Zebre v Ulster: Sexton ‘proud of Ulster’s Ireland contingent

Baloucoune will miss the rest of the club season due to an elbow injury, but McCloskey and Timoney are in contention for this week’s trip to face Zebre in the United Rugby Championship [19:45 GMT].

Sexton anticipates a “war” at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi against the Italian outfit who may bottom of the standings but “have the firepower to hurt you”.

Ulster have their own issues to address following last weekend’s home defeat by Connacht last week but remain in third in the URC standings as they enter the home straight with a European Challenge Cup tie at home to Ospreys to come the following week.

“We had an honest review [after Connacht] and talked about simple things like moving quicker, getting set quicker, off the ground quicker and then we can move the ball quicker,” Sexton added.

“Our score per entry was quite low at the weekend, so we’ve put a lot of emphasis on that so when we get into the opposition’s 22, we are a bit more accurate and come away with points.

“We’re third in the table and want to make sure we’re up at the top when the season comes to an end.

“It’s important we don’t get too far ahead of ourselves but look to the next challenge. We’ll go to Zebre, hopefully put in a performance and take next week as it comes.”