Australia prop Angus Bell says he is “really loving his time at Ulster” since joining up with the province for a six-month sabbatical at the start of December.
Bell has been introduced as a replacement in the games against Racing 92, Cardiff and Connacht since joining up with the squad after the autumn internationals, with his sole start to date coming in the narrow defeat by Leinster in Dublin before Christmas.
The 25-year-old Waratahs front-row describes his experience with Ulster so far as “awesome”.
“The guys at Ulster have been really good to me. I’m really loving my time here,” the Wallabies forward told BBC Sport NI before Friday’s United Rugby Championship meeting with Munster.
“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.”
Ulster have an opportunity to leapfrog Munster in the URC table if they can defeat Clayton McMillan’s side at the Affidea Stadium.
“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.
“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 interprovincials] 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.”
Bell added that the last year has been “a big learning curve” for him.
“I’ve played a lot of Tests against a lot of world-class players.
“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.”
