Captain Alan O’Connor mentioned he feels Ulster let their 10 departing gamers down by shedding their United Rugby Championship quarter-final to Connacht.
Dan McFarland’s males produced a disjointed efficiency as they misplaced 15-10 at house to a aspect they completed 5 locations above within the URC desk.
Friday night time’s defeat got here a day after Ulster introduced that 10 of their present squad, together with former World Cup winner Duane Vermeulen, can be leaving after this season.
“I did not need to converse in regards to the rugby as a result of I believed I might cry, however I did thank all the fellows who have been leaving,” O’Connor mentioned when requested what he mentioned to his team-mates within the altering room after the sport.
“All the fellows who’re retiring or shifting golf equipment or who’ve World Cup aspirations, I simply wished all of them the perfect and thanked everyone. I did not need to discuss in regards to the rugby.”
He added: “Our entire season was for this recreation.
“We did effectively sufficient to get into second place to get ourselves a house quarter-final, and we knew what was at stake after we had gained it [home venue for a semi-final].
“It’s disappointing for everyone who put within the effort, however it’s extra disappointing for the fellows who’re shifting on, and that’s their final recreation of rugby [for Ulster] with their household on the market.
“That may be a tricky tablet to swallow for me if I used to be them. I really feel like we allow them to down, that’s the manner I really feel. Clearly all of us tried however we did not win so I really feel like we allow them to down in a manner, which is disappointing as a result of I do not need to be a part of that.
“However it’s simply the best way it’s, it’s sport. It was an honour to play with all of these guys, being captain of them was class.
“We left on a ‘downer’ be aware however we have now had some good wins alongside the best way, good experiences and made good recollections.”
An Ulster win would have been a ‘theft’
Having completed the season 18 factors above their inter-provincial rivals, Ulster head coach McFarland admitted his aspect have been “heat favourites” for the last-eight tie in opposition to a crew they’d already crushed twice this season.
McFarland careworn how essential the breakdown was to deciding the match and the way Connacht, whose factors got here from 5 penalties from captain Jack Carty, dominated that space of the sport.
O’Connor, whose transformed attempt 16 minutes from time diminished the guests’ result in 12-10 and gave the house crowd hope of a comeback, echoed his coach’s ideas on the place the sport received away from them in what was an error-strewn efficiency.
“Connacht got here up they usually did us on the breakdown,” he continued.
“We gave away 18 penalties, I do not know what number of they gave away nevertheless it undoubtedly felt like lower than half of that. You possibly can’t actually do this in a recreation of rugby – how do you anticipate to win a recreation of rugby whenever you do this?
“If we had stolen that on the finish it could have been a theft, in my view, by way of how we went about it and the way we went in regards to the self-discipline. They did an excellent job on the breakdown.”
Given a house semi-final would have awaited had they gained, O’Connor was requested if he felt the season represented a backward step for a crew that additionally misplaced within the final 16 of the Champions Cup to Leinster.
“It is not likely a backward step. I feel we have now grown a good bit as a crew. We had 12 or 13 extra factors within the league than we did final 12 months however clearly we did not do as effectively in Europe.
“There have been loads of video games that we must always have completed higher in however I feel general we performed some great things, we performed some dominant rugby at instances however if you need territory dominance it must be disciplined and must be actually correct by way of ball focus and breakdowns.
“If you do not have these in these moments whenever you want them, then 18 penalties later you have got misplaced 1 / 4 last.”
Judgement on season ‘for one more day’ – McFarland
Ulster head coach McFarland admitted his aspect have been “second greatest” in opposition to Connacht however insisted any judgement on their season as a complete must wait.
“I feel that’s for one more day,” he mentioned when requested if he felt Ulster have progressed or regressed this marketing campaign.
“I might wish to assume that ending second would converse to a stage of progress however shedding in a quarter-final after we misplaced in a semi-final final 12 months would say one thing completely different.
“It’s all the way down to one-off video games within the play-offs. They are often tight affairs. Myself and everybody within the organisation will take a look and see the place we are able to enhance for subsequent 12 months.”
Whereas detest to solid judgement on the season as a complete, McFarland mentioned Friday night time’s defeat was “fairly excessive” on his checklist of all-time private disappointments.
He additionally mentioned that successful a trophy has been the benchmark for the final couple of years for a membership that final loved silverware success in 2006.
“It [winning a trophy] is a benchmark,” he mentioned.
“The primary couple of years from 2018 we have been working actually arduous at bringing by means of and bedding in a number of the youthful gamers, and there was an enormous turnover of gamers.
“Since then we begin yearly with the target of successful a trophy. That’s the purpose. It’s a very troublesome factor to do. We have now been battling in play-off video games however we have not managed but. That’s fairly disappointing this 12 months, I’d put that up there.”