Werner Kok says Ulster need to start believing in themselves if they are to break their losing streak sooner rather than later.
South African winger Kok was one of the few new faces to arrive at Ulster in the off-season and his all-action style has seen him quickly establish himself as a firm fan favourite.
Joining a team with such a young age profile has made Kok one of the leaders of the squad a little faster than he might have anticipated.
But the former South African seven-star admits the time for excuses is over and it is up to experienced squad members like himself to help pick up the pieces and pull his side out of the slump.
“I know we’re all in a building phase with a lot of young lads in the team and you can actually see that a bit. It’s an excuse we can’t use anymore,” he admitted.
“There are a lot of seniors around the team who can actually pick up the boys and just have to start believing because we have a lot of talent in the squad. We just have to hang in there and use our ability and talent to get over the line and win some games.”
These are testing times for everyone associated with the province. Having come through a fixture list that included the top two teams in France along with three inter-pro derbies, the mental strength of the young Ulster squad was always going to be tested to its limits.
Kok claims the teams are doing everything they can to get back to winning ways, including turning off all outside noise and fully concentrating on what’s happening in the group.
“It’s tough. I’ve been in this situation before.
“You can’t really worry about what’s on the outside and what other people say. It comes more internally now and it actually brings out the character of the team.
“It’s always easy to see good character and real fight when things go well. But it really brings out the boys’ fight and character when things don’t go well. So it’s going to test us now.”
Friday night’s defeat to Munster hurt more as Ulster looked set for a much-needed win when James McNabney went over for a try in the 76th minute.
But for the second time in the competition Ulster allowed Munster to respond immediately and with the last play of the game Tom Farrell stunned Ravenhill with his third try of the night.
Teams are often most vulnerable after they score, and twice Ulster exposed their vulnerability from the restart.
“We’ve got to try to get another positive on top of a positive. We can’t be positive, negative all the time. And I think that’s the big thing for us. To really stay in it, to control the game a little bit better.
“We’ve taken a bit of a hit but I know we’ll bounce back.”
