Tough watching Toulouse against Munster and Leinster, says McFarland

Ulster didn't have much time to stew in the immediate aftermath of their Heineken Champions Cup loss to Toulouse but the last two weekends have proved particularly unpleasant for Dan McFarland.

URC ties against Munster and Edinburgh came thick and fast after the European defeat, allowing the northern province to push aside the heartache of a single-point loss over two legs in the round of 16.

The Ulster head coach, whose side welcome Cell C Sharks to the Kingspan Stadium on Friday night for a crucial URC match, has had to watch provincial rivals Munster and Leinster in quarter and semi-final action against the reigning champions, with both games, in two different ways, regarded as heavyweight European classics.

"I didn’t enjoy the quarter-final weekend or the semi-final weekend anywhere near as much as I have done in previous years," McFarland told RTÉ Sport.

"[Two years ago] we were involved in quarter-final weekend, previous years as well. It’s one of my favourite weekends of the year. Not playing was bad and really disappointing."

Ireland full-back Mike Lowry said he could look on at the two matches in Dublin as a student of the game.

"There is still definitely pain from that defeat against Toulouse. We have to put it to one side," he said.

"I watched the Munster and Leinster games and I suppose you can just take learnings from the games.

"It’s about moving forward and we still have a great opportunity to win some silverware. It wasn’t like that was the end of the season and it’s a bit of a silver lining that we’ve got something to look forward to."

Meanwhile, back row Marcus Rea, who described the loss to Toulouse as a "kick in the teeth" was also impressed by the European fare and especially Leinster’s victory over the