Springbok World Cup winner Duane Vermeulen admits he was surprised by the high tempo of Ulster’s play when he first joined the club before Christmas.
Fast forward and the seasoned No8 is fully up to speed and relishing the challenge of moving through the gears as the province bids to end its 16-year wait for major honours.
At risk of going over old ground, the last time Ulster laid hands on silverware was when they won the Celtic League under Mark McCall in 2006.
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Ahead of Saturday’s URC semi-final with former club Stormers in Cape Town, Vermeulen said: “I think it would mean everything to the fans to get our hands on silverware.
“We have a young squad but also guys who want to prove something and lift a trophy. That’s a major thing because the last time was a helluva lot of years ago.
“I think it’s time to contend for that and we have an opportunity now. We’re still in the race, so let’s see. Hopefully we can tick another box.”
Asked what has impressed him about Ulster in his first season in Belfast, Vermeulen said: “The energy, style and quickness of play. I was really surprised by the speed of play.
“It is a good thing to get used to and it took me a while but I understand the whole game plan now and it’s great to be a part of this dynamic team.”
Vermeulen believes Ulster have some ‘unfinished business’ against the Stormers after suffering a controversial 20-13 defeat in Cape Town back in March.
Dan McFarland’s men fought back from 14-0 down and were denied a late winner when a Callum Reid effort was ruled out after a lengthy TMO check.
“We weren’t really on our game that day, gave them two easy tries and obviously some decisions also didn’t go our way,” he said.
“The TMO decision was a disappointing one for us, but you can’t put yourself in that kind of position (trailing 14-0) to win a game. Hopefully we can do a little bit better.”
Vermeulen knows Ulster will have to keep an eye on highly-rated Stormers No8 Evan Roos who is being touted as a potential successor to him with the Springboks.
“There’s big talk about him and he’s an exceptional player,” said Vermeulen. “He’s a big ball carrier, he’s playing well and hopefully he gets an opportunity in the national squad.
“We play completely different styles - he’s running in the backline and from line-outs where I’m with the forwards - but he’s been really influential in the way they play.”
On his former club finishing second to Leinster in the regular URC table, Vermeulen said: “There's good cohesion in their squad and they have surprised quite a number of teams.
“We know what lies ahead and we have seen this season that they can turn nothing into something spectacular, so it’s going to be a tough one for us.”
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