Ulster wing Zac Ward says Mark Sexton has been "a complete breath of fresh air" since becoming an assistant coach at the Irish province during the close season.
Sexton has been recruited as backs coach with responsibility for attack play under head coach Richie Murphy, having previously been part of the coaching group at Connacht.
He also worked with Murphy as a member of the Ireland Under-20s set-up, as did forwards coach Jimmy Duffy and defence and contact Skills coach Willie Faloon.
"He has been incredible since he came in," said Ward after being part of the team which scored five tries in defeating Edinburgh 31-19 in a pre-season friendly in Belfast on Friday night.
"Everyone has really bought into what he's bringing and what he's preaching to us.
"It has paid off. At times we showed there tonight that we can be really dangerous when we get the ball in hand."
Ward scored the third of his side's five tries during the first half and explains that he is benefitting from Sexton's input.
"He has said that we do have really good wingers and we want to get the ball out to them as much as we can.
"We did that a lot tonight which is really good. I definitely benefitted from it and enjoyed it. Hopefully I can continue to get hands on the ball.
"This year I want to be putting my hand up to play as many games as I can."
Ward adds that his first season as part of the Ulster squad after moving from the Ireland seven squad which took part in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was "a bit of a whirlwind of a year" but now he is "really excited" for the season ahead.
"It's my first pre-season and there are still a few cobwebs to dust off. I'm definitely on the right track although I've still loads to learn.
"I have a lot more confidence in the things that I'm doing now and I'm surrounded by really good guys who help me with things like my kicking and back-field game.
"I can't neglect the things that I am good at it and ball in hand is definitely one of my strengths. I need to look to get the ball in my hand as much as I can and provide for the team as much as I possibly can."
Ulster's next outing will be their first competitive fixture of the season against the Dragons in the United Rugby Championship on Friday 26 September.