Former Ulster Rugby and Ireland star Stephen Ferris 'not surprised' by Dan McFarland exit

The 51-year-old took over at the Kingspan Stadium in 2018 and led the Belfast outfit to a Pro14 final and European Champions Cup semi-final, but having won just six of 10 United Rugby Championship matches this term while losing in Europe to Bath, Toulouse and Harlequins, McFarland has been replaced by Ireland U20s boss Richie Murphy on an interim basis.

McFarland’s final game was Sunday’s 19-17 league defeat to Ospreys in Wales where a late Dan Edwards drop goal condemned Ulster to defeat and Ferris believes a negative feeling was filtering into the changing room and onto the terraces.

"I'm not surprised, especially with the way Ulster have been over the past 18 months or so,” he told BBC Sport NI. “It's not that long ago that a kick from Manie Libbok (URC semi-final in 2022) denied Ulster a place in a final at the Kingspan Stadium, but it has been on a bit of a spiral ever since.

"This season has probably been a bit like a Fabergé egg...it looks good on the outside but it's hollow on the inside and the way the boys have been performing, especially at the weekend against Ospreys, just wasn't good enough.

"The nail was that Dan McFarland came out post-match and was very negative towards the journalist who was interviewing him and very negative feel around the place, which is filtering down into the players and fanbase."

Murphy, who led Ireland to the U20 World Cup final last summer, will take over at the conclusion of their U20 Six Nations campaign in March.

Bryn Cunningham, Ulster’s Head of Operations and Recruitment, is set to take on more responsibility in terms of on-the-pitch performance while assistant coach Dan Soper will prepare the team for their URC meeting with Dragons on Saturday, March 2 before Murphy takes over until the end of this season.

With Ulster dropping into the Challenge Cup – the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues – and sitting eighth in the URC, there’s still a chance they could end their 18-year wait for silverware success, but Ferris says they need to get the buzz back once again.

"In recent times with Ulster some of the guys in the changing room might not have wanted to play for Dan McFarland as much as another coach,” he added. “They need the energy back into the place, the buzz, they need to be enjoying it.

"Dan McFarland's facial expressions and demeanour were so negative for the past month and that definitely has filtered down into the guys. When you're doing what you love and getting the best out of yourself, it's always with a smile on your face."

Murphy’s first match at the helm is scheduled to be against the Sharks in South Africa on March 23 before facing the Stormers a week later and then travelling to Montpellier in the Challenge Cup.