Luke Fitzgerald

And I think very similar to Ulster, or sorry, to Leinster, they got the dream start.

You're kind of thinking, wow, this is on.

But they just faded so, so badly.

Like, I'll put my hands up.

Really, the only proper time that I had seen Montpellier this season was when they played Connacht.

I haven't seen a whole lot of them in the top 14.

Sure, I was able to see that they were coming second.

But I didn't realise that they have completely rebuilt themselves.

I mean, they looked every inch a Champions Cup team rather than a Challenge Cup team.

And speaking to a few French journalists afterwards, one particular one who said he didn't name who it was, but in the Irish media, he read something that was quite disparaging towards Montpellier.

And he said...

they obviously didn't realise that they've already beaten, I think, Toulouse, they've beaten Bordeaux.

They are a serious team who are capable of going on to win the top 14 this season.

Particularly if they finish second, they will avoid Toulouse in the playoffs.

So that was a serious Montpellier team that Ulster...

And for a season that had promised so much, they were second in the URC to have now finished ninth, to have no URC playoffs, have no Champions Cup rugby for next season and to have been absolutely hockeyed in a Challenge Cup final.

is bitterly bitterly disappointing I still think the Richie Murphy project for want of a better term is on track I think they're a better team than what they were last year I think we see that in the Irish representation that they had in the Six Nations I'd imagine it'll be similar in the summer but next season I think they have to re-evaluate where their priorities lie Richie Murphy was very honest afterwards on Friday night and he said that look

We just don't have the squad to fight on two fronts.

And I think when you're in the Challenge Cup, I think they got... Because they got so far, they got a bit giddy and the end line was in sight.

But I think when they look back at it, I'm surprised that when the analysts were doing their work and they were scouting Montpellier from a couple of weeks out, that they didn't just go...