Ulster boss blasts side who weren’t ‘at the level needed’ in embarrassing Toulouse defeat

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy has blasted his side following their heavy 61-21 loss to Toulouse in their Investec Champions Cup opener, claiming they were not ‘at the level needed’ to compete in Europe’s premier competition.

The URC side have had a slow start to the new campaign, sitting 10th in the URC, but today’s defeat was by far their worst performance of the season as they were comfortably beaten by the reigning European champions.

‘Weren’t at the level we needed them to be’

Speaking to the media after the game, Murphy slammed his side’s skills, stating a lot of the basics weren’t where they needed to be.

“Conceding 61 points wasn’t part of the plan,” he said. “A lot of our basics weren’t at the level we needed them to be, and we defended poorly at times.”

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He added: “Some of our work just wasn’t at the level needed at this level. Our breakdown didn’t function anywhere near where it has been. We were exposed.”

Murphy’s side did nearly take a bonus-point from the game, despite being well beaten, and he also got to test a lot of his fringe players at the top level, while he was also quick to point out some of the positives he will take from the game.

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“I thought our maul defence was good at times and our scrum went pretty well. Scoring three tries against Toulouse is a decent return, and if we squeezed that last one out (for a bonus point), walking out of here with a bonus point might not have been too bad,” he said.

Ulster now turn their attention to a home fixture with fellow French juggernauts Bordeaux-Begles, and Murphy called for his charges to block out the noise surrounding them in the build-up given their recent woes.

“We also need to be careful that we don’t listen to too much stuff that’s happening outside. We have to concentrate on our own game and make sure that we’re getting better,” he added.

“We don’t go out there to get basic errors wrong. We’ll work towards getting a performance against Bordeaux.”

The French side will head to Belfast in good spirits after their emphatic 42-28 Champions Cup win over Leicester Tigers.

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