WITH the URC season just around the corner, Ulster are back on home turf in pre-season action on Saturday when they host Benetton on Saturday (5pm).

Richie Murphy is building towards his first full season with the northern province, having stepped in on an interim basis last season before getting the job full time.

As he and his squad build towards their season opener at home to Glasgow Warriors later this month, they will begin to go through their paces against the Italians tomorrow and integrate the new signings including Jimmy Duffy and also New Zealand's Aidan Morgan who Murphy has reported to have settled in well after making the switch from Super Rugby.

Sevens star Zac Ward has joined the squad on trial and will see action this weekend as he looks to make the transition to the XV's game.

On the injury front, it's a positive picture with Iain Henderson on course to make the start of the season, but Jake Flannery has  ruptured a tendon in his finger and will be out for a number of weeks.

"We have been working on a number of things over the pre-season, so we would like to se those out there," Murphy said of Saturday's game.

"I was at Connacht v Sale Sharks at the weekend and these pre-season games can be scrappy with all the changes.

"From our point of view, we want to have a look at a large number of players and give them an opportunity to put their hand up after a good pre-season. From a team and tactical view we want to put those into practice."

Ulster seemed to be adapting to Murphy's philosophies towards the end of the last campaign, so the plan is to build further during the season ahead.

A number of players did depart, so the onus is on for those who have been at the club to help those new arrivals.

"Towards the back end of last season they got a feel for some of the things that we are trying to do in our game," Murphy reflected.

"I think we are bit further down the track in relation to that, although we have lost other senior members of the team who were there at the back end of last season like Billy Burns and Will Addison.

"What tends to happens in the void, people step up and from a leadership point of view some of the guys in their mid-twenties haver really stepped up. The information now from player to coach and vice-versa is now really strong and we’ll hope to build on that through the year."