Ulster Defense Shines As They Climb URC Ladder
By Priscilla Jepchumba
Ulster, despite missing several key players, secured a hard-fought 17-7 victory over Connacht at Dexcom stadium in Galway. This crucial win lifted them into the coveted top eight of the United Rugby Championship.
While Connacht dominated possession, they struggled to break down the Ulster defense and ultimately failed to secure any points, leaving them in 13th place.
Richie Murphy, the Ulster head coach, praised his team's strong defense, particularly from their young backline, as a key factor in their success.
“We didn’t give them a minute on the ball defensively. We put a lot of pressure on them, A lot of that, credit to Jonny Bell Ulster defense coach,” Coach Murphy said.
Without several key players, Richie Murphy’s side delivered a convincing victory over Connacht, including Rob Herring, who was withdrawn shortly before kick-off.
“We were missing a lot of experience, so for those guys to come in to stand up and play against the likes of Bundee (Aki) and Mack (Hansen) is massively satisfying for us, both Ben Carson and Jude Postlethwaite were very strong defensively” Murphy said.
Several key players, including James Hume and Ethan McElroy, are close to returning, which Murphy expects will add to Ulster’s URC ascent.
“We’ve got a lot of top-quality players missing, but these guys have been given an opportunity and grabbed it well. And the challenge for these guys, they played with intensity and commitment,” Murphy said.
Despite dominating possession, Wilkins’ side failed to front up physically, it puts them in a tough position, 25 points off leaders Leinster with just three wins from nine games.
“We physically didn’t win enough collisions to make them go deep enough into the phases, the scores came too easily for them, that gave them belief, that gave them momentum,” Wilkins said.
But the URC remains the province’s bread and butter, and Wilkins believes there is still time to resurrect their campaign.
“I don’t think we’ll be writing off the URC. I think where we find ourselves, and certainly the last two weeks, has been an enormous blow, but we certainly won’t be writing it off with half the games to come.
The minds of Connacht supporters will likely now turn to Europe, the province leading pool one of the Challenge Cup after two bonus-point wins, offering the potential of silverware.