Ulster lost for the second time this season when Edinburgh held off a late onslaught to seal a 16-10 win at BT Murrayfield.
After the game, try-scoring flanker Sean Reidy and centre Stuart McCloskey, reflected on the defeat…
Sean Reidy:
“It was a tough day at the office. We fought hard; we knew it was going to be a physical battle but we didn’t come away with the result we wanted. They held onto the ball a bit better than we did, especially in the green zone. They capitalised on that with their penalties and with the try in the second half. They’re a class side, they’ve got some great players and I’m sure they’ll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
“We’ve got to be a bit more effective. It’s little things we need to improve on, maybe a few mental glitches here and there but at the end of the day they can be easily fixed, we’ve just got to knuckle down and find a way to start winning away from home again.
“We’re back home at Kingspan Stadium next week and we’ll do our best to turn it on for the home crowd. We have something like sixteen games on the bounce now so it’s important for us to gain momentum, starting against Cardiff. Winning is infectious so we’ll be looking to get a few wins built up.
“For me personally, it was good to get another good run out, I’m learning every day. It’s good for me to get as much time as I can in that 7 jersey and to try to do the jersey justice.”
Stuart McCloskey:
“We’re obviously disappointed by the loss. Basic errors in our execution in the 22 cost us again.
“I thought we were in a strong position when Sean scored and we edged in front. The next score after our try was decisive and if we’d got another try, or even a penalty, then I think we would have pushed on and won.
“We had a couple of defensive errors and obviously good hands by them and they got the score. We still had chances though that we should have really converted at the end.
“The results away from home haven’t been great, but it’s not for a lack of trying in training and in the matches. We’ll keep working away I’m sure we’ll start picking up wins on the road again.”
After the game, try-scoring flanker Sean Reidy and centre Stuart McCloskey, reflected on the defeat…
Sean Reidy:
“It was a tough day at the office. We fought hard; we knew it was going to be a physical battle but we didn’t come away with the result we wanted. They held onto the ball a bit better than we did, especially in the green zone. They capitalised on that with their penalties and with the try in the second half. They’re a class side, they’ve got some great players and I’m sure they’ll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.
“We’ve got to be a bit more effective. It’s little things we need to improve on, maybe a few mental glitches here and there but at the end of the day they can be easily fixed, we’ve just got to knuckle down and find a way to start winning away from home again.
“We’re back home at Kingspan Stadium next week and we’ll do our best to turn it on for the home crowd. We have something like sixteen games on the bounce now so it’s important for us to gain momentum, starting against Cardiff. Winning is infectious so we’ll be looking to get a few wins built up.
“For me personally, it was good to get another good run out, I’m learning every day. It’s good for me to get as much time as I can in that 7 jersey and to try to do the jersey justice.”
Stuart McCloskey:
“We’re obviously disappointed by the loss. Basic errors in our execution in the 22 cost us again.
“I thought we were in a strong position when Sean scored and we edged in front. The next score after our try was decisive and if we’d got another try, or even a penalty, then I think we would have pushed on and won.
“We had a couple of defensive errors and obviously good hands by them and they got the score. We still had chances though that we should have really converted at the end.
“The results away from home haven’t been great, but it’s not for a lack of trying in training and in the matches. We’ll keep working away I’m sure we’ll start picking up wins on the road again.”