It may be more than 10 years since Ulster last won a women’s interprovincial derby, but you have to whisper it quietly around Kingspan Stadium.

However, according to Ella Durkan, it’s not something that plays on the mind of ever-improving Ulster.

“This is a new group of girls,” said the versatile back.

“We have no care for any of those stats and anyone who wants to bring that story up to us – we have no time of day for that. It has nothing to do with us.

“We are a team who have been building here. It is a young group and there are girls coming up from the under-18s who have won inter-pros and challenged for inter-pro titles at underage.”

And Durkan certainly has a point.

While Ulster lost their opening interpro to Munster 34-0 on Saturday, their previous meeting in 2021 ended up in a 50-5 defeat.

The 2021 interpro campaign also saw a 12-12 draw with Connacht, the closest they have come to ending their run, and Durkan says Saturday’s game between the sides is one Ulster “marked out in the calendar”.

“You go after all games but this is one we wanted, especially at home,” she added.

“Ravenhill really becomes a fortress for us so this is one we want to really go after.”

While any match at Kingspan Stadium is a home game for Ulster, it could not be closer for Durkan who grew up a stone’s throw away from the Ravenhill ground.

“I can see the stadium from my bedroom window,” the 24-year-old added.

“It’s nice to be playing with Ulster in the ground I grew up in the shadow of.

“It will be nice to get that day in the sun, although looking at the weather at the moment it might not be a day in the sun but I’ll take it.”

Women’s game ‘moving in the right direction’

The meeting between Ulster and Connacht will inevitably bring up memories of a turning point for women’s rugby in Ireland in 2021.

The draw at Donnybrook made headlines after players from both squads had to use outdoor temporary tented changing facilities, with rats being spotted in the vicinity.

However, with the IRFU since having committed to ploughing major resources into the women’s game, which includes professional contracts for Ireland’s XVs players, and Durkan said the women’s game is moving in the right direction.

“I play my club rugby or Blackrock, and a lot of the girls there have taken up professional contracts,” she said.

“This is a good step in the right direction. There was a line drawn in the sand with the previous actions but we really think now, moving forward, we are starting to go in the right direction.

“This can only be positive for women’s rugby and women’s sport in general.”

Like many of the Ulster team, Durkan is a multi-sport athlete and played GAA for Down before deciding to focus her attentions on rugby.

Durkan said that “gaelic is one of the most transferrable sports to rugby” and that it has aided her versatility, which has saw the Blackrock player jump between full-back, fly-half and centre for Ulster.

“I’m comfortable anywhere. Anywhere I’m needed, I’ll go,” she said on her preferred position.

“I like jumping between positions. It gives you a good eye for the game and, when you are playing at 10, where your 12 is going to be, where your full-back is going to be.

“It’s nice to have that experience across the field, so at 10 you have the head on your shoulders to know what everyone else is doing.”