It was a case of mixed emotions after the final whistle at Ravenhill, with Forwards Coach Jonathan Humphreys delighted with the endeavour and spirit shown by the Ospreys but frustrated at the number of errors that ultimately proved costly.
Trailing by 8 points with 78 minutes on the clock a late Eli Walker try ensured the Ospreys left Belfast with a bonus point, but they almost snatched all four in frantic finale, and speaking post-match, Humphreys acknowledged we’d seen the good and bad side of the team tonight:
“It was a fantastic effort against a very good team but ultimately we came up just a little bit short which is disappointing. I couldn’t have asked for more from the team in terms of effort and endeavour, but the reality however is that we made too many mistakes and when that’s the case you’re always going to be up against it.
“We need to improve our accuracy. If we want to come to places like Ulster and win, if we want to win the league, then we need to remove these unforced errors when we have the ball. We need to take out accuracy levels up to our endeavour and effort. That’s what we’ll take from this game, and if we can do that, then we could be a very good team.
“There’s no doubt that the penalty try and yellow card was a turning point in the game. We were just about at half-time and although they’d had a lot of possession and territory, we had worked very hard defensively to limit their chances, which makes it even more disappointing.
“When you look at it, it was a penalty five metres out from the line. Do I think he was going to score? No. I think Dan went to catch it. That’s what turned the game because they scored their points when he was off the field. It was a harsh decision.
“I though Sam Lewis was outstanding tonight, and Kahn Fotuali’i was amazing, his defence was outstanding. But, we’re looking at a defeat so we need to pick the bones out of it over the next 48 hours and prepare for a really difficult home game against Glasgow next week.
“We’ll work hard in training to get rid of the errors. That’s essential. Do that and we’ll be going in the right direction. We’ve seen tonight that we can defend, and that when we pass the ball, when we manage to keep it alive, we have dangerous players.”