Vermeulen's SA impact and influence not lost on Ulster coach Dan McFarland

Ulster head coach Dan McFarland said Springbok No 8 Duane Vermeulen will be influential for them in their tour of South Africa.

The first of the Belfast side's two United Rugby Championship matches will be against the Stormers at the Cape Town Stadium and the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld the following week.

Vermeulen, who has started in all of his 59 Tests with the Boks, has represented both the Stormers and the Bulls with distinction.

His Springbok debut came in 2012 on the back of consistent performances with Western Province and the Stormers after moving from the Cheetahs.

McFarland, a former Scotland assistant coach, didn't explain in depth how influential Vermeulen will be, but also said his knowledge of the construction of SA's mauls will come in handy.

Vermeulen was at the Bulls until September last year, when he was an integral part of Jake White's trophy-winning teams.

"With regards to the individual specifics of his influence in these weeks against the South African teams, I'm not sure if it's going to be any greater than the influence he's had in general," McFarland said.

"We have a style in the way that we play and we're interested in our mauling and maul defence game and he's had a huge influence in that area.

"He deeply understands the SA methodology around those areas and there's been insight into that all through his stay in Belfast.

"Whether he'll be involved in both games will remain to be seen, but he is a big influence."

The conclusion of the Six Nations has also allowed McFarland to have a bigger selection pool to pick from.

"There's every chance that some of those guys might play. Some of them didn't get a chunk of game time over the Six Nations," McFarland said.

"With the block of six games that we have now, we