We owed Les that win over Munster, says Kiwi Piutau
CHARLES PIUTAU admits that the Ulster squad were determined to put in a big performance for under-fire boss Les Kiss in their New Year’s Day Pro14 derby against Munster. Director of rugby Kiss has been the subject of some stinging criticism over his team’s poor performances in recent weeks, but saw his side battle back from a 17-0 deficit to win 24-17 after securing the bonus point with Rob Lyttle’s last-minute try. And former All Black Piutau acknowledged that criticism of Kiss was key to their stunning comeback. ‘That was a goal for us and our team [to put in a big performance for Kiss],’ said Piutau. ‘Although it wasn’t pretty out there, I think we’ll look back on the season and see we got points from this game. [It was] New Year’s Day, we were playing in front of our crowd after a game that we were hurting from [the 44-16 defeat to Connacht], and we got the result. We can move forward and build from this. ‘During the week we had a big emphasis on response, and how whether we make a mistake or have some good phases, it’s how we respond to the next play. ‘I think having that mindset going into this game, there was a lot of moments where we could practice that and I think in the second half we did it well, hence we got the result we did.’ Piutau was also keen to praise the role of Christian Lealifano, who will leave the province soon as his short-term contract expires at the end of the month. ‘I think for myself, playing alongside him, he brings a lot of calmness,’ Piutau said. ‘In the game, a lot is happening and everything is moving at 100 miles an hour, and he’s just got this aura about him and his calibre of playing the game, he can see a lot of pictures. ‘It’s not only that stuff that you are seeing during the play, it’s talks we are having in the breaks, he’s telling us “this is what I’m seeing”, or we’re giving him feedback of “this is what we’re seeing”, to rectify things or change things and try exploit gaps and hopefully create tries.’