Neil Doak: 'the Boys Showed Real Character'

Down to 13 men against Edinburgh, Ulster defended their lead heroically in the final moments at Murrayfield to secure a memorable win. While recognising that indiscipline nearly cost his side, Ulster Head Coach, Neil Doak, was pleased with the resolve that his players displayed, especially in that frantic last five minutes:

“We made it very difficult for ourselves, but the boys showed some real character,” says Doak. “We talked before the match about coming away from home and sometimes having to play ugly to win, but that was a bit too ugly!

“It was great to get a win because we knew that it was going to be a difficult game. Edinburgh have been on a pretty good run. I thought that we managed the game well until the sending off. We just lacked discipline and that caused us a few problems at the end. I am unbelievably happy for the players. They have been working hard and maybe that is the little bit of luck that we needed.”

Despite coming away with the four points and having shown that considerable resolve, Doak believes that there is much to work on from the performance:

The Ulster Head Coach says: “We started the game well.  Edinburgh didn’t really have a lot of possession in their own half. Maybe we were a bit loose with the ball but we had them defending in their territory. We just had a couple of lapses in concentration and then they went down the other end and scored a try and suddenly were in the lead. That is something that we need to work on – not to give points away so easily. However, to get back into the lead and to hold out was pleasing. It was a great score from Cavey and he seems to be getting on the end of things at the moment.”

“It is a difficult period for teams with disruption – players are coming in and coming out for the 6 Nations. For us to come away from home and grind out a win at Murrayfield, when down to 13 men was outstanding.”