Ulster star Louis Ludik says that the squad is hurting following the 16-13 loss against Scarlets, and he insists that they will work harder than ever in the lead up to the Champions Cup tie against Exeter Chiefs next Sunday.
“It’s a very tough one to take, said the 30-year-old. “The conditions were very difficult but I thought we controlled the game well and were strong defensively. However, we made some small mistakes that they were able to capitalise on. Sometimes things go against you.
“We had a few opportunities in their ‘22’, particularly in the second half, but we just weren’t clinical enough. We’ve just got to keep working on the things that we’ve struggled with in the past couple of weeks and take our chances better.”
While Ulster emerged from Parc y Scarlets with a losing bonus point, something which they failed to achieve last season, Ludik said that provided the squad with little consolation at this stage.
“At the end of the season it will probably help but at the minute everyone is down and it feels like we’ve got nothing. It’s a bit frustrating that we have to wait for a month now to get back to PRO12 action but that’s part of professional rugby.”
It doesn’t get any easier for Ulster next week. Having suffered consecutive away defeats at the hands of both Leinster and Scarlets, both of whom boast unbeaten home records this season, Les Kiss’ men must now travel to face a side that is undefeated in its last four games.
“It’s another away game,” said Ludik, turning his attentions to the European clash at Sandy Park. “They are playing very well at the moment and are currently third in the English Premiership, so we know it will be another difficult game. We’ve got a point to prove, but with it being a Sunday game, that will give us plenty of time to work hard and prepare for what will be another big challenge.
“For us it’s a must-win game. I think we owe the supporters a lot and we have to go out there and make them proud. It’s games like this that you want to be involved in, so hopefully I’ll be selected.
“We played there (Sandy Park) in pre-season and then at home in the Champions Cup and on both occasions it was extremely difficult. They are a big, physical side so our defence is going to have to be as good as it was against Scarlets.”
In the past two seasons, anything between 17-19 points has been enough to ensure progression to the knock-out stages of the Champions Cup. That means a win in Exeter will leave Ulster with a realistic chance of qualifying from Pool 5 when welcome they Bordeaux to Kingspan Stadium in round 6 the following week.
“That’s how were looking at it,” claimed Ludik. But we know that Exeter will want to finish the pool stages strongly as well. Anything can happen, particularly in this competition because all of the teams are capable of beating each other. We’ll not give up without a fight.”
“It’s a very tough one to take, said the 30-year-old. “The conditions were very difficult but I thought we controlled the game well and were strong defensively. However, we made some small mistakes that they were able to capitalise on. Sometimes things go against you.
“We had a few opportunities in their ‘22’, particularly in the second half, but we just weren’t clinical enough. We’ve just got to keep working on the things that we’ve struggled with in the past couple of weeks and take our chances better.”
While Ulster emerged from Parc y Scarlets with a losing bonus point, something which they failed to achieve last season, Ludik said that provided the squad with little consolation at this stage.
“At the end of the season it will probably help but at the minute everyone is down and it feels like we’ve got nothing. It’s a bit frustrating that we have to wait for a month now to get back to PRO12 action but that’s part of professional rugby.”
It doesn’t get any easier for Ulster next week. Having suffered consecutive away defeats at the hands of both Leinster and Scarlets, both of whom boast unbeaten home records this season, Les Kiss’ men must now travel to face a side that is undefeated in its last four games.
“It’s another away game,” said Ludik, turning his attentions to the European clash at Sandy Park. “They are playing very well at the moment and are currently third in the English Premiership, so we know it will be another difficult game. We’ve got a point to prove, but with it being a Sunday game, that will give us plenty of time to work hard and prepare for what will be another big challenge.
“For us it’s a must-win game. I think we owe the supporters a lot and we have to go out there and make them proud. It’s games like this that you want to be involved in, so hopefully I’ll be selected.
“We played there (Sandy Park) in pre-season and then at home in the Champions Cup and on both occasions it was extremely difficult. They are a big, physical side so our defence is going to have to be as good as it was against Scarlets.”
In the past two seasons, anything between 17-19 points has been enough to ensure progression to the knock-out stages of the Champions Cup. That means a win in Exeter will leave Ulster with a realistic chance of qualifying from Pool 5 when welcome they Bordeaux to Kingspan Stadium in round 6 the following week.
“That’s how were looking at it,” claimed Ludik. But we know that Exeter will want to finish the pool stages strongly as well. Anything can happen, particularly in this competition because all of the teams are capable of beating each other. We’ll not give up without a fight.”