Iain Henderson: Ulster showing maturity with recent form

Iain Henderson says Ulster have shown how they've matured as a side in recent weeks after turning around their form.

The province made it back to back wins when they defeated Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Friday night, as they backed up their vital Champions Cup win against Racing 92 the previous week.

Those victories arrested a run of three defeats in a row which threatened to unravel their season. And Henderson says their positive response is in real contrast to this time last year, when they lost six out of seven games between early December and mid-January.

"It's something we have got better at this year, being able to take that step back and not try and force things," the Ulster captain said after his side's 20-19 win against Connacht last weekend.

"Sometimes less is more. Being able to not beat yourself up or constantly review things. It's something I did a lot more of when I was younger.

"To take confidence in the bank of work that we have put together over the past number of weeks, and not have to overthink or over-train on a lot of those aspects.

"You get back to enjoying being in the environment, enjoying training and enjoying spending time together.

"I think that stands with us on the pitch as well."

Dan McFarland's side weren't able to match their performance from the Racing win in the victory over Connacht, but on a night where conditions were brutal for rugby, the province were up for the fight as the showed better game management than the visitors.

And Henderson says being able to 'win ugly' is something his side have grown better at.

"We know that was by no means a perfect performance but to be able to see out a win and hold out leading into a big Interpro next week [is important].

"It's something we talked about,