Ulster Rugby: Club can't afford to dwell on Dan McFarland's exit, says James Hume

Hume says the Ulster squad have "just got on with it" following Dan McFarland's departure

Ulster cannot afford to dwell on Dan McFarland's mid-season departure as they look to get their season back on track, says centre James Hume.

McFarland last week left his role as head coach after three consecutive defeats.

But Hume says the players have "just got on with it" ahead of their return to action against Dragons on Saturday.

"There is the human side to it and a man has lost his job, which is obviously very unfortunate," said Hume.

The 25-year-old, who captains Ulster against Dragons on Saturday, added: "But it's not something you can afford to dwell on because we have games to play and the mood was good today.

"We have addressed it at source, moved on, and we're just getting the ball rolling for Saturday."

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McFarland paid the price for what Ulster chief executive Jonny Petrie called "inconsistency" with the team having won three and lost six of their past nine games.

Ulster regained form during the festive period with wins over Racing 92, Connacht and Leinster, but have since fallen to heavy reverses to Toulouse and Harlequins and a 19-17 loss at the Ospreys.

"It's been frustrating," admits Hume, who has made 12 appearances for the province this season.

"We've been underperforming. But the exciting thing is we know the level we can perform at but we just need consistency of performance.

"You know it's going to click at some point. It's only going to get better."

'You never question the playing group'

Hume, who made his Ulster debut under McFarland in 2018, also brushed off any suggestion that the Englishman's exit could have a lasting impact on the playing squad.

"You never question the playing group," said Hume, who added that he gets irked when he sees people online "saying the playing group don't care".

"If you saw the work we put in day in, day out, came in and watched that they wouldn't be saying that," he added.

"It's just keyboard warriors that you have to ignore and push on for the rest of the season."

The upheaval in the coaching set-up means that assistant coach Dan Soper will oversee preparations for Saturday's game with the Dragons.

Ireland under-20 head coach Richie Murphy will take over on an interim basis after the conclusion of the Under-20 Six Nations.

And Hume, who is targeting a place in Andy Farrell's squad for Ireland's summer Test series against the Springboks in South Africa, has said the switch to Soper has been "seamless".

"Dan Soper is very natural in that role [head coach]," he said.

"Obviously I saw him coach at school [RBAI] and Banbridge, right up to now, and he has never changed as a bloke. Everyone respects him and he makes everyone calm. It's pretty seamless.

"He has been invaluable [to me]. Any role he has been in whether it be skills, attack coach, interim head coach, he is just the same person.

"I've seen him develop and get better as a coach."