'It was class': Ulster captain hails Bok star's impact

REACTION: Ulster captain Alan O'Connor had plenty of praise for Springbok superstar Duane Vermeulen after the Irish side's upset win over Clermont Auvergne in the Champions Cup.

That match in France was Vermeulen's debut for Ulster after he was self-isolating for some time after testing positive for COVID-19 last month.

The No.8 played 50 minutes in the 29-23 win and racked up 20 metres from his 11 carries.

"It was great, he’s obviously an awesome player," O’Connor told RTÉ after their Pool A win.

"It was class to have him on board.

"Fair play to him, he didn’t have a lot of training time, but he gelled in pretty well and he was a calm influence on the pitch, which was class.

"I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on and looking forward to playing with him."

Meanwhile, Ulster head coach Dan McFarland was a proud man after his team's victory.

"I thought we played well in the way we controlled it for most of the game," said the coach.

"We’ve got a lot of lads out there who have been banging on the door and were magnificent.

"That is a victory we should be proud of."

Ulster will face Northampton Saints in Belfast in Round Two.

Source: RTÉ