ULSTER’S HAUL OF six points from their South African tour didn’t lessen Richie Murphy’s disappointment after seeing his team miss the opportunity for a second win in Saturday’s 49-31 United Rugby Championship defeat to the Lions.
Ulster beat the star-studded Sharks 34-26 last weekend, and were just 34-31 down to the Lions with only 10 minutes left to play in Johannesburg before the hosts scored three tries in the closing minutes to blow the scoreline out.
Murphy’s side did manage to score five tries at Ellis Park, wing Rob Baloucoune grabbing an impressively-taken hat-trick, to ensure that they will finish the weekend inside the top five in the URC table.
“It’s a difficult one to take because we were in that game for over an hour, but then we let it get away from us,” Murphy said after Ulster’s first defeat of the campaign.
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“Our error count was a little bit too high, and that invited the Lions back into the game. Their scrum dominance obviously put us under a lot of pressure as well.
Baloucoune wins the aerial ball over the Lions' Quan Horn. Steve Haag Sports / Christiaan Kotze/INPHO
Steve Haag Sports / Christiaan Kotze/INPHO / Christiaan Kotze/INPHO
“It was a massive effort though by the players in 29 degrees heat at altitude and this is not an easy place to be. It was a big effort too by the new guys, they put in a big shift. There are little things to review, but it was good to see them come through and contribute so much in a tough place to debut.
“You’ll never be satisfied if you feel the game is in the balance after 60 minutes and you lose, but six points from the tour is a decent return. We’re still hurting though and it’s important that we flick that switch when we return to the competition and get back to winning ways,” Murphy said.
Ulster’s next URC appointment is in Belfast against Benetton Treviso on 28 November.
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said playing at home had also been tough for them given the hot conditions, but he was pleased his team played better with time.
“We really played well today, there was a lot of effort. It was tough for us today as well and I was pleased that our error rate went down as the game progressed. But our exits still put us under pressure, there were one or two errors in the 22 and they scored from one.
“Obviously I’m happy we managed to get five points against a side that showed their class against the Bulls and Sharks, but I’m even more proud of the work that was done. Se showed how desperate we are, and we can obviously build on that. If we can be more accurate, then we can really put teams under pressure.
“Historically we have not found ways to swing the momentum, but today we managed to turn things our way a little bit earlier. We knew the scrums could potentially swing things our way, but you still have to go out and do it,” Van Rooyen said.
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Richie Murphy salutes Ulster's 'massive effort in 29 degrees heat at altitude'
ULSTER’S HAUL OF six points from their South African tour didn’t lessen Richie Murphy’s disappointment after seeing his team miss the opportunity for a second win in Saturday’s 49-31 United Rugby Championship defeat to the Lions.
Ulster beat the star-studded Sharks 34-26 last weekend, and were just 34-31 down to the Lions with only 10 minutes left to play in Johannesburg before the hosts scored three tries in the closing minutes to blow the scoreline out.
Murphy’s side did manage to score five tries at Ellis Park, wing Rob Baloucoune grabbing an impressively-taken hat-trick, to ensure that they will finish the weekend inside the top five in the URC table.
“It’s a difficult one to take because we were in that game for over an hour, but then we let it get away from us,” Murphy said after Ulster’s first defeat of the campaign.
“Our error count was a little bit too high, and that invited the Lions back into the game. Their scrum dominance obviously put us under a lot of pressure as well.
“It was a massive effort though by the players in 29 degrees heat at altitude and this is not an easy place to be. It was a big effort too by the new guys, they put in a big shift. There are little things to review, but it was good to see them come through and contribute so much in a tough place to debut.
“You’ll never be satisfied if you feel the game is in the balance after 60 minutes and you lose, but six points from the tour is a decent return. We’re still hurting though and it’s important that we flick that switch when we return to the competition and get back to winning ways,” Murphy said.
Ulster’s next URC appointment is in Belfast against Benetton Treviso on 28 November.
Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen said playing at home had also been tough for them given the hot conditions, but he was pleased his team played better with time.
“We really played well today, there was a lot of effort. It was tough for us today as well and I was pleased that our error rate went down as the game progressed. But our exits still put us under pressure, there were one or two errors in the 22 and they scored from one.
“Obviously I’m happy we managed to get five points against a side that showed their class against the Bulls and Sharks, but I’m even more proud of the work that was done. Se showed how desperate we are, and we can obviously build on that. If we can be more accurate, then we can really put teams under pressure.
“Historically we have not found ways to swing the momentum, but today we managed to turn things our way a little bit earlier. We knew the scrums could potentially swing things our way, but you still have to go out and do it,” Van Rooyen said.
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