When I saw the Cardiff Blues team selection for their midweek game against the Ospreys, I must confess I thought then that the writing was on the wall for the Ulster team four days later at the Arms Park.

In resting 10 players, which included all his main men, Dai Young’s strategy was clear. With three games in the space of six days, the coach had clearly written off his team’s chances in the Welsh derby game, believing instead that his team had an excellent chance of gaining a bonus point victory against Ulster.

I wonder what was going through his mind as Ulster’s blitz defence rocked Cardiff right from the start and took advantage of that age-old danger in any sort of performance activity – complacency.

I have no doubt that Cardiff thought that Ulster would be an easy win. And why wouldn’t they? Having been part of many Ulster teams that have visited the Arms Park full of hope and ambition, far too many times did we return with nothing to show for our efforts. Therefore, from a historical context, a losing bonus point is not the worst return but, of course, it should have been much much more - that elusive first win achieved away from home and a very handy four points in the bag. Without a doubt, Ulster could and should have won the game.

Much has been written about what went wrong in the second half – some wrong options, a few missed kicks and a lack of discipline and maturity in closing out the game and, of course, it is all valid. More than anyone else, however, it hits players the hardest and after that sort of a game the changing-room is a soulless, empty place to be.

Therefore, looking forward to Friday night’s match against the Dragons, I would much rather consider the positives.

Last week’s game against the Cardiff Blues was markedly better than the performance against Llanelli, which matched the dismal conditions at Ravenhill. This was underpinned by a far more intense, aggressive and cohesive approach to the Ulster defence. Right from the off, the players were getting off the line together at pace and seeking out tackles behind the opposition gainline.

This was the big difference – together the players were looking to make big hits. The togetherness is a defensive system, the will to make the hit on your terms is between your ears, a mental approach based on good, old-fashioned meanness. At times, Ulster flirted with the offside line, but got away with it and managed to disrupt the Cardiff attack, getting man and ball on several occasions.

Around the fringes it was solid and in the backs, once again, Darren Cave, in the outside 13 channel was crucial, leading up the backline defence from wide out and making well-timed interventions.

Only once did this system really break down and it led to

Cardiff’s sole try. The Blues did incredibly well to tie in the Ulster back row at the back of the lineout and exposed the subsequent gap inside the 10 channel. Interestingly, Andrew Trimble had come off his wing to stand in that defensive position – a tactical ploy in order to add another player to the open field backline defence.

This extra defender meant that there was never going to be much space for Cardiff to go wide, so they targeted and breached that link point between forwards and backs.

Such is the nature of professional rugby, two things are certainly true – mistakes get punished and can be costly. However, the converse is also true and of particular relevance for the Ulster team in the light of their last game – you have to take your chances when opportunities come along.

Apart from the defensive effort, the forwards can take solace from the fact that another area which shows signs of definite improvement is the set-piece. What a difference BJ Botha has made already. The Springbok international makes the front row look as if it might now have the potential to rival that formidable team of Matt Sexton, Robbie Kempson and a younger Justin Fitzpatrick, which functioned so well under the inspirational hand of Alan Solomons.

Ulster had the upperhand on the Blues in the tight exchanges and will, undoubtedly, look to build on that going forward.

My main area of concern lies in the fact that there has been little if any backplay to talk about. Few rehearsed moves, few line breaks from open play, few offloads, and very few try-scoring opportunities.

The Fijian wing, Timoci Nagusa, has been signed not for his defence nor his particularly informed reading of the game – in those areas he has still much to learn - but rather as an out and out striker, a try-scorer. Get the ball in his hands in a bit of space and try to keep up with him! But that’s just it – the Ulster backs need to create an attack whereby the ball gets to him in some sort of space or on a well-angled run. Otherwise, he is a wasted scarce resource.

Hopefully, the match against the Dragons should give the Ulster backline an opportunity to stretch its legs, get the offloading game going and build much-needed confidence as the Heineken Cup looms on the horizon, not to mention a mighty test next week against the Ospreys.

The defeat to the Blues must have been a chastening experience for the Ulster boys, but often you learn more from the bad experiences that the easy wins. But learn they must, and quickly – defeat against the Dragons is an unthinkable prospect.