Chris Henry insists his side can look on the bright side after suffering a 26-15 defeat to Wasps at Kingspan Stadium last week.
The Irish outfit could not match the fluidity of last season’s beaten Premiership finalists, who outscored them by four tries to two, after Craig Hampson and Simon McIntyre had set the ball rolling for the visitors.
While they gained momentum after the break through a Peter Browne try, it was Dai Young’s side who showed more resilience and when Josh Bassett dotted down for Wasps’ third, the game began to slip from Ulster’s grasp, before Cipriani added a fourth.
And although his side showed glimpses of executing new ideas, Henry knows there is more in the Ulster arsenal.
“It hurts when you lose at home,” said Henry. “It’s been a long pre-season and I think the team were really prepared to play the match. Obviously we have new combinations, new faces, new coaches, simple things in the way we are warming up now, and it is going to take a wee bit of time I guess.
“We were very hot and cold, but I think the majority of us are all very positive. When we assess the match, we have to stay positive, stay close and tight as a group, because we know we are going to get better and better.
“Our first game is always rusty, but unfortunately, we did not respond as well as Wasps did. I think there were probably a few key moments that changed how the game went, it could have been tighter.”
Henry lined up in the back row alongside Mattie Rea and Nick Timoney and the Ireland international was impressed by the two youngsters:
“Mattie Rea and Nick Timoney were awesome, that was one of the positives. They have trained unbelievably hard all pre-season, they have impressed, and they got a chance. Now there are a few more headaches for Les.
“It is really competitive in the back row, and I think, when you look at our squad, in every position there is serious depth. The injury count is probably in our favour at the moment but that can change quickly.
“A lot of the young lads performed very well and I also thought that Alan O’Connor, although he’s been around for a while, controlled the lineout really well.”
The Irish outfit could not match the fluidity of last season’s beaten Premiership finalists, who outscored them by four tries to two, after Craig Hampson and Simon McIntyre had set the ball rolling for the visitors.
While they gained momentum after the break through a Peter Browne try, it was Dai Young’s side who showed more resilience and when Josh Bassett dotted down for Wasps’ third, the game began to slip from Ulster’s grasp, before Cipriani added a fourth.
And although his side showed glimpses of executing new ideas, Henry knows there is more in the Ulster arsenal.
“It hurts when you lose at home,” said Henry. “It’s been a long pre-season and I think the team were really prepared to play the match. Obviously we have new combinations, new faces, new coaches, simple things in the way we are warming up now, and it is going to take a wee bit of time I guess.
“We were very hot and cold, but I think the majority of us are all very positive. When we assess the match, we have to stay positive, stay close and tight as a group, because we know we are going to get better and better.
“Our first game is always rusty, but unfortunately, we did not respond as well as Wasps did. I think there were probably a few key moments that changed how the game went, it could have been tighter.”
Henry lined up in the back row alongside Mattie Rea and Nick Timoney and the Ireland international was impressed by the two youngsters:
“Mattie Rea and Nick Timoney were awesome, that was one of the positives. They have trained unbelievably hard all pre-season, they have impressed, and they got a chance. Now there are a few more headaches for Les.
“It is really competitive in the back row, and I think, when you look at our squad, in every position there is serious depth. The injury count is probably in our favour at the moment but that can change quickly.
“A lot of the young lads performed very well and I also thought that Alan O’Connor, although he’s been around for a while, controlled the lineout really well.”