Double try-scorer against Leinster, Craig Gilroy, has praised the impact of Les Kiss and has predicted an exciting future for Ulster with him in charge.
The Australian guided Ulster to the Guinness PRO12 play-offs - their fourth consecutive appearance in the knock out stages of the competition - but old rivals Leinster prevailed 30-18 in a hard-fought game at the RDS on Friday night.
Gilroy dotted down once in each half, bringing his PRO12 tally this season to ten and making him the league’s top try-scorer, ahead of the final at BT Murrayfield next weekend. But that was scant consolation for the 25-year-old, who was visibly devastated by the loss: “I would have swapped both scores for a place in the decider next week.
“Leinster - fair play to them - they are a fantastic side. It was tough. It’s not easy to play Leinster, but particularly away from home. They have quality players all over the park and plenty in reserve as well.
“We put some nice pieces of play together, but it obviously wasn’t enough, and they controlled the game for good chunks. It takes a lot of effort and energy to get some good ball and to get into their half - and when we did there was times when we gave it straight back to them and they exited well. We made some bad mistakes at critical times, and we’ve paid the price.”
Despite his obvious disappointment, Gilroy was quick to highlight how much the players have enjoyed working with Kiss, who arrived in November upon the completion of his Rugby World Cup duties with Ireland:
“I can’t speak highly enough of Les Kiss. I’ve known him for quite a while now through international stuff and since he’s come on board at Ulster he’s been fantastic. He’s hit the ground running and really bought into the culture of the organisation and we love him, he’s great to work with.
“I think we’ve got an exciting future under him. Next season he’ll be involved for the pre-season and will have the chance to get a full campaign under his belt.
“The group that we have now has a good age profile and we have talented young players coming through the Academy structures. We have some pretty handy extras coming in next season too, so there is plenty to work with. We can take the hurt from today and use it, and continue to work hard to develop our game.”
The Australian guided Ulster to the Guinness PRO12 play-offs - their fourth consecutive appearance in the knock out stages of the competition - but old rivals Leinster prevailed 30-18 in a hard-fought game at the RDS on Friday night.
Gilroy dotted down once in each half, bringing his PRO12 tally this season to ten and making him the league’s top try-scorer, ahead of the final at BT Murrayfield next weekend. But that was scant consolation for the 25-year-old, who was visibly devastated by the loss: “I would have swapped both scores for a place in the decider next week.
“Leinster - fair play to them - they are a fantastic side. It was tough. It’s not easy to play Leinster, but particularly away from home. They have quality players all over the park and plenty in reserve as well.
“We put some nice pieces of play together, but it obviously wasn’t enough, and they controlled the game for good chunks. It takes a lot of effort and energy to get some good ball and to get into their half - and when we did there was times when we gave it straight back to them and they exited well. We made some bad mistakes at critical times, and we’ve paid the price.”
Despite his obvious disappointment, Gilroy was quick to highlight how much the players have enjoyed working with Kiss, who arrived in November upon the completion of his Rugby World Cup duties with Ireland:
“I can’t speak highly enough of Les Kiss. I’ve known him for quite a while now through international stuff and since he’s come on board at Ulster he’s been fantastic. He’s hit the ground running and really bought into the culture of the organisation and we love him, he’s great to work with.
“I think we’ve got an exciting future under him. Next season he’ll be involved for the pre-season and will have the chance to get a full campaign under his belt.
“The group that we have now has a good age profile and we have talented young players coming through the Academy structures. We have some pretty handy extras coming in next season too, so there is plenty to work with. We can take the hurt from today and use it, and continue to work hard to develop our game.”