Honest Richie Murphy relieved after 'lucky' Ulster win

Ulster interim head coach Richie Murphy admitted his side rode their luck, after they snatched a dramatic 19-17 win against Cardiff at Kingspan Stadium.

The win lifts the province up to fifth place in the BKT United Rugby Championship table overnight, with John Cooney's penalty in the final 90 seconds handing the interim boss a win in his first home game in charge.

The winning penalty was a controversial one, with the TMO judging Cardiff prop Rhys Carre to have deliberately knocked on a Cooney pass, which then went forward off Ulster's Ethan McIlroy, before the visitors raced clear to score what they thought was the game-clinching try.

And Murphy, who picked up his first URC win this evening, was honest in his assessment of the dramatic win.

"It was a strange one. I couldn't see a clear knock on," he said of the overturned try, and decisive penalty.

"I thought the game had gone at that stage. We were probably a little bit lucky to get the win in the end.

"Looking back at the game as a whole, there are so many things that we need to do better to get into those situations at the end of a game."

Ulster had trailed for the majority of the encounter, with a brace of tries from Cardiff wing Theo Cabango, and two conversions and a penalty from Tinus de Beer leaving Matt Sherratt's side within touching distance of a first win in Belfast since 2010.

But while Murphy said his side were fortunate to pick up the win, he added that it could well prove to be a turning point in their season.

"Four points, no pictures on the scorecard.

"At the end of the day, we've got to win and we're moving in the right direction in the league.

"Overall, I suppose we'll look at the game and see plenty of areas where we need drastic improvement over the next