As far as results go, this was one of the worst. It was a complete and utter shocker for Ulster.

Losing to Zebre, at home, in the United Rugby Championship, has left plenty more questions over the direction the province is heading in.

Richie Murphy appeared lost for words following the 15-14 defeat in Belfast. It ended Zebre's four-year wait for an away win in the competition.

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It was the latest hammer blow in what is quickly becoming another disappointing season for Ulster. They may have scraped into the knockout stages of the Champions Cup, but that papers over the cracks.

They have slipped to ninth in the URC standings, and they will have to wait before trying to put things right as we now enter a three-week break due to the Six Nations which kicks off this weekend.

Here are some of the comments made from players, head coach Murphy and former Ulster stars in the aftermath of Sunday's humiliating loss. They were talking to the BBC following the game:

Former Ulster and Ireland winger Tommy Bowe...

"The defeat is an absolute hammer blow. A lot of today was about mindset, and Ulster were second best. They looked shell-shocked out there and looked like they didn't know where to go."

Former Ulster and Ireland backrow Chris Henry...

"I was gobsmacked with the second-half performance. We didn't see that second half coming. Yes, it was a slow opening 40 minutes but I really thought Ulster would come out and force themselves a bit more. It looked a bit lacklustre. It was a tough night."

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy...

"Emotionally, were we ready for the challenge that was coming for us? We thought that we were, but ultimately when you see how we played, we were well short of where we needed to be."

He added: "It's a knock to the confidence, definitely. We had looked at the next batch of games as a chance to squeeze up the table.

"The players are disappointed with themselves but we're in this together and we have to find a way to become a more consistent team. We look a long way off the team we should be."

Asked if this was one of the worst defeats of his Ulster career, Nick Timoney said...

"On paper? Yeah, probably There is certainly a consistency thing we need to work on. There were times last week that were really poor as well. We ran away with the scoreline but that might have masked some things as well.

"Not that we weren't analysing ourselves, but some of the things we got away with last week through scoring some tries in the second half, we didn't get away with here.

"If you look at Zebre's reputation, I would say it doesn't do them justice. They are a better team than people give them credit for."

What the fans said on social media...

David said on X: "The worst performance I have seen in years. We are a challenge cup side at best. No investment no structure. No excuses."

Nicky added: "Imagine paying actual money to watch that in the pouring rain. The players didn’t fancy it either!"

David simply labelled the performance "Embarrassing…." while Colin added: "No excuses can be made for that, no “we’re making progress” or “going in the right direction” can mask that Ulster Rugby is in major trouble without proper investment in player development, recruitment and coaching."

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