Murphy praises Ulster for fighting spirit in Bulls defeat
Ulster lost 34-26 to the Bulls in a United Rugby Championship match in Pretoria after recovering from a 21-point deficit. Head coach Richie Murphy praised his players' resilience.
Ulster head coach Richie Murphy has praised his players' fighting spirit after the Irish province lost 34-26 to South Africa's Bulls in Pretoria. The rugby union match, played at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, was part of the United Rugby Championship (URC), a league featuring clubs from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa. Ulster had come back from 21 points down and stayed in contention for an upset until the closing moments.
Ulster collected a bonus point for scoring four tries, but missed out on a second one when Curwin Bosch kicked a penalty with the final kick of the game to secure the Bulls' win. Marcell Coetzee, a former Ulster player, scored two of the hosts' four tries, even though he spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin.
Ulster remain without a win in this season's URC, with two draws and two defeats from their league matches.
The coach's view
Murphy said his side struggled to gain a foothold early on, turning over their first three possessions too easily. Before half-time the Bulls had about 65% of territory and possession. He also criticised his team's indiscipline in the first half, but said the players stuck to the plan and kept fighting, unlike many teams that visit South Africa and roll over.
A pass from Stuart McCloskey appeared to have sent James McKillop clear on the wing, but the Ireland centre was judged to have had part of his foot in touch. Murphy said that if the pass had gone out earlier, Ulster would have gone into the last two minutes in front.
What comes next
Ulster face the Stormers in Cape Town next week. The province's Ireland internationals will return home to join Andy Farrell's national squad, which assembles on Monday, while seven squad reinforcements will travel to Cape Town.
