Doak: We’ve Got To Be More Clinical

Ulster head coach Neil Doak has called on his team to show more of a clinical edge as the start of the GUINNESS PRO12 looms this week.

Ulster followed up a narrow pre-season defeat to Leinster with a 23-10 loss to Edinburgh at Goldenacre, but will look to hit back with a home win over the Ospreys in their league opener on Friday night.

Despite the visitors controlling possession and territory for large parts of the first half against the Scottish club, Tommy Bowe was Ulster’s sole try scorer during the opening 40 minutes. Neil Doak says his side just were not clinical enough:

“In the first half we did very well. We got in the right areas and made a couple of line busts but we just couldn’t finish them off, except for the one Tommy scored in the corner. From an Edinburgh point of view, at 5-3 (to Ulster) they were probably very pleased considering we had most of the ball in the early stages of the game,” said the Ulster head coach.

“We’re getting in the right areas, it’s just about completing the scores. Last week we missed a couple of chances too and if we take those chances we’re 20 points up at half-time and it’s a different game and a different mindset going into half-time. We’ve got to learn from that very quickly because we’ve got a big opening game in the PRO12.”

Looking ahead to Friday’s clash with the Ospreys at Kingspan Stadium, the former scrum half knows his charges will face a difficult task against their Welsh opponents.

“Look, the Ospreys are a good side. We’ve got to sit down during the week and take a look at a couple of things from our meetings last year,” admitted Doak.

“We know each other pretty well. We know their strengths, it’s going to be a physical game, we’ve just got to make sure we get in the right areas and take our opportunities. It’s a key aspect of the game that has been a bugbear of mine for a few seasons – being clinical. We’ve got to make sure we turn it around for next week.”