Ulster front-row Angus Bell is settling in nicely at the United Rugby Championship (URC) outfit, who he joined on a six-month sabbatical at the start of last month.
The Wallabies star played off the replacements bench in clashes against Racing 92, Cardiff and Connacht and made his first start in Ulster’s narrow URC defeat to Leinster in Dublin a fortnight ago.
On Friday night, he will make his first start in front of his home fans at the Affidea Stadium in Belfast when Ulster take on Munster in an eagerly anticipated derby.
After eight matches played only three points separates these two sides in the URC standings with Munster currently occupying second position with 30 points amassed, while Ulster are in fifth.
Bell, who plies his trade with the Waratahs in Australia, expects a tight tussle against the visitors, who are just two points adrift of the table-topping Stormers.
“We know how class Munster are as a team and to get a win over a quality side like them at home would be awesome,” he told the BBC.
‘It’s going to be a massive test’
“They move the ball really well from set-piece and have some really world class props. It’s going to be a massive test but hopefully we can get a positive result for our fans.
“The passion [of Irish inter-provincials] is unbelievable and the Ulster fans are awesome, especially on the road.
“The atmosphere at all the games has been immense and I’m just taking in the experience of being able to play somewhere as amazing as Belfast, and other amazing stadiums in Galway and Dublin.
“I’m really loving the experience.”
Ulster v Munster teams: Ireland international returns as skipper while visitors make TEN changes
The 25-year-old revealed that he is thoroughly enjoying his time in his new surroundings.
“The guys at Ulster have been really good to me. I’m really loving my time here,” he said.
“It’s been a bit of an integration period. It’s been two [wins] out of four so far – we had a good win against Connacht on the weekend which was great, but still looking to build and get better.
“There are lots of areas we need to get better in.
“I’m just looking forward to putting my best foot forward and getting better within the team structure in every aspect. With rugby everything is a team effort.”
After a tough international schedule, Bell wants to use his time at Ulster to improve himself as a player.
Faced ‘a lot of world-class players’
“I’ve played a lot of Tests against a lot of world-class players,” he added.
“We went from Lions Tests into the Rugby Championship, into South Africa and also versus Argentina, who are up-and-coming and beating some of the best players in the world and have some of the best players in the world too.
“It’s just about keeping that hunger to try and get better week in, week out.
“That’s what I’m trying to do here at Ulster and something that has taken me by surprise is the quality through the squad. All the blokes are so hard working.”
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