Stephen Ferris in disbelief at 'absolute sickener' in Cardiff

Stephen Ferris was left in disbelief at watching Ulster's "absolute sickener" against Cardiff on Saturday night.

The Irish province squandered a 19-point lead at half-time to lose 21-19 in their final United Rugby Championship clash before the November break.

It was a calamitous collapse by Richie Murphy's men in Wales, with Ulster not scoring a single point in the second half as Cardiff came storming back after the break.

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Ferris told Premier Sports: "It's disbelief from an Ulster perspective. You didn't give Cardiff any hope at all after the level of rugby they produced in the first half.

"Ulster were in cruise control and then one try changes everything. Rugby matches hinge on small margins. It will have a huge impact on Ulster, negatively, of course."

He added: "There was no lack of effort from Cardiff, there was just a lack of clarity. Their lineout wasn't functioning well, they were going backwards and kicking off the cuff.

"They were all over the place. So the changing room needs to be calm in those situations. You don't go in ranting and raving. And it was brilliant coaching from Matt (Sherratt) and the rest of the lads.

"But it's an absolute sickener Ulster losing that tonight."

Ulster took control of the game with three tries in the first half. Cormac Izuchukwu grabbed the opener and Jude Postlethwaite scored a brace before the break.

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But Cardiff emerged with added vigour in the second half and scored three tries in the space of 19 minutes to turn the tables, all of which were converted by Callum Sheedy.

"I think Ulster's players went into shock because they just stopped playing completely. It is a worry they didn't score a single point in the second half," Ferris added.

"There is a lot of pressure on Aidan Morgan coming from the Hurricanes. He is a high pedigree player.

"But where was his game management in the second half? He ended up getting taken off, but maybe he was taken off with an injury, I am not 100 per cent sure.

"Nathan Doak moved to 10. His running game is very good but pinning the corners, it just wasn't there. To put some pressure on Cardiff.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing. And if Harry Sheridan scored in that corner then we wouldn't be talking about this."

Ulster now head into the November break as Ireland take centre stage for games against New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia.

Ferris says Ulster's players will do some soul searching over the next few days.

"I am sure at half-time a few of the Ulster boys were looking forward to a good night out in Cardiff with a few beers, knowing they don't have the same recovery for a game next week," he said.

"But now it is about asking how did it go wrong. The boys will be thinking about it. They will have a bad night's sleep tonight, and the next couple of days will be tough."

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