Connacht 24

Ulster 29

By JOHN FALLON AT DEXCOM STADIUM

HEAD Coach Stuart Lancaster says he can understand the frustration of fans as Connacht fell to another defeat when losing their tenth inter-pro match in a row when going down to Ulster.

Many fans had left the Dexcom Stadium on Saturday night by the time Connacht again came with a late surge to snatch a bonus point, but it was another deeply frustrating outing for the struggling hosts.

“I understand and I feel the frustration. I feel it, the players feel it, and everyone is aware of it, but we’re still mid-table-ish, there’s a fair few teams below us, and there’s still a long way to go,” said Lancaster.

“We’re very new into the project, we’ve got some young players getting experience who ordinarily wouldn’t do in this situation, given Mack Hansen’s injury, Shayne Bolton’s injury, Shane Jennings’ injury, Byron Ralston’s injury, so we’re throwing some young lads in there and the experience will stand to them.

“I remember watching the URC table last year and seeing Ulster come 14th, but they stuck with it, and they stuck with it, and look at where they are now. So it does take time when a new coach comes in, and I still believe in what I’m doing, I still believe in what the players are doing. Obviously we just need to turn those near losses into wins to give everyone the the belief.”

Lancaster’s men have now lost five in the league and would be adrift in the basement area had they not picked up eight bonus points in their seven outings. They had to settle for a losing bonus point in this one after again failing to build on a bright start.

Connacht dominated the opening half and should have been much more than 10-0 ahead after half an hour but yet went in at the break trailing by 12-10.

Dominant in the scrum and full of hard running early on as they clearly tried to make an impact after last week’s implosion away to the Dragons, Connacht enjoyed 70% possession in the opening quarter.

They tried to build a lead but full-back Sam Gilbert was off target with a penalty from the left on the 22 after 14 minutes, while at the other end Ulster had earlier blown their only foray into the red zone when hooker Tom Stewart overthrew a lineout after a penalty to the right corner.

Jack Murphy, son of the Ulster coach Richie and playing against his brother Ben, was binned after 16 minutes for a deliberate knock-on as Jack Carty tried to feed Gilbert in midfield, and Connacht eventually made the extra man count.

Pictured: Connacht’s Finn Treacy celebrates his try with Ben Murphy (centre) and Cathal Forde in Saturday’s URC home loss to Ulster at Dexcom Stadium. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.