Number one aim is to get Ulster back into the URC play-offs and Champions Cup
RICHIE Murphy insists Ulster's number one target is to finish as high in the United Rugby Championship as possible.
Not only will a top half finish send his men through to the end of year play-offs, it would also secure a place among Europe's elite in the following season's Champions Cup.
The play-offs and Champions Cup can also give clubs a much-needed financial boost. While still involved in the EPCR Challenge Cup, the financial benefits don't compare to its more lucrative bigger brother.
So, it was no surprise when Murphy disclosed what his main aim of the season is.
"Europe is really important but our league is more important, and our league position," said Murphy.
"We've got to get back into the top-eight and the European Cup - that is our goal. In saying that, every team that we select, we will select with a view to winning the game that's right in front of our face.
"We won't pick a team that we don't think can go out there and win. With that in mind, this week there will be some rotation, not huge, but we're also trying to get as many points as we can over 10 weeks."
Murphy was speaking ahead of this weekend's Challenge Cup match-up with Cardiff at the Arms Park.
With Ulster staring into a gruelling fixture list which includes three inter-pros in as many weeks, Ulster will be forced into some weekly rejigging in a bid to keep players as fresh as possible.
Many sides came in for criticism for changing up the entirety of their matchday squads. Admitting that supporters are likely to see a very different Ulster this weekend to the one that beat Racing 92, Murphy stated that the starting 15 will be still be capable of going over to Cardiff and getting a win.
"We want to respect every competition that we're in. We also want to respect the Ulster jersey and what it means to the guys that play in it.
"It's really important that when we do pick a team, we're picking a team with a plan and a view to trying to beat the opposition that we're playing against."
Squad rotation carries many risks, but as Murphy explains, the pros very much outweigh the cons.
"I think European [Champions] Cup rugby is very important to nearly all the teams that are in there, but league position and form dictate where you end up the following year. Not every team can compete on both ends fully, so you have to take risk in certain areas.
"Over this 10-game period, there's a couple of weeks where we have to take risk, and that's just the way it is. Risk is good, by the way, because it gives other guys opportunity.
"We have to expand and build more competition in those areas, and I suppose over the next number of weeks, that's what we're going to try and do."