Ulster star Nathan Doak says side 'hyped up' as they end winless streak
An injury-ridden Ulster held their nerve to win 17-7 against Connacht.
Nathan Doak confided that Ulster were "hyped up" leaving the visitors' dressing-room at the Dexcom Stadium as they picked up their first win in six games.
And head coach Richie Murphy insisted there is more to come from a group of young players who seized their chance against Connacht in Galway.
Despite a large casualty list, Murphy's side - with his 20-year-old son, Jack, making his first start - won 17-7.
READ MORE: Gutsy Ulster hold their nerve away to Connacht to end five-game losing streak
"It's a massive result for us," said scrum-half Doak. "We're coming off the back of massively tough fixtures and we didn't want to use coming down here, you know, 'tough place to come'.
"I tell you what, the forwards got us hyped up before the game and we all wanted to go out and put in a big performance.
"It was just so good to be a part of that tonight, there's a lot of boys making second starts and debuts and we wanted to make it special for them, so it was class for everyone to come together and put out a performance like that.
"The coaches gave heart to us, they put out the standard of what we want in our team and they pushed us to train to make sure we delivered it, and Jeez I thought we delivered it tonight - the linespeed, the physicality.
"You get a good bounce, a good flow and a good feeling off that so fair play to the boys, it's a great result for us. We're ecstatic to have a win, it's been a while for us."
Murphy said that Ulster have picked up some more injuries as the players look forward to a few days off before preparations start for their third Champions Cup pool game against Leicester Tigers.
"I thought the lads were incredible tonight," the head coach commented. "A lot of things went against us during the week, even in the warm-up.
"Mike Lowry, we weren't sure if he was going to get through the game, for him to put in that performance that he did was incredible.
"Rob Herring obviously pulls up in the warm-up, James McCormick comes onto the bench and then into the game within 10 minutes (as a temporary replacement), so it just shows you the strength that's growing in the group.
"We're missing a fair few top, top players, so for our young boys to come out here and go up against a back line like they did and defend the way they did, I was really, really proud of them.
"We're going away with four points and after five losses on the bounce it shows the character of the team to come back like that.
"I still think there's way more in them. What I loved about that was the commitment to the jersey, the commitment to each other, the hard work that the lads put in and they never took a backwards step.
"So really happy with that but especially on the attack side of the ball I think there's way more in us, so we'll have a mini-break, we'll come back on Thursday or Friday and get ready for Leicester.
"But we picked up another few injuries tonight. We've a few boys coming back in who started returning to training on Monday and Tuesday this week who weren't quite ready to actually come into this game, so we'll get them back this week but we've lost a few as well.
"We'll just move on to the next one."
Meanwhile, Doak is optimistic that this victory can be the start of better times for the Ulster side.
"Look, we're young, maybe we're naive but we've got to back ourselves. We want to get better, we want to push on," the 23-year-old stressed.
"I know people will have their opinions of where we're at but, for us being involved, being in there, it's just about working hard every day and that will hold us in good stead, getting a win.
"Maybe it gives us a bit of confidence going into the next round of league games after a break. We all want to build on this."
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