THE last time Ulster took on the DHL Stormers in Cape Town, it ended in late heartbreak that still stings.
Having put in a superb shift against the South Africans in the 2022 URC semi-final and looked on course to spring the shock win, but a last-gasp try from Warrick Gelant, converted by Mannie Libbock, left the visitors crestfallen.
Stormers would go on to take the title as Ulster reflected on what might have been.
But that was then and this is now as Ulster get set for their second of two games on their travels and it is one they really could do with winning (Saturday 5.15pm, live on Viaplay).
On Saturday past, they came up short against Hollywoodbets Sharks, going down 22-12 in Cape Town against a side that contained a number of South Africa's World Cup winners.
It's simply a case of dusting themselves down and going again as they drop to seventh in the table, but know a win this week will see them leapfrog their opponents and potentially rise as high as fourth.
The DHL Stadium is not an easy place to go and with Manie Libbock, Evan Roos and Damian Willemse to contend with, they will need a big showing to grab would would be a significant step forward as they seek to turn a corner.
“There was disappointment in the group," said back, Ethan McIlroy of last week's defeat.
"Nobody wants to be losing games but you have to park that and not carry that disappointment in. As far as the mood goes, you have to stay positive.
"The Stormers will be quite similar to Sharks in the way they play rugby.
"They are big, physical and like to exploit those attacking kicks like the Sharks did. They have explosive, fast, backs, they have good line speed like the national team, we’ll see similar pictures out there. We have to tidy up our end with better accuracy."
That loss to the Sharks was Ulster's first under the guidance of interim head coach, Richie Murphy.
There has been little time for the players and new coach to fully gel, but McIlroy believes they will get better as time goes on and after looking at what went wrong last week, says all are keen to rectify the mistakes.
“Looking back and reviewing it, we weren’t at our best," he admitted.
"We showed moments where we were together and doing well but small things that we can tweak. I think the word I would use is it was messy at times, we can be a bit cleaner in the game and be a bit more on the same page this weekend coming."
