Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus admits his side are learning to come to terms with Anthony Foley’s passing in different ways as they return to Guinness PRO12 action against Ulster this weekend. After their rousing victory over Glasgow Warriors in Europe last weekend on a day that will be remembered by all at Thomond Park for the moving farewell to Foley – attention now turns back to the league. And a trip to the Kingspan Stadium could be timely for a Munster side that have only won one of their last six clashes against Irish opponents – coming in this exact fixture last season. History is on the line as Munster are unbeaten on their last two visits to Kingspan Stadium and have not gone three matches without defeat in Belfast since the Second World War. But for Erasmus the battle for his squad is to try and quell their emotions following an distressing fortnight. “It’s certainly not as difficult as it is for Olive and the kids and the family. How tough it was for us is really irrelevant. It’s for us to be able to go and perform. I think different management members, players, and coaches will handle it differently,” he said. “For some the reality comes back in different stages… in the changing room, in the coach’s meeting room. So I think it will take a good while for different guys to handle it differently and while this is a hard thing to say, I think it will hit us continuously at different time periods. “The pressure on us (last weekend) was not the result but to put on a good performance. That was immense because of the respect we had for Anthony and after that you come back on Monday and things must go on but you can’t go on because he’s not here. There were so many things happening last week and now the game is played and guys must try to get back into a normal week. “I always knew this team had it in them to create this kind of result but with the situation and occasion we were in, I wasn’t sure that was the week. But yeah, with the quality of the opposition, it was a bit of a surprise to me. Certainly we are proud Munstermen and proud to have been a friend of Anthony.” Erasmus makes five changes for tomorrow’s return – one is in the pack with Jack O’Donoghue starting at No.8. While across the backline Duncan Williams and Ian Keatley form the half-back partnership with Ronan O’Mahony and Andrew Conway both returning to the back-three. Tomorrow’s game will also see Williams make his 100th PRO12 appearance. Ulster Rugby were defeated by Connacht in Galway in round 6, their first loss of this campaign, and have not lost successive Guinness PRO12 encounters since February. Les Kiss has made eight personnel changes – Dan Tuohy and Wiehahn Herbst have returned from long-term injuries and will make their first senior appearances of the season, having not featured since December 2015 and January 2016 respectively. The duo are two of five new faces to the forward pack, with a further three personnel changes made to the backline for the crucial Guinness PRO12 encounter and Kiss admits injuries have not been kind to his side. “Suddenly you think you’re alright and then a couple more go down,” said Kiss of the injuries. “That’s the nature of the situation. We can’t concern ourselves with what we don’t have. “We have to get on with it and back what we do have. The most important thing is the players we have, the mission ahead of us, which is Munster. It’s a massive game for us.” Munster XV: Conway; Sweetnam, Taute, Scannell, O’Mahony; Keatley, Williams; Kilcoyne, Scannell, Ryan; Ryan, Holland; O’Mahony, O’Donnell, O’Donoghue Replacements: O’Brien, Scott, Archer, O’Shea, Copeland, Griesel, Wootton, Goggin. Ulster XV: Piutau; Bowe, Marshall, Cave, Gilroy, Jackson, Pienaar; Black, Herring (capt), Herbst, Tuohy, van der Merwe, Diack, Reidy, Wilson Replacements: Andrew, McCall, Warwick, Ross, Joyce, Marshall, Herron, Stockdale. Overall Guinness PRO12 head to head record: Played 29, Ulster won 13, Munster won 15 with 1 game drawn. At Kingspan Stadium, 7.05pm Live on BBC Sport NI and TG4 Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU, 139th competition game) Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris (WRU), John Carvill (IRFU) Citing Commissioner: Murray Whyte (IRFU) TMO: Tim Hayes (WRU)
