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Center James Hume says Ulster’s players are “embracing” the chance to make history in Friday’s Challenge Cup final.
Richie Murphy’s side face Montpellier in Bilbao as they look to end a 20-year trophy drought and secure their place in next season’s Champions Cup, having been eliminated from the United Rugby Championship (URC) by finishing ninth.
With no URC play-offs to look forward to, Friday represents the final act of Ulster’s season and a chance to bring back a first trophy since the 2006 Celtic League success.
There have been some near misses since then with Hume part of the squad that lost the 2019-20 Pro 14 final, so the 27-year-old will be keen to make up for that disappointment.
“I’m certainly embracing it,” Hume said.
“Ritchie (Murphy, the head coach) said this morning, ‘You have a chance to write your name in history.’
“I think this is my eighth season and there are times where you come really close, like the semi-finals in 2022 (a last-gasp defeat to the Bulls in South Africa). The Pro 14 final during Covid – things didn’t go as we planned.
“It’s a massive opportunity for us to bring some silverware back home to Belfast, which hasn’t come since 2006, so we’re buzzing for it.”
After Friday’s disappointment when Glasgow saw a late Scottish club claim a dramatic 26-22 win in Belfast, Ulster’s eggs are firmly in Friday’s Challenge Cup final basket if they are to play in next season’s Champions Cup.
With a cup final to look forward to, Hume insists “you can’t let it affect you too much” as they prepare to face the second-placed side in the Top 14.
The three-time capped Ireland international admitted league defeats against the Scarlets and Ospreys “cost us” but the challenge of European rugby is that Ulster have produced some of their best moments this season.
“It seems that when we play in Europe against teams that are not in our league (the URC), it seems that we play better rugby or it’s more enjoyable to attack against them.
“French defenses are a bit more erratic and Northern Hemisphere rugby is not usually as organized as it is in our league, so sometimes it presents different opportunities and maybe suits us a bit more, but we’ll see at the weekend.”
