Dec 10,2024
Ulster were given a bracing reminder of their current place in the pecking order in the 40-point hammering away to reigning champions Toulouse, according to former flanker Stephen Ferris.
The French aristocrats racked up nine tries in a 61-21 demolition job, five of them coming in a whirlwind opening half-hour, with Ferris in awe of their efficiency.
However, Ferris felt Ulster didn't take advantage of the weather conditions in making life awkward for the Toulouse attack.
"What was more concerning was the weather conditions. They were really tough.
"There was plenty of rain coming down, and I thought it was a really good leveller for Ulster to get absolutely stuck into Toulouse and force them into some mistakes, but they didn't. They sat off them for large parts in the first half," added the ex-flanker.
Toulouse scored a point a minute in the first half and Ferris thinks the tactic of sitting back didn't pay off for the Ulstermen in the first 40-minutes.
"That definitely was a tactic to try and fan out across the field, fill the field, and hopefully they'll run up blind alleys, but they didn't. They were still able to find space."
It was always going to be a tough ask for Ulster who are currently sitting in the 10th spot in the URC, but Ferris feels there was still something to play for.
"They didn't get anything out of the game," he continued.
"I thought they might have got a four try bonus point, but all in all, I don't think they deserved it in the end."
With Ulster sitting back in the first half it allowed stand-out stars like Emmanuel Meafou and Antoine Dupont to dominate.
"Meafou in the second row was just like a bowling ball, skittling Ulster players out of the way. He scored a brace in the first half.
"Antoine Dupont was just, I don't know how many times we can applaud this guy, but he was just brilliant once again."
While he was full of praise for the French internationals, Ferris suggested that Ulster contributed to their own downfall when it came to Dupont and Meafou.
"He (Dupont) will be brilliant, and the reason for that is because he was given so much time and space.
"There was no harrying or hassling or getting him on the ground. He was on his feet all the time, touching the ball not once, twice, sometimes three times during the phases that Toulouse went through."
It will be a difficult week for the northern province as they prepare to meet Bourdeaux on Saturday, but thankfully, back in Ravenhill, where they have a significantly better record than on the road.
Ferris reflects that sometimes a "pumping" helps Ulster rebound for the next one.
"I think Ulster in the past have really underperformed and then put in a brilliant performance the following week just to get a lot of fans and a lot of people back on board.
"Let's face facts here, Ulster aren't winning the Champions Cup this season and it looks like they're a long way off winning the URC at the minute too. So that's the reality of it.
"But what they can do, is put in a performance this weekend."
