'I ask for positivity' - James Hume message to Ulster fanbase after Wales last-gasp woe

Already dumped out of the Champions Cup after only winning one game from four in their pool and shipping 95 across their final two games against Toulouse and Harlequins, a last-gasp defeat on Sunday at the Ospreys in Swansea means Ulster are now eighth in the United Rugby Championship.

Ulster sit just ahead of Munster on points difference and in real danger of missing the play-offs.

Among the remaining eight domestic fixtures, Dan McFarland’s side play two fixtures in South Africa against the Sharks and Stormers and host this season’s surprise package Benetton, the latter Italians currently fourth.

League leaders Leinster visit Belfast on the penultimate weekend before a last-day visit to Thomond Park to face Munster.

Sunday’s defeat in Swansea was not only costly in terms of league position – as Ulster started round 10 of the URC in fifth before dropping three places – but also saw three key players suffer injury.

Mike Lowry’s hamstring broke down in the warm-up, prop Marty Moore lasted 25 minutes while skipper Iain Henderson had to be replaced on the half-hour mark.

Ulster face a crunch match against the struggling Dragons next Saturday night at home.

And Hume wants the Kingspan faithful to fully back the team.

“Just be patient, stay behind us, it is a work in progress with the stage of the season we are at," said Hume. “But we’ll come through the other side, we appreciate your support 100 per cent, I ask for positivity and just stay behind us.

“It’s a challenging part of the year with players in and out, I’d back our group to get back on the right side of it before the end of the season.

“Obviously the schedule at the minute is a bit frustrating just with the game on, game off...we have training weeks and weeks off, it is just not trying to go rusty and trying to keep on top of our detail and trying to stay sharp and stuff.”

The centre was obviously disappointed with losing to a 40-metre drop goal from Dan Edwards with the clock in the red against the Ospreys.

“The boys worked hard,” said Hume. “And the conditions were what we thought they were going to be...it was wet, there was a lot of kicking involved, our execution wasn’t good enough and our discipline in our own half wasn’t good enough.

“That just let them get access into our 22, it was disappointing but you could never fault our efforts.”

While there weren’t too many positives to take from Swansea, Hume had a personal highlight as he captained Ulster for the first time, taking over as skipper when Henderson went off.

“It was earlier than expected with ‘Hendy’ having to go off,” he said. “It was great I had Tom Stewart and Dave McCanna round me who have experience of captaining the 20s and Ulster before, so they were great help.

“It’s not an individual thing it is a more of a team effort and it always is.”