Ulster aiming to bounce back

“You always feel pressure, and that noise has been out there for a while, but there’s a weird nature in us beasts in that you almost revel in criticism and stand up and fight against it.”

Ulster’s director of rugby Les Kiss yesterday accepted that he and his coaching team were being questioned, but he was determined to show that the work being done at Kingspan Stadium would bear fruit this season.

“To be honest I don’t ‘do’ social media, but I know what some people are saying, and you accept criticism because everyone has the right to an opinion,” said the Australian in the wake of last Saturday’s 44-16 capitulation in the Pro 14 in Galway against Connacht.