Isaac Boss interview: Johnny Wattersontalks to the scrumhalf about the pickle Ulster are now in after last week's defeat

The distinct feeling around the wintry suburbs of the Newforge Lane training ground in Belfast is that Ulster have screwed it up again, after they were beaten off the park in the Madejski Stadium last weekend.

It wasn't as if they had had to contend with major injuries or illness, or that they faced one of the giants of the competition. Simply, Mark McCall and his Ulster side got it completely wrong when their confidence was unusually high. Had they played to form, tonight's match would not be so fraught.

Win or bust. The Ulster players know of Ravenhill Road's strange, psychologically negative influence on visiting teams, and for this weekend to have any influence on the collective Christmas cheer, they need five points. That would equate to quite a turnaround.

"Obviously we're really disappointed, tired and sore," says Isaac Boss. "I think it was a bit of both, that they were up for the match and we didn't play as well as we could. We certainly didn't execute with the opportunities we got," says the scrumhalf. "We bombed in that area at crucial times in the match and that's where we have to improve. We struggled, then got into the game, and then let them back."

There is frustration that Ulster were seen to be bringing players through at international level, dovetailing nicely with their run of form in the Magners Celtic League.

As holders of that title and currently top of the table, the Reading collapse hurts not only because of the position Ulster find themselves in the European Cup, but also because they have done this before. The side that routed Toulouse in their opening pool game in Belfast a few months ago have not been able to reach the European Cup knock-out stages since beating Colomiers to win the competition in 1999.

"It's a bit of déjà vu," admits Irish international Boss. "And yes, it is definitely crucial. To have had a bad performance at this time of year in this competition and in a match we could have, and should have, won now makes it a different race for us.

"But tonight we have a chance to put things right, and in a sense the team are looking forward to doing that."

What it means for the Belfast side is they need other results and bonus points to go their way, and even the usually positive McCall is not convinced it will all unfold in Ulster's favour.

Llanelli's triumph over Toulouse last weekend gave the Welsh side a seven-point lead at the top of the pool, with the French side, London Irish and Ulster essentially scrapping it out for the second place, which even then may not even be enough to go through to the knock-out stages.

"We can only control what we can control," says Boss. "Really, we can't be relying on other teams getting us in by virtue of doing us a favour somewhere else. Yes, we have a good record at Ravenhill, but we shouldn't have to rely on Ravenhill to get us through these pool matches. We have to start wining more consistently away from home.

"In the Celtic League we won well away from home. It is now up to us to see how we can carry that through to European Cup matches. We played well at the end of last season and over the last few weeks, but I think we've a long way to go before we can call ourselves a quality side in that competition."

Boss has a direct honesty that may come from his Southern Hemisphere upbringing, but so, too, the willingness to face an unsavoury truth is an Ulster quality.

"In the league every team have tough games, good games and bad games. This year, we absolutely picked the wrong time to have a bad performance and now we have to go and get the points, obviously five. But we must first get the win and go from there. It will be tough and it will be all hands on deck."

All provinces have something to learn from Munster's entire dynamic, their warrior spirit, their mean spirit with the ball and the collective willingness to go into the trenches. Other teams maybe get close to that Munster style, but it's never the real thing.

"You can't model yourself on another team. Obviously, Munster's strengths aren't our strengths," says Boss.

"You learn these things as you play. We haven't yet, but we are getting there, I hope. They (Munster) have learned along the way and you really have to hope we are learning as well, that we are continuing to do that."