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ROGER WILSON
ON
EDINBURGH:
It was a disappointing away trip, we
defended quite well for most of the game.
We knew it was going to be a physical
game as it always is over there, but looking
back over the video analysis, we came out
second best in terms of physicality. Teams
are going to up their game on their home
turf so we have to make sure we are better.
We created plenty of opportunities but
similar to the Scarlets game we just turned
over too much ball and we really weren’t
clinical enough.
ON
TRAINING THIS WEEK:
Looking after the ball is our main priority,
our handling was poor at times and there
were a few unforced errors. It came as a bit
of a shock to us how physical Edinburgh
were in defence so we will put pressure on
ourselves to hold onto the ball when there
is a physical defence coming at us and a
little bit on set piece also. Our performance
obviously isn’t where we want it to be.
ON
LOOSING KEY PLAYERS TOWORLD
CUP DUTY
The team is affected when you are missing
your international players, they are the
ones with the most experience especially
someone like Rory who has been a really
good leader for us for a number of years.
But in saying that we should have enough
players with experience here to take the
reins when they are away. As the game
went on last weekend, there were maybe
some more inexperienced players coming
on off the bench but that isn’t an excuse. I
think any team if you take away their four or
five big leaders on international duty they
will struggle a little bit but we should have
enough experience in the side to deal with
that.
ON
GETTING THEM BACK
Ireland’s defeat was disappointing but
it’s a double edged sword - its good for
Ulster because we get those players back
a little bit earlier but disappointing for the
guys who have worked so hard over the
past few months, I am sure the guys will
get some time off to recuperate and the
guys that haven’t played an awful lot will
be keen to get back into an Ulster jersey
as soon as possible. The guys who have
been away whether its World Cup, Autumn
Internationals or Six Nation, they always tend
to come back enthusiastic, which provides a
lift for the team as a whole.
ON
CARDIFF BLUES
We are always confident at home, no
matter who we play, we have a good record
against Cardiff so hopefully we will put last
weekends disappointment behind us. We
spoke about our inconsistencies during the
week, we seem to get the performances
right at home and then away from home the
standard drops slightly. But we don’t want
to worry about that this week, we will put our
heads down and hopefully put in a good
performance for the home crowd on Friday
night.
ON
ULSTER’S SUCCESSFUL RUN AT HOME
Teams always raise their game at home,
whether that is down to home comforts,
home crowd or regular routine, I don’t know.
Referees also tend to favour the home team
slightly as well so that could play a part. But
those are small things and we are a team
that has finished in the top four for the last
number of years, we want to be the best in
the league so those things really should not
decide games. It’s a tough one to answer,
but generally I just think teams up their
game at home and therefore whenever we
travel – we have to perform even better than
we would at Kingspan Stadium.
ON
LES KISS JOINING ULSTER RUGBY
Les has a great track record as a coach,
he has experienced the highest level of
rugby so has an added insight into what it
takes to perform on an international stage.
Preparation, mind set and discipline he
will have a deep knowledge of. But we are
very happy with our coaching set up at the
minute so I think Les will really come in to
enhance what is in place at the minute and
wont make any drastic changes.
ROGER WILSON