Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
LOWRY AIMS HIGHER
Getting to finals not enough for Ulster star
MICHAEL LOWRY insists Ulster can’t afford to let PRO14 final defeat or Euro heartache to demoralise them at the end of a largely positive campaign.
Dan Mcfarland’s men suffered a thumping 36-8 loss to Toulouse on Sunday as they exited the Champions Cup with a whimper at the quarter-final stage.
A below par display at the Stade Ernest Wallon came just eight days after the province lost the PRO14 showpiece to a dominant Leinster at the Aviva.
Two hammer blows in quick succession but Lowry insists Ulster can’t wallow in pity and have to use both high profile defeats as motivation to close the gap on Europe’s best. “This
experience has to motivate us,” he said. “It’s definitely motivation for me because that’s the level we have to be at next season.
“Yes, we reached a PRO14 final and a European quarter-final this season but it just shows that we still have a bit to go. o. We could have patted d ourselves on the back k for getting this far but at the end of the day
Leinster and Toulouse are where we have to be at.
“It’s a great experience ce to get to a PRO14 final and Euro quarter-final but every rugby player wants to win silverware and that’s still the goal for next season.
“We want winners medals and want to be a team consistently competing for championships. We will get there and I 100% believe in that.
“We’re a tight group and we’re still climbing the mountain here. Hopefully next season we can be at the top of the mountain.” Low Lowry started Sunday’s las last eight tie at full-back b but an early injury to r regular No.10 Billy B Burns (left) saw the 2 22-year -old shifted t to out-half j ust 16 m minutes into the game. It was a testing day at the office for the former RBAI pupil against the French aristocrats but the versatile back led Ulster’s stats on carries (11) and metres (102) made.
O nly To u l o u s e full-back Thomas Ramos had more carries, while only Ramos (104) and Antoine Dupont (110) made more metres across the game.
On Ulster touching down for just two tries across 160 minutes in the PRO14 final and Toulouse tie, Lowry said: “It goes back to the point of being clinical.
“We know we can create opportunities but just taking those opportunities is where we’ve let ourselves down.
“Obviously Leinster and Toulouse will have better defences than other teams we’ve maybe played but that’s just where the standard has to be at. We have to be better.
“It’s not like we’re not creating opportunities because we’ve seen plenty of opportunities coming through. It’s just about being clinical really.”
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