Stephen Ferris: Outclassed Ulster are a 'long way off it'

Ulster were given a bracing reminder of their current place in the pecking order in the 40-point hammering away to reigning champions Toulouse, according to former flanker Stephen Ferris.

The French aristocrats racked up nine tries in a 61-21 demolition job, five of them coming in a whirlwind opening half-hour, with Ferris in awe of their efficiency.

"They were exceptional. They really were. I think there was maybe only one opportunity in the first half that they didn't take," the ex-Lion told RTÉ's Game On.

However, Ferris felt Ulster didn't take advantage of the weather conditions in making life awkward for the Toulouse attack.

"What was more concerning was the weather conditions. They were really tough.

"There was plenty of rain coming down, and I thought it was a really good leveller for Ulster to get absolutely stuck into Toulouse and force them into some mistakes, but they didn't. They sat off them for large parts in the first half," added the ex-flanker.

Toulouse scored a point a minute in the first half and Ferris thinks the tactic of sitting back didn't pay off for the Ulstermen in the first 40-minutes.

"That definitely was a tactic to try and fan out across the field, fill the field, and hopefully they'll run up blind alleys, but they didn't. They were still able to find space."

It was always going to be a tough ask for Ulster who are currently sitting in the 10th spot in the URC, but Ferris feels there was still something to play for.

"They didn't get anything out of the game," he continued.

"I thought they might have got a four try bonus point, but all in all, I don't think they deserved it in the end."

With Ulster sitting back in the first half it allowed stand-out stars like Emmanuel Meafou and Antoine Dupont to