Ulster Rugby: ‘Shell-shocked’ – were Ulster ’emotionally ready’ in Zebre defeat?

The defeat came off the back of a big win over Exeter in Europe, which allowed Ulster to sneak through to the last-16 of the Invstec Champions Cup.

There was hope that the Exeter win could provide a platform to build from. Instead, Ulster fell flat as they succumbed not only to the weather, but their Italian opponents.

When back row Nick Timoney was asked if this was one of the worst defeats in his Ulster career, he replied: “On paper? Yeah, probably”.

“There is certainly a consistency thing we need to work on,” said Timoney, who added he was “pretty upset” at the result.

“There were times last week that were really poor as well. We ran away with the scoreline but that might have masked some things as well.

“Not that we weren’t analysing ourselves, but some of the things we got away with last week through scoring some tries in the second half, we didn’t get away with here.

“If you look at Zebre’s reputation, I would say it doesn’t do them justice. They are a better team than people give them credit for.”

When asked if there was a hangover from the Exeter win, Murphy was unsure of the impact.

“There shouldn’t be, and there wasn’t any sign of that.

“We’ve always talked about staying level when it comes to good performances and poor performances, but they keep coming and we need to find out why.

“I think last week probably has a small part to play in tonight, but that’s not a good enough excuse for professional rugby players or a rugby team.”