Pro14: Ulster players 'stepped up physically' in win over Connacht - McFarland
- Published
Ian Madigan and Jordi Murphy celebrate after Ulster's victory away to Connacht
Ulster coach Dan McFarland says his players "stepped up to commit physically to the jersey" in their 32-19 Pro14 win over Connacht in Galway.
Ulster were without a number of key players for the trip to the Sportsground but bounced back from a 14-9 half-time deficit to take victory.
"Playing away from home game after Christmas is tough," said McFarland.
""We knew it was going to be physical. The win was excellent but I was more pleased with the manner of the win."
"We were struggling with injuries and unavailability of what might be considered to be our front-liners but when that happens you're looking for your guys stepping up to play their best games and I felt they did that against Connacht," added the Ulster head coach.
"That's testament to them and also the work the coaches have put in during the week. I'm really proud of the team."
Ulster's first triumph in Galway for five years made it nine wins out of nine in Conference A of the competition as McFarland's side chase the top spot in the group which would earn them a place in the play-off final in March.
"It was never going to be easy. Connacht had a strong team out and the conditions were very difficult. It was very cold and very wet.
"We want to win but we try to measure ourselves by the performance and how we play.
"In the defeats by Toulouse and Gloucester in Europe I felt we were playing some pretty good rugby and on the whole there was a huge amount of effort and commitment and we saw that again.
"Alby (Mathewson) did a brilliant job of controlling the game in the second half."
Munster and Leinster to follow
Ulster's series of interprovincial encounters continue on Saturday when they host Munster at Kingspan Stadium, followed by a visit to Dublin to take on Leinster on 8 January.
"It's going to be physically challenging against Munster in six days' time - they have had a rest week with their game against Leinster being called off so we'll expect a huge battle there.
"We've got some exciting games to come, if we want to qualify for a play-off in this competition we've got to finish top of our group.
"There's a certain team in our group that don't lose many matches so we've got to keep the intensity going."