Irish Rugby

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Ulster coach Richie Murphy says Iain Henderson, Sean Reffell and Ethan McIlroy will all be available for Saturday's United Rugby Championship game against Cardiff after missing the home win over Ospreys.

Ireland lock Henderson was concussed after a challenge by Connacht's Dave Heffernan in Ulster's win over their fellow Irish province on 12 October.

Flanker Reffell and back McIlroy sustained ankle knocks in the same game which forced them out of the Ospreys contest.

"Sean Reffell, Ethan and Hendy are all coming back to fitness. They will all be available for selection this week," said Ulster coach Murphy.

Hookers Rob Herring and Tom Stewart are nearing a return to fitness but will not be considered for this week's game which means James McCormick, who started last weekend, and John Andrew will be in contention for the number two jersey.

After the opening five rounds of fixtures, Ulster sit fifth in the table, three points ahead of the ninth-placed Welsh club.

"It's a very important game for us. Four wins out of the first six matches would be quite satisfying. Three wins would be just sort of a pass," said Murphy.

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Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber has clarified his comments about the prospect of him returning to South Africa's coaching set-up in the future.

Nienaber helped the Springboks win back-to-back Rugby World Cups in 2019 and 2023 before joining the Irish province as a senior coach last year.

Speaking to the Irish media on Monday before Leinster's United Rugby Championship game against South African side Lions on Saturday, Nienaber - who is under contract at Leinster until 2026 - appeared to indicate that he had no plans to rejoin the Springboks.

But posting on X, Nienaber said he is happy at Leinster without dismissing "what might come down the line".

He wrote: "Hey guys - I was asked yesterday in media about life at Leinster and being a club coach day to day...but headlines can be misleading.

"It is absolutely the right time for me, my family and my coaching journey, and being tested daily, to be here now.

"But that is not to dismiss what I did before now, what I loved to do before now or to dismiss what might come down the line.

"But for now, I am happy here at Leinster. My full quotes reflect that. Not the headlines!"

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Ireland will open their 2025 Women's World Cup campaign with a contest against Japan at Franklin's Gardens in Northampton on Sunday, 24 August.

Franklin's Gardens will again be the venue for the Ireland side's second Pool C contest against Spain on 31 August before they face defending world champions New Zealand at Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium on 7 September.

The top two teams in Pool C will progress to the quarter-finals.

Scott Bemand's Ireland side earned a surprise win over New Zealand in their opening WXV1 game in Vancouver earlier this month.

Supporters will be able to apply for World Cup tickets from 11:00 GMT on Tuesday, 5 November until Tuesday, 19 November.

IRELAND'S WORLD CUP POOL C FIXTURES

24 August - Ireland v Japan, Franklin's Gardens, 12:00 BST

31 August - Ireland v Spain, Franklin's Gardens, 12:00

7 September - Ireland v New Zealand, Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium, 14:45

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Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw will be available to make his seasonal debut when Leinster host the Lions at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The United Rugby Championship fixtures this weekend are the last provincial action before Ireland host New Zealand on 8 November.

Henshaw has not played since Ireland beat South Africa in Durban last July with what was described as a "minor injury".

Fly-half Ciaran Frawley, who delivered the winning drop goal in that game, sustained an ankle injury during Leinster's win over Connacht on Saturday.

His province have, however, described the knock as "not serious", although it will be further assessed this week with a view to whether he can feature at the Aviva on Saturday.

Connacht's Mack Hansen missed the same interprovincial derby with a hip injury sustained against Ulster this month but the 26-year-old is expected to train this week.

The winger missed both the Six Nations and Ireland's tour of South Africa so has not played for the national side since the World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand over a year ago.

Andy Farrell will name his Ireland squad for November on Wednesday. His side will travel to Portugal for warm weather training before their autumn fixtures against the All Blacks, Argentina, Fiji and Australia.

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United Rugby Championship

Stormers: (14) 34

Tries: Hartzenberg, Theunissen, R Nel 2 Cons: Willemse 4 Pen: Willemse Drop goal: Willemse

Munster: (12) 19

Tries: Farrell, Clarke, Coombes Cons: Crowley 2

The Stormers moved off the bottom of the United Rugby Championship table as two Ruhan Nel tries helped earn a 34-19 victory over Munster in an entertaining but error-ridden contest in Cape Town.

Suleiman Hartzenberg's intercept try as he ran from Munster's 22 gave the Stormers a sixth-minute 7-0 lead.

But the visitors were 12-7 up by the 27th minute as Tom Farrell's try, after Shane Daly charged down a Damian Willemse clearance, was followed by replacement hooker Eoghan Clarke's score.

However the Stormers' pack dominated the remainder of the first half as Marcel Theunissen's try gave them a 14-12 interval advantage, with Willemse slotting his second conversion.

Although both line-outs continued to badly malfunction, the Stormers maintained their superiority immediately after the break with Nel's first try increasing their lead to 21-12 as fly-half Willemse again added the extras.

Back-row replacement Gavin Coombes' introduction noticeably boosted the visitors and his touchdown - converted by Crowley - cut the Stormers' lead to 21-19 with 12 minutes remaining.

However man of the match Willemse closed out the game as his 74th-minute penalty was quickly followed by his drop goal with Munster not helping themselves by botching two restarts, with replacement Billy Burns and Crowley both failing to reach the required 10 metres.

Nel's injury-time try compounded Munster's misery as they came away with nothing despite scoring three tries in what was their third defeat in five games this season.

The Stormers' win moved them up five places to 11th in the 16-team table, one spot behind Munster.

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Former Ireland centre Sene Naoupu has become the chief executive of North Otago Rugby Football Union in New Zealand.

Naoupu, who was born in New Zealand and has Samoan heritage, becomes the first Pasifika female CEO of a provincial union in the country.

Pasifika is a term used to describe residents of New Zealand who are descendants of the Pacific Islands.

Naoupu, 40, made her debut for Ireland in 2015 and won 48 caps before retiring in 2022.

She qualified for Ireland through residency and won the Six Nations Grand Slam in her first season as an international.

Naoupu said she was "honoured" to be appointed to the role and help "future-proof rugby" in her home province.

"This role holds deep, personal significance as I return to where my rugby journey began after 15 years abroad,” Naoupu said.

“I’m grateful for the international opportunities to contribute to the game at every level - globally, nationally and regionally - and have gained insights and experiences from world-class people, organisations, competitions and teams."

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Fit-again Stuart McCloskey has been named in a much-changed Ulster team for Friday's United Rugby Championship game against Ospreys in Belfast (19:35 BST).

Ireland centre McCloskey, who missed the win over Connacht with knee and ankle injuries he picked up in the defeat by the Lions in South Africa, returns to form a new centre partnership with Ben Carson.

Mike Lowry replaces Ethan McIlroy at full-back in the other change to the backline while head coach Richie Murphy has made six alterations to his pack.

Eric O'Sullivan and James McCormick are the two front-row changes, replacing Andy Warwick and John Andrew, while Alan O'Connor will captain the side from the second row with Iain Henderson having been ruled out through concussion.

Emerging Ireland players Harry Sheridan and Cormac Izuchukwu also return while Marcus Rea is recalled to the back row with Dave McCann switching to number eight.

Prop Scott Wilson, another Emerging Ireland tourist, is named on the bench.

Ulster are aiming for an eighth successive home win in the URC and have not lost to Ospreys in Belfast since 2013.

Ulster: Mike Lowry, Werner Kok, Ben Carson, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Aidan Morgan, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, James McCormick, Tom O’Toole; Alan O’Connor (capt), Harry Sheridan; Cormac Izuchukwu, Marcus Rea, Dave McCann;

Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Kieran Treadwell and Matty Rea, Nathan Doak, James Humphreys, Jude Postlethwaite.

Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Owen Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Ben Warren, Will Greatbanks, Lewis Jones, Lewis Lloyd, Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris (capt).

Replacements: Ethan Lewis, Garyn Phillips, Math Iowerth-Scott, Rhys Thomas, Dan Gemine, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Tom Florence, Max Nagy.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

Assistant referees: Andrew Cole & Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

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Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper has said Connacht hooker Dave Heffernan's tackle on Iain Henderson which led to the latter suffering a concussion in last weekend's United Rugby Championship game "didn't look great".

Ireland second row Henderson was withdrawn 15 minutes into Ulster's win and failed his head injury assessment, with the club subsequently ruling him out of Friday's game against Ospreys.

Heffernan's challenge was not reviewed by the officials at the time with Soper suggesting that not doing so was not in keeping with trying to make rugby safer.

"My thoughts initially were it didn’t look great, did it?," said Soper.

"But everyone’s had a good look and we all have our opinions on it. The decision was made at the time, it is what it is.

"We’re trying to keep the game safer, but it wasn’t quite the case on Saturday night, was it?"

Henderson joins a growing list of players currently unavailable to Ulster. Centre Stewart Moore sustained a shoulder injury in the Connacht game and will also miss the Ospreys fixture, while fellow backs Jude Postlethwaite and Ethan McIlroy are doubts.

Rob Baloucoune, Jake Flannery, James Hume, Rob Herring and Tom Stewart remain out with longer term injuries, but centre Stuart McCloskey and prop Eric O'Sullivan have returned to training.

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Ulster captain Iain Henderson will sit out their United Rugby Championship visit from Ospreys on Friday.

The Ireland international suffered a concussion in their win against Connacht last weekend and will now follow World Rugby graduated return protocols.

Centre Stewart Moore sustained a shoulder injury in the same game and will also miss the Ospreys fixture, while fellow backs Jude Postlethwaite and Ethan McIlroy are doubts.

Rob Baloucoune, Jake Flannery, James Hume, Rob Herring and Tom Stewart remain out with longer term injuries, but centre Stuart McCloskey and prop Eric O'Sullivan have returned to training.

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Ulster and Ireland centre James Hume admits his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery has been "mentally challenging" but remains on course to return during the Six Nations window.

The 26-year-old damaged his knee against Cardiff in April having been plagued by injuries in recent seasons.

"It's flat-out," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound of his recovery.

"Mentally challenging but I'm loving every bit of it. It's a completely different challenge to get back."

While needing to make sure he is "100% ready to go" before getting back on the pitch, Hume is expecting to return before the spring.

"I'm hoping to be back in early February but it's not set in stone," he added.

"It'll just be whenever I'm fully 100% ready to go. It's going as good as it can be so far."

Ulster secured their second win of the United Rugby Championship season against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday night with Hume "excited" by the performances of Richie Murphy's young side.

"This is the most different I've felt from season to season with so many senior lads going and new, young faces given more responsibility, coming up and finding their voice."

"It's great to see so many young lads getting involved in that process early on.

"Everyone should be excited to see what they've got in the future."

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Ulster head coach Richie Murphy says his side's hard-earned 32-27 win over Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday was "massive for us".

Ulster scored five tries to Connacht's four in an action-packed Irish interprovincial derby to end a two-game losing run.

"Five points at home was exactly what we needed to get back into the competition, which was made very difficult by a really good Connacht team," Murphy told BBC Sport NI.

"Some of their attack stuff has been excellent this year so far and they didn’t disappoint tonight again."

Murphy was particularly pleased with the way his team went about their task.

"Our toughness and fight and commitment was really good.

"There are things we need to be way better at - like overplaying in our area and not looking after the ball well enough at those times which caused us a lot of trouble – in fairness to Connacht they capitalised on that - but we're delighted with the win."

The northern province used the rolling maul to good effect against their western counterparts.

"To get a couple of maul tries is big for us, something that Ulster would have been built on back in the day, but we haven’t been able to capitalise on those in the past while.

"It was really nice to see the lads get over the line there. The last couple of weeks once we’ve got in and around that goal-line we haven’t been finishing off some of those tries but I thought we did really well today."