Nick Timoney feels Ulster 'going in the right direction' despite Challenge Cup final defeat

The night had started well for Ulster and Timoney with the skipper getting the game’s opening try after three minutes, but once the French side turned up the power, Ulster could only offer token resistance and were outscored by nine tries to four.

Losing in Spain means Ulster have missed out on the Champions Cup again for next season after only finishing ninth in the United Rugby Championship.

“I guess the message would be the same as it's probably been last year and the whole time which is that we need to keep progressing and trying to get better,” reflected Timoney. “I think we've done that certainly to an extent and we just need to keep pushing.

"We're a much better team than we were this time last year but as we saw against Montpellier there's levels to go.

"Luckily for us, we have a lot of young, talented players who have only been making a breakthrough this season and a lot of them played an integral part of the final.

“It's been an amazing experience for them and for people like me, all of us who are lucky enough to keep playing for us, we need to make sure that we're never satisfied with where we're at, we need to keep pushing and getting better until Ulster Rugby is back where it should be.”

Montpellier were ruthless, scoring four tires in the first half and five in the second, with Ulster conceding 123 points in their last three games.

“They were very clinical but again we probably didn't make them work hard enough for their tries at times,” added Timoney. “They're a very good team and I think it's fair to say they're the better team.

“They were pretty clinical with our mistakes.

“It was incredibly sweaty and greasy out there, and I think they did a good job putting our skills under pressure at times and flying off the line.

“They were physical in the contact and you probably saw that leading to just a couple of balls coming loose in contact, that was probably the main thing.”

As the curtain came down on Ulster and the wait for a trophy rolls into a 21st year, Timoney paid tribute to the fans and the players leaving this summer.

“I would say we're just unbelievably grateful for the support we have, genuinely the feeling this week was unbelievable,” he said. “It doesn't for a second go unnoticed, the people spending hard-earned money and travelling and finding all different ways to get here and come in their colours and make noise.

“We're so lucky, I feel so lucky to play for this team, we're gutted we didn't do a better job in the final of giving them something back...their support definitely doesn't go unnoticed.

“We feel like we're building something, we feel like we're going in the right direction, it feels like they can sense that.

“It's a tough season now when you look at it, our support hasn't wavered at all, I'm just incredibly grateful.

“I promise myself that you never get used to losing some of the teammates that you do because you become incredibly close with people, you see them work incredibly hard.

“You see a lot of the good and the bad of people and get very close to them, it's always sad when they leave, there's a good few lads leaving again this year.

“Without naming them all because there's a lot of them and I don't want to leave anyone out, some of them have contributed so much in long periods of time or short periods of time, I'd like to make sure I never let them feel like I'm just watching them come and go.

“I'm incredibly grateful for all the people that have played with us, there’s some special ones leaving this year.”