Alan O'Connor says Ulster must take the lessons from a narrow loss to Connacht into tomorrow’s clash with Munster (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player from 7pm).
Dan McFarland’s side lost 22-20 to a late try after leading by 17 points eight minutes into the second half.
Prior to the game Ulster had a number of injuries to deal with and subsequently lost Will Addison in the warm-up and Reuben Crothers was injured in the opening stages.
"We learned a lot about our defence, it was really good for about 60 minutes, they got a few easy entries into our 22 through ill-discipline and got soft tries, in my view," said vice captain O’Connor.
"It goes to show if your set piece functions properly, you can cause damage. Ours didn’t go too well, their lineout defence was good and despite having good positions to attack from, we didn’t always make the most of those.
"I was really proud of the young lads, I thought they stepped up.
"Reuben Crothers was unfortunate, he ran really hard and that can happen sometimes in rugby.
"He will be back, Joe Hopes off the bench made some really good tackles. Ben Carson was really good- he was actually a late call-up to the bench, so he should also be really proud of himself.
"What a game to do it in an interpro against Connacht, that we almost got the win in."
Forwards coach Roddy Grant (above) agreed that despite the nature of the defeat, progress was made.
"We definitely took some steps forward against Connacht, it was a good collective showing," said the South African native.
"We had good contact in both halves, but made some errors which was frustrating.
"It’s always a difficult one, we played well in some areas and at some points in the game, we put ourselves in a position to win but we didn’t, it's frustrating that we didn’t.
"We made improvements from the first two rounds but we are disappointed in some areas that we didn’t execute.
"It turns around quickly though and now we have to be ready for the reigning champions."
He added: "We’ve seen [Munster’s] pre-season games, they have gone well in the opening rounds and will welcome their Irish guys back too, they are great players.
"They are a good pack, the champions and you don’t get that for nothing.
"Regardless of who plays they will have good depth, Munster traditionally have a lot of pride in their pack."
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