Ulster boss blames ref for defeat

Furious Ulster coach Mark McCall laid the blame for today's Heineken Cup loss to Toulouse squarely at the feet of English referee Tony Spreadbury.

Ulster were in contention as the game entered the final quarter with the scores locked at 13-13, but Spreadbury sent Toulouse replacement Trevor Brennan and Ulster lock Justin Harrison to the sin-bin - a decision that McCall believed changed the game.

The French heavyweights moved up a gear in the final 15 minutes and scored through full-back Clement Poitrenaud and back-rower Yannick Nyanga to clinch a 28-13 victory.

McCall said: "I've seen a video replay and it was an assault by the Toulouse player. How Tony Spreadbury could only yellow-card him is beyond me.

"It was a red-card offence and his decision to yellow-card the victim of an assault only made things worse for us.

"The game was in the balance at that stage and the referee's decision changed everything."

McCall said his side would now concentrate on defending their Magners League crown.

"We're on top of the league with eight games to go, so we're now looking at next week's game against the Ospreys.

"This is a young, ambitious, hungry squad who weren't good enough this season, but they'll be back next year."

Try-scorer Nyanga said the win would give Toulouse confidence as they continued their French Championship campaign.

He said: "I know people said there was nothing to play for, but you can't go on to the pitch without giving it 100%.

"It's a very high-level competition and when you're on the European stage, even when you can't qualify, these games are important to win.

"Ulster got into their rhythm very quickly and prevented us from getting quality ball in the first half.

"We knew we were playing a fairly high-risk strategy, but we didn't want to close down the game. This win has given us an important confidence boost."