Head Coach Sean Holley had praise for Dan Biggar, but said that poor discipline had denied the Ospreys the opportunity to claim a win against Ulster.
Speaking to the media after the one-point defeat at Ravenhill, he said:
“We probably did enough to get a win from that game. Our discipline was poor, it was very disappointing there’s no escaping that. There were some strange interpretations out there at times but we can’t hide behind that, we gave away far too many penalties.
“There were some positives that we’ll take away from the game though. I thought our set piece was good, while Dan Biggar orchestrated the game very well.
“But there’s no hiding the disappointment after that game. We gave away a silly first try from their overthrown line-out that should have been prevented, and then the second try came when we were down to 14 men so when we look back at this game we’ll feel that we should have got more out of it.
“It’s very early days, it’s only the first game of the season, but we wanted to come here and put down a marker, and I feel that at times we did that. It’s just that the overall performance wasn’t where we wanted, and the discipline was a major factor in that, and the poor result. We’ve got a lot of work to do over the coming week before we play Treviso next Friday, we have to get it right.
“It was a big moment for Paul James when he came on in the second half, it was 150th Ospreys cap, the first player to reach that landmark. He’s a true Osprey, a good role model for everybody at the region. He’s always been a bit of an unsung hero, not getting the credit he deserved away from the Ospreys, but we’ve always recognised his talents and believed in him. He’s a fantastic asset and it’s good to see him now getting the wider recognition he deserves.”