While in the end the scoreline might have been closer than he would have wanted, the key statistic from the Sportsground for Ulster Head Coach, Neil Doak, was that Ulster left with five points and maintained their push for a play off place.
While in the end the scoreline might have been closer than he would have wanted, the key statistic from the Sportsground for Ulster Head Coach, Neil Doak, was that Ulster left with five points and maintained their push for a play off place.
“At this stage we’re just got to win games but to get the bonus points was brilliant,” he said after the match. “I thought Treviso might gave done us a favour against Ospreys (on Friday night) but that’s why this win was key. We played pretty well at times but credit to them – they played for the full 80 minutes. It got a bit tight towards the end but we’re just glad that we got the five points.
What pleased Doak in particular was how clinical the team were when presented with attacking chances:
“We have worked hard on that. It is key that when you get into that area that you come away with points. Tommy got in in the corner from turnover ball. We have been accurate at times with our own ball but we haven’t actually had a lot of turnover or counter attack ball this season. You have to try and take every opportunity that you can and that was very pleasing.”
With three games remaining in the regular season and with virtually a full deck of players to chose from, the coach now has the challenge of who to pick for these massive matches coming up:
He says: “We need everyone on our feet and fighting hard for competition. At this stage of the season, with lots or people back, those that get to play are the lucky ones. They have to take those opportunities and hold onto those jerseys because it is going to be a tight finish.
“We have key games in the next couple of weeks against two interprovincial teams and Glasgow – all sides around the top four, top five places in the league. They are massively important matches. We have to make sure that we take the positives out of this win. There were a couple of areas that we need to sharpen up on. With the boys coming back from the 6 Nations. It’s always a difficult time to make sure everyone is on the same page. However, having said that, I thought we coped with that well. Training was excellent this week, there was great intensity and it is good to have the experience of guys like Tommy, Rory and Jared back in the squad.
It’s Leinster next at a sold out Kingspan Stadium in just under two weeks time. In that next interprovincial match, the Ulster Head Coach will be demanding the same level of intensity aiming for the the same result.
While in the end the scoreline might have been closer than he would have wanted, the key statistic from the Sportsground for Ulster Head Coach, Neil Doak, was that Ulster left with five points and maintained their push for a play off place.
“At this stage we’re just got to win games but to get the bonus points was brilliant,” he said after the match. “I thought Treviso might gave done us a favour against Ospreys (on Friday night) but that’s why this win was key. We played pretty well at times but credit to them – they played for the full 80 minutes. It got a bit tight towards the end but we’re just glad that we got the five points.
What pleased Doak in particular was how clinical the team were when presented with attacking chances:
“We have worked hard on that. It is key that when you get into that area that you come away with points. Tommy got in in the corner from turnover ball. We have been accurate at times with our own ball but we haven’t actually had a lot of turnover or counter attack ball this season. You have to try and take every opportunity that you can and that was very pleasing.”
With three games remaining in the regular season and with virtually a full deck of players to chose from, the coach now has the challenge of who to pick for these massive matches coming up:
He says: “We need everyone on our feet and fighting hard for competition. At this stage of the season, with lots or people back, those that get to play are the lucky ones. They have to take those opportunities and hold onto those jerseys because it is going to be a tight finish.
“We have key games in the next couple of weeks against two interprovincial teams and Glasgow – all sides around the top four, top five places in the league. They are massively important matches. We have to make sure that we take the positives out of this win. There were a couple of areas that we need to sharpen up on. With the boys coming back from the 6 Nations. It’s always a difficult time to make sure everyone is on the same page. However, having said that, I thought we coped with that well. Training was excellent this week, there was great intensity and it is good to have the experience of guys like Tommy, Rory and Jared back in the squad.
It’s Leinster next at a sold out Kingspan Stadium in just under two weeks time. In that next interprovincial match, the Ulster Head Coach will be demanding the same level of intensity aiming for the the same result.