'Leinster possibly the strongest team in the world' - Murphy

Ulster may be facing the best team in the world when they visit Leinster in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday, head coach Richie Murphy says.

The league leaders welcome Ulster to the Aviva Stadium off the back of two impressive Investec Champions Cup wins against Harlequins and Glasgow Warriors.

They did not concede a point in those two games and have only lost one game in the league this season.

"At this moment in time, Leinster look like the strongest team in Europe, possibly the strongest team in the world," he told BBC Sport NI.

"Their depth is unbelievable and they're playing with a massive confidence, so it is a very difficult task, but the boys are confident and they're looking forward to challenging themselves against the best team in the league."

Murphy stayed up late on Sunday with his son, Ulster out-half Jack, to watch Rory McIlroy complete a career Grand Slam by winning the Masters in dramatic fashion.

He said that McIlroy, a regular visitor to Ulster home games in previous seasons, was "more than welcome" anytime at the Kingspan Stadium with the green jacket and the trophy.

"His mental resilience has been incredible," he said.

"Something we talk about a lot is the difference between mental toughness and mental resilience, we have been quite resilient this year, but we'd like to be a bit tougher.

"Maybe Saturday will give us an opportunity where we start quick and throw the first punch."

Murphy will be without James Hume for the Leinster game, but can welcome back Werner Kok, Cormac Izuchukwu and Jude Postlethwaite from injury.

He believes Saturday will be an important game for the latter duo as they try to stake a claim to be included in this summer's Ireland squad.

To do so, they will have to be part of an Ulster side that will record a rare win at the Aviva Stadium, a venue they have struggled at in recent years.

"Those two boys [Izuchukwu and Postlethwaite] have a point to prove, losing James Hume isn't ideal but a like for like replacement with Jude coming back in," Murphy added.

"Our results in the Aviva over the last while haven't been good, we have only won once in nine games.

"That is something we can think about in the back of our minds, it is a huge day for our boys who want to challenge and try get into the Ireland squad in the summer."

The 50-year-old believes that Ulster are "moving in the right direction" after a three-match winning run in March moved them up to the play-off positions in sixth spot in the URC.

That is the position they currently occupy, but it remains a congested table with 13th-placed Connacht only four points behind Ulster and Murphy knows they must pick up as many points as they can in their last four games to secure a play-off spot.

"Every point is important now, we have four games left and if we win three of those four, we definitely qualify if we win two, we could qualify so you want to get that done as soon as you can."