Sean Reidy highlights Ulster play-off frustration at heart of Harlequins result

Flanker Sean Reidy scored two tries in London, made 23 tackles and had 14 carries for 57 metres in a ‘man-of-the-match’ performance.

He admitted Ulster took their frustration of not being involved in the Pro14 play-offs out on a weakened Harlequins.

“We were pretty disappointed we won’t in those Pro14 play-offs, it was good that we could harness that energy and disappointment into the Challenge Cup,” he said. “We know we have a lot of work ahead of us but it was good.

“Harlequins, over the last month or two, are playing a really good brand of footie.

“It was good to go out there and do some good stuff in attack and in defence as well.

“We knew they were pretty dangerous but I think we negated that for most parts of the game.”

As has been the case for most of the season, one of Ulster’s most potent attacking weapons against Quins was the driving maul.

Reidy got one of Dan McFarland’s side’s three tries from that source.

“It is something we work very hard on, credit to the coaching staff and the lineout leaders and the guys that won’t be there but train against us in the week,” said Reidy. “They put in a lot of effort and it is good they can get a little bit of a reward from that.

“It is something we are constantly working on, it’s a moving part.

“You have to find ways of bettering yourself and we have seemed to get a bit of traction on it this past season.”

Reidy is happy with his own personal form and that of the back row as a whole.

“I’m just doing what I can, with what I have got,” he said. “I’ve just got to keep working hard and grinding away.

“The older you get the more wiser you get and you know your body and you know what you can achieve...so I just keep grinding away.

“There are a lot of good loose forwards pushing us along, I think we all complement each other pretty well and we all push each other along and I am just doing what I can for the team.

“There are plenty of guys as well behind the scenes pushing us along, Matty and Marcus Rea, Greg Jones and David McCann.

“So there are a lot of loose forwards in the club pushing us so there is a pretty good mix there at the minute and it is an enjoyable little mini-group to be a part of.”

Ulster travel to Franklin’s Gardens on Saturday night to face the Saints.

“They are a very proud team and we’ll have a good look at them this week and we’ll go over there all guns blazing,” said Reidy. “I’m not sure what their motivation is but any side that can potentially win silverware are going to be vying for that, all we can do is focus on what we can control and that is Northampton and putting in a good performance there.”

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