Ulster 19-40 Bordeaux: ‘No sulking’ for Ulster after losing run extended to four games
As Henderson points out, this round was always a brutal assessment of Ulster’s progress.
They have to face Leinster and the current top two in French rugby without a proven crop of players – Jacob Stockdale, Tom Stewart, John Cooney and James Hume Being the best of the bunch – that just adds to the challenge.
The flip side, of course, is Murphy’s ability to put the younger members of his squad through some of the toughest tests in club rugby.
James McCormick and Ben Carson made their European debuts last week. Ireland sevens star Zac Ward made his 15s debut on Saturday, while Rory Telfer and James Humphreys A late substitute came on for their first Champions League appearance.
Being exposed to such harsh conditions can be a lot to take in for untested players, but Henderson insists it will benefit the team’s long-term development.
“It’s always disappointing after losing big games, especially the way we lost the last two games, but it’s part of the learning process and part of the pain you have to go through to get better,” he explained .
“Making sure that a lot of our guys are exposed to the top level, it’s definitely going to be good for them. Especially for those guys that were out there for the first time tonight; I thought Zach did a really good job, especially Wolf probably didn’t get enough to show what his stuff could actually do.
“But those guys, and last week, are getting exposure at this level and they can only learn from it and ideally get better.”
