Bradley looking for response against Ulster

Connacht coach Michael Bradley is looking ahead to the visit of Magners League champions Ulster to banish memories of Friday'…

Connacht coach Michael Bradley is looking ahead to the visit of Magners League champions Ulster to banish memories of Friday's domestic derby defeat to Leinster.

Bradley watched his side expose the star-studded Leinster line-up at the Sportsground but eventually capitulate to a 31-16 defeat that saw the visitor's glean a bonus point for their efforts.

Connacht were on level terms with just six minutes remaining but Michael Cheika's side found a 15 point scoring sequence at the death, despite being a man down.

Predictably, however, Bradley sees plenty of positives.

READ MORE

"We were disappointed with the way the game finished," he said today. "We had recovered well from conceding a soft try in the opening minute.

"We kept our composure after giving away such a soft score early on. We spoke at half-time about needing to maintain that composure for the entire second-half.

"But we did that for just 30 minutes. We were level then but lost our way in the closing minutes. That was disappointing, but there were a lot of positives in the game for us and we will build on them.

"Leinster weren't causing us too many problems and I think if we kept our composure we'd have won the game," said Bradley.

It's a short turnaround for Bradley's side but the match against Ulster on Friday affords them the chance to show they can produce when it counts.

"We need to keep up our level of intensity for the entire match. But we will work on that this week. We are looking forward to the game on Friday," added Bradley.

Kick-off will be at 6.30pm at the Sportsground where they will be hoping for another big crowd, having watched 3,678 flood in for the visit of Leinster.