Doak: Leinster outmuscled Ulster

Ulster head coach Neil Doak believes his side failed to match Leinster's physicality during Saturday's 22-7 defeat at the RDS.

Rory O'Loughlin scored two tries as the three-time European champions cruised to victory in the Pro 12 derby in Dublin, and Doak feels the game was lost in the early stages as Ulster missed a couple of penalty attempts then failed to match Leinster in the forward line.

"Playing with our backs to the wind in the first half, we probably needed a few points on the board but we missed a couple of penalties," Doak told BBC Sport NI.

"Tommy [Bowe} was unlucky - he could have been in down the touchline - but the deciding factor was our being so unclinical. We had a couple of breaks that put them under pressure, but just couldn't finish them off.

"We just weren't as physical to put them on the back foot for long periods of time. That's a frustration.

"Leinster work hard for each other, they are physical, the breakdowns are always a contest, and that dictates the pace of the game."

O'Loughlin, 22, who only made his first Leinster start in October, is focused on staying in head coach Leo Cullen's plans, whether as a winger or in his preferred position of outside centre.

"I realise a good few people have been out injured and they’re coming back soon," he told RTE.

"In a way, I’ve got kind of lucky with my shot, but I’ve just tried to take it as best I can and constantly improve and keep going 100%.

"For me, that’s it, just taking it game by game and trying to constantly improve and make it hard for the coach to drop me."

Photo (Inpho/ Jonathan Porter)

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