Ulster v Harlequins reaction: Peel happy with composed performance
Ulster showed a clinical edge to their game last night in putting over 50 points on Harlequins in a European Champions Cup tie, but assistant coach Dwayne Peel praised the collective.
A 52-24 win in Belfast backed up last week’s 17-5 victory at The Stoop to secure nine match points and keep their knockout qualification hopes alive in Europe.
Tries from Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Charles Piutau, Alan O’Connor, John Cooney and Andrew Trimble set up a comprehensive win for Les Kiss’s side.
Cooney kicked five conversions and four penalties for a personal haul of 27 points in the contest at the Kingspan Stadium.
In spite of the five-day turnaround, Ulster got the result they needed to stay secure in second in Pool One, two points behind runaway and unbeaten leaders La Rochelle - who play at Wasps tomorrow.
Peel ackowledged the clincial edge to their game but highlighted other aspects as well.
“Obviously a couple of tries we scored at the end got us to the six tries,” he said.
“Clinical was one thing, I thought the launch stuff was okay, but I think we were more composed beyond that.
“If we were honest with ourselves we’ve been making a few line breaks but we weren’t finishing things or being a bit hasty on the ball, and that was one pleasing aspect, we took our medicine on the first launch and managed to finish beyond that.
“It was a really good performance - this week and last. This was a big period for us with the European games and then three interpro matches before Europe again. It was important to deliver,” he added.