Richie Murphy says Ulster 'lost control of game' early in defeat against Lions in Johannesburg

Ulster trailed 30-10 going into the final quarter at Emirates Airline Park but maiden tries for winger Werner Kok and prop Corrie Barrett helped Murphy’s side to take a match point before the Lions crossed late on to make the final score 35-20.

“I suppose it was a difficult afternoon and we lost control of the game very early on,” said Murphy.

“We kicked the ball poorly in relation to our kick-chase we didn’t kick it long enough to put them under pressure. We didn’t kick it high enough to get into the contest and that obviously brought a lot of pressure back on to us.

“At the back end of the first half, we managed to get back into the game but then a couple of basic mistakes and some of missed tackles [cost Ulster], but it was a really tough day.

“It was 27 or 28 degrees and at altitude, a difficult day at the office.

“Also, a couple of decisions early on went against us and that ends up putting us under more pressure,” he added.

“Disappointing the way the game finished but happy to get four tries and get a point out of it.”

Murphy believes his young Ulster squad will have to take their learnings quickly from the game, especially as they face another game at altitude on Saturday against the Bulls in Pretoria.

“The message was simple, we’ve got to move on to the next game and learn from these experiences,” Murphy said.

“We had a lot of young players out there, especially in the second half with James McCormick and James McNabney coming on and both did very well.

“We’ve got to learn and fast because when you are in places like this, mistakes you make will be punished.”

The bonus point means Ulster are ninth in the table having won one and lost one of their opening two games.

“I’m happy with the way the lads stuck to their task and getting that bonus point is very important,” the Ulster boss added. “We have five points from two games, not the figure we wanted but it’s where we’re at and we’ll move on to the next task.”

Flanker Sean Reffell was disappointed with Ulster’s performance as the side conceded five tries.

“We knew it was always going to be a tough battle coming here," he said. “We know as a team we weren’t quite up to scratch and where we want to be.

“A few loose transitions let them into the game. Credit to the Lions but we know as a team we have a lot of work to do.

“The boys are always disappointed losing because we’re a really competitive side, we know we can build from this. “We’ll park it and look straight at the Bulls.”