European Champions Cup
Wilson frustrated with Ulster defending
ESPN Staff
January 17, 2015
Nicolas Sanchez's try opened the floodgates for Toulon, who scored seven more © Getty Images
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Ulster No.8 Roger Wilson admitted his side were unable to contain a gloriously in-form Toulon side in their 60-22 defeat in the south of France on Saturday afternoon.

Toulon scored eight tries, with English flanker Steffon Armitage running in a hat-trick in the win that saw the double champions become the first side to qualify for the knockout stages.

Ulster managed four tries and a bonus-point of their own but Wilson conceded their defence simply wasn't good enough.

"When you look at the scoreboard it's very disappointing but I don't think that reflects the effort we put in for 80 minutes," he said. "Not many teams will go to Toulon and score four tries but the big negative for us was the defence.

"We tried to get in their faces as much as possible and it worked for a while, but when they get up some momentum and get their off-load game working they are very difficult to stop. We spoke before the game about the fact that there was nothing to play for but we still wanted to go out and put our bodies on the line.

"The injuries in the first half were a big blow for us and we don't seem to have had much luck with that recently. We will look ahead to Leicester Tigers next week and we want to finish off the pool on a positive note."

Despite scoring 60 points, Toulon coach Bernard Laporte was still not satisfied with his team's performance.

"Our mission was to secure the qualification and get a bonus point," he said. "We can now celebrate and prepare for our next game. There was some good defensive aggressiveness in our last couple of games, I did not see it today, especially from the 15th to the 35th minute.

"We did not play well during those 20 minutes. This is not good enough and we need to do more. Ulster gave us more space later in the game and we were able to score tries.

"Our backline players got sick with the flu on Thursday and I'm wondering if our lack in rhythm comes from this. I am not impressed by those 60 points, although we are happy because we feel like the crowd enjoyed the game."

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