Ulster Rugby: Captain Iain Henderson says there is much work still to be done
- Published
The start of next season is only a few weeks away with games set to begin in early October
Ulster captain Iain Henderson says the province should not forget the positive steps taken this season despite a disappointing finish to the campaign.
Having reached their first final in seven years, Ulster were well beaten by Leinster in the Pro14 showpiece before being totally outplayed by Toulouse in the Champions Cup quarter-final.
The progress made under head coach Dan McFarland has been clear to see, however Henderson admitted to being frustrated that recent weeks suggest there is still much work to be done.
"It feels as though we're progressing in the right direction," said the lock after the defeat by Toulouse.
"Our training's getting better, for a lot of the season our performances were getting better, we are getting closer.
"In my time at Ulster, we're the closest we've ever been to the coaches. What we put together for the start of last season, to get us where we were playing in those first six Champions Cup games, getting us to knockout rugby, we can't forget that.
"Stuff like our speed to contact, our working hard for each other, the stuff that you don't see. The stuff that's kind of boring and not that glamorous, guys doing those hard yards are the things that make good teams.
"I think maybe today we stepped away from that a wee bit."
Toulouse were far too strong for Ulster on Sunday
While there was progress in the Pro14, Ulster's display against Toulouse reinforced the amount of the ground that the province must make up before they can be considered among Europe's elite.
They last made it to the last four of the Champions Cup in 2012, when they went on to reach the final, but since then they have failed to win a knockout game in the competition. Since McFarland's arrival, however, they have made their way into consecutive quarter-finals.
"It's about the rate at which you can get better, and I think over the last two seasons we've accelerated loads," Henderson said.
"We've really gone after it. We've just maybe slowed off a wee bit in getting better so we need to make sure that we continue to make up that ground."
Ulster haven't been good enough post-lockdown, says Lowry
Henderson's teammate Michael Lowry, who moved from full-back to fly-half during the opening half of Sunday's defeat, is among the former academy players to have made the step into the senior side since McFarland's arrival.
Having made an impact as a substitute in Ulster's semi-final win over Edinburgh, Lowry started the last two games against Leinster and Toulouse.
The Edinburgh victory is Ulster's sole win since rugby returned in August, with the province falling to four defeats.
"We haven't hit those heights post lockdown, we haven't been good enough," said Lowry.
"Yes we got the win in Edinburgh, but again we weren't clinical enough in the Leinster game and we weren't clinical enough today.
"Yes we have got to the Pro14 final and a European Cup quarter-final, but it just shows that we've still got a bit to go.
"Teams like Leinster and Toulouse are at that stage, they're pretty much there in terms of silverware and they've done that before a lot more than we have.
"We have to be better, we know what we need to do to get there."