Ulster Rugby: Duane Vermeulen tipped to make instant impact as coach addresses Steven Kitshoff rumours

The northern province pulled off a real coup to sign the Springbok in mid-September but he has yet to set foot in Belfast due to his ongoing international commitments.

Having been on duty for the world champions through the Rugby Championship and then their tour through the northern hemisphere, he will round up his representative rugby for 2021 when he benches for the Barbarians against a Samoan side in Twickenham on Saturday.

With his soon-to-be team-mates kicking off against Leinster later that day in a key URC clash, the earliest the 35-year-old could make his debut is away to Ospreys one week later and following that trip to west Wales there is nothing but inter-provincial derbies or European games until the final weekend of January.

With skipper Iain Henderson set to be missing with a hamstring injury for at least part of this seemingly key block, there is little doubt that Vermeulen’s experience would be a real boon through the period.

“Absolutely,” said McFarland when asked if he felt his new signing would be an asset in the coming weeks. “He’s played a number of games for the Springboks and he’s got the Baa-Baas next weekend and then he arrives with us.

“We’ll obviously have a plan for how we introduce him. He’s a seasoned professional, it’s not going to take much time for him to get up to speed. We’ve lots of other considerations to take around that but we’re really looking forward to seeing him and welcoming him to the Ulster family.”

While one Springbok’s arrival is imminent, McFarland was none too expansive when asked about reports that the province had tried and failed in another audacious swoop for loosehead Steven Kitshoff.

A devastatingly effective scrummager, and part of the South African’s famed ‘Bomb Squad’, the 29-year-old is contracted to the Stormers until 2023 but has been linked with a host of European clubs in recent seasons.

Having moved north once before, where he put in a memorable set-piece display against Ulster in Belfast for Bordeaux-Begles, McFarland was not to be drawn on how seriously the northern province have explored the possibility.

“Obviously we’re not going to comment on speculation around recruitment,” he said flatly.

“That’s something that we just get on with and then we announce it when it’s done.”

There was news on another loosehead, though, with Jack McGrath’s injury woes set to come to a close in the coming weeks. The former Test Lion has not featured since November 2020 and had hip resurfacing surgery back in April.

McFarland described the 32-year-old’s injury as now being measured in terms of weeks rather than months but John Cooney is set for a quicker return and will feature against his former employers this weekend.

The influential scrum-half has featured just once since April due to head, neck and hamstring injuries but could make up part of a strong side that heads south on Saturday. Henderson’s injury notwithstanding, the remainder of the Ulster contingent who contributed to Ireland’s successful November shouldered a relatively light workload while James Hume and Stuart McCloskey didn’t feature.

“They’re all available,” McFarland said. “There’s nobody who is not allowed to play but they’re obviously part of the player management programme. It’s a question of whether it best suits to play them this week.

“Some played at the weekend, some need a break, it’s all based on an individual basis and we’ll make decisions based on a combination of what’s best for us and what’s best for us as individuals.”