Richie Murphy has vowed to use Ulster's 53-14 Challenge Cup hammering at the hands of Clermont as a lesson for his young charges.
The defeat means that Ulster's European campaign is over at the quarter-final stage and it was a chastening experience for the province's interim head coach.
Ulster were in touching distance at the break with the French outfit leading 20-14 but the visitors weren't able to score at all in the second half, as Clermont raced into an unassailable lead.
A shellshocked Murphy could only look on as the hosts ran in seven tries in total against his youthful side that featured 11 players aged 26 or under by the time the final whistle came.
"You look at the team that finished on the pitch, it's a young team," he said. "With the injuries we picked up throughout the game, we had to make a few changes, but the experience of being here will be good.
Our European campaign ends after defeat in Clermont.
Thank you to all our fans here today in France and back at home. pic.twitter.com/izOokWmNoe— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) April 13, 2024
Richie Murphy vows to take positives from Ulster defeat
"You look at the team that finished on the pitch, it's a young team," he said. "With the injuries we picked up throughout the game, we had to make a few changes, but the experience of being here will be good.
"These games can swing on a moment and their try after half-time gives them the confidence to go on and win the game, whereas at 7-0 if we'd got another score after that then it could have been a very different day. The scoreboard pressure swings the crowd pressure and that swings on top of you.
"We weren't good enough today, a lot we need to look at. There's loads of improvements but we knew that before today.
"We'll look at it as a chance to learn and improve but ultimately it doesn't define our season. We've a totally different competition to go into and that's where our focus will be."
🟡🔵 @ASMOfficiel advanced to the #ChallengeCupRugby semi-finals with a dominant win over Ulster Rugby 👏
Watch the instant highlights on YouTube 👇— EPCR Challenge Cup (@ChallengeCup_) April 13, 2024
Ulster attention turns to URC
Murphy stepped in at Ulster following the departure of Dan McFarland in February. Focus will now switch back to the URC, where Ulster are in a battle to clinch a play-off spot.
They currently occupy eighth spot, which would be enough for a play-off, ahead of hosting Cardiff on Friday of next week.
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