot and we’ve beaten them a couple of times and lost a couple of times. We know what it takes.
"We know if you’re going down there and you’re not 100% there’s no chance, they’ll show you the door. I think we know what we need to do.
"All good teams in knockouts raise their game, playing better opposition raises their game. It’s just natural that you rise to the occasion. But you have to have the building blocks in your training to allow you to rise to the occasion and win the moment."
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