United Rugby Championship: Murphy sees Ulster improving by losing a bonus point against the Stormers

36 minutes ago

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Evan Roos scored the winner late in Cape Town

Interim coach Richie Murphy thought Ulster were “brilliant” in their United Rugby Championship defeat to the Stormers but feels a point from two games in South Africa is disappointing.

Ulster led for most of the game in Cape Town but were beaten 13-7 thanks to a try from Evan Roos in the 73rd minute.

The lost bonus point came after they had no chance against the Sharks in the first game of the trip.

“When you come to South Africa you know it’s going to be tough,” Murphy said.

He added: “To take a point is probably disappointing. We probably expected a little more.”

“I thought our players were brilliant tonight. I thought their work rate, their hunger, their ability to back each other up, I was really happy with that part of our game.”

“I thought we played really well in the first half, played really good rugby and showed some really good signs of improvement compared to last week.”

“Probably our accuracy just wasn’t quite where it should be. We can work on that.”

“We still have five games left in the league so we are in contention and can still make it to the top eight.”

Ulster were under pressure for most of the second half and eventually lost their lead shortly after flanker Dave McCann returned from the sin bin.

They had played encouraging attacking rugby before the turnaround, but ultimately failed to score a single point after John Cooney converted Nick Timoney's seventh-minute try.

“The Stormers missed a few kicks, we missed a few kicks, but we definitely had a few chances that we didn't quite take advantage of,” Murphy said.

“A seven-point lead at half-time was probably a sensible consideration. I thought both teams should have gotten a few more points.”

“(In the second half) they got a little more ball, a few 50/50 decisions went their way, and sometimes that happens when you're at home.”

“They got into their game, got into their flow and started moving the ball wide, which gave us a little bit of trouble in those areas.”

“They trapped us in the corners and we didn’t come out well enough. Ultimately that cost us the game.”

“Montpellier game another big test”

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John Cooney had a rare day off with the boot

Ulster's attention now turns to Europe with a trip to Montpellier in a bid to reach the last 16 of the Challenge Cup next time out.

“Montpellier is an interesting place, another tough, hostile place,” Murphy added.

“We come home on Monday morning, give the boys a few days off and bring them back on Wednesday.”

“It's a Sunday game which gives us a bit more time, which is great. Our focus will be entirely on getting to the quarter-finals, which would be a fantastic achievement.”

“Another similar test, a strong team that wants to play a bit, especially at home.”

“Their home record in the last five or six games is very good. It’s another big test for us.”

“It hasn’t been easy for us in the last few weeks.”