Irish Rugby

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Ulster fly-half Aidan Morgan says he is "super-excited" for the province's first Irish interprovincial game of the season against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday night, a contest which will be broadcast live on BBC Two NI and BBC iPlayer.

The 23-year-old New Zealand native joined the Irish province from the Hurricanes on a two-year contract at the start of the campaign.

Ulster began their United Rugby Championship term with a narrow win over Glasgow in Belfast, followed by reverses on the road at the hands of the Lions and the Bulls.

"I know how important these interpro games are for the club and the senior boys are really leading the week in terms of what a win will mean for the team and for the fans," said Morgan.

"We ground out a really hard victory last time here [against Glasgow at Kingspan Stadium] so we’re looking to do the same.

"Although the results in South Africa weren't what we were looking for, it was nice to spend some time with the lads and get to know them a bit better.

"We’re working really hard as a team to fix up the few areas where we probably let ourselves down in South Africa. We know it’s a really big challenge this weekend but the boys are ready to step up."

'Parts of my game to improve on'

Irish-qualified Morgan cites a desire to further develop his game as one of the reasons for his move from New Zealand to Ulster.

"There are always improvements to be made to my game and the big thing Richie is working with me is leading the team around and leading the attack especially.

"I feel there are parts of my game that I’m really happy with but there’s a lot to improve on as well that I’m working on behind the scenes."

Saturday's encounter could see Morgan lock horns with All Black Josh Ioane, a fellow number 10, who also plays at full-back and centre. He joined Connacht from the Chiefs in the summer.

“I know Josh [Ioane] really well. He’s a top player, a really skilful first five and a really good ball carrier too," reflected Morgan.

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James Ryan returns to the Leinster side to partner former Munster player RG Snyman in the second row for Saturday's sold-out interprovincial United Rugby Championship game at Croke Park (17:45 BST).

Ryan's inclusion is one of three changes from the team which started last weekend's 35-5 win over Benetton in Italy.

Liam Turner is selected on the wing, replacing the injured Jimmy O'Brien, and hooker Lee Barron comes in at hooker.

Munster make four personnel changes and one positional switch after securing a bonus-point win over Ospreys last week.

Fit-again centre Alex Nankivell returns from a shoulder injury after missing his side's last two games.

Sean O'Brien starts on the wing after returning from Emerging Ireland's tour to South Africa.

Prop Stephen Archer makes his first start of the season in place of injured tight-head Oli Jager, with Gavin Coombes returning to the starting XV at number eight and Jack O'Donoghue moving to blindside flanker in the absence of the injured Peter O'Mahony.

Mike Haley is fit to start at full-back while Tom Ahern is named among the replacements after recovering from an ankle injury suffered against Ulster in June.

Three academy players are included among the Munster replacements - prop Kieran Ryan, flanker Ruadhán Quinn and winger Shay McCarthy.

Leinster are top of the URC table after winning their opening three games while third-placed Munster are four points behind.

The match will be played in front of a sold-out crowd of 82,000 at the home of gaelic games in Ireland as Leinster's RDS home is being redeveloped.

Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Lee Barron, Tadhg Furlong; RG Snyman, James Ryan; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne.

Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Jack O’Donoghue, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Kieran Ryan, John Ryan, Tom Ahern, Ruadhán Quinn, Conor Murray, Tony Butler, Shay McCarthy.

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Ulster back row Nick Timoney believes the new wave of talent in the Irish province's squad is "really exciting and really good".

Following the retirements of several senior players in recent years, the 29-year-old finds himself as one of the more experienced members of Richie Murphy's panel.

The Ireland international says that while defeats by the Lions and the Bulls on Ulster's tour of South Africa were disappointing, the trip offered up an opportunity for younger players to learn and gain valuable match-time.

James McCormick, Ben Carson and academy lock Charlie Irvine made their first Ulster starts in Saturday's 47-21 loss to the Bulls, with hooker Tadgh McElroy and development fly-half, James Humphreys also making their debuts off the bench.

Carson scored a try while Humphreys kicked two conversions.

"It sometimes feels like not a lot [what you get out of a tour with two defeats] but then there’s the blooding of young lads getting their first chance and from a squad point of view you get used to playing with some new faces and get to spend more time with each other," said Timoney.

"There’s been a huge turnover in the squad over the last couple of years so it’s good from an off-the-field perspective too, getting to know some of the younger lads.

"I don’t really feel old but you look around and the rest of the lads are 21 or 22 and then you maybe do feel a bit old. I think loads of them are really exciting and really good. We have loads of talent coming through and I will try and help those lads come through as best as possible and put the club in the best place we possibly can."

Before travelling to South Africa, Ulster began their United Rugby Championship campaign with a last-gasp home win over Glasgow and Murphy's side next face Connacht in their first interprovincial game of the season on Saturday.

"You know exactly what’s coming [playing Connacht], you play them so often and you watch all their games, whereas you go to South Africa you may get different players playing, you have to do a bit more research,” explained Timoney.

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Ulster Rugby have signed prop Bryan O'Connor to their squad.

The 25-year-old from Cork was most recently playing with Bedford Blues in the English second tier having previously represented Gloucester Rugby and been involved with the Ireland Under-20s.

Ulster's front-row stocks were diminished by the retirement of 10-times capped Irish international Marty Moore last month, while Scott Wilson has been absent due to Emerging Ireland duty.

“I’m delighted to sign with the province and I’m looking forward to getting integrated into the squad," said O'Connor.

"I feel I can add to the group here and can improve my game under the coaching staff. I’m excited to get going for the rest of the season.”

Ulster Rugby’s head of recruitment and rugby operations Bryn Cunningham added that O'Connor will add to the "squad depth" at Kingspan Stadium.

“Bryan has had a few years playing over in England and we feel, with his physical profile, there was an opportunity to bring him in and add to our squad depth at tighthead," he said.

"Bryan joins a front row with a similar age-profile and we look forward to seeing his development and contribution over the season ahead.”

After back-to-back losses against the Lions and Bulls in South Africa, Ulster face their first interprovincial derby of the United Rugby Championship season against Connacht in Belfast on Saturday.

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Head coach Scott Bemand has made three changes to his team for Ireland's final WXV1 match with the USA.

After a stunning win over New Zealand on their WXV1 debut, the Irish were defeated by hosts Canada on Sunday.

That leaves Ireland third in the table heading into the final match against the USA, who have lost both their matches to England and France.

Bemand has made two changes to his backline. Centre Eve Higgins drops to the bench and is replaced by Aoife Dalton, while fly-half Nicole Fowley comes in for Dannah O'Brien.

There is one change to the Irish pack as Neve Jones starts in place of Cliodhna Moloney at hooker.

Ruth Campbell is named on the bench, while Grace Moore drops out of the matchday squad.

Centre Enya Breen will captain Ireland in the absence of injured back row Edel McMahon.

The match kicks off at 20:30 BST at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver.

Ireland: Stacey Flood; Eimear Considine; Aoife Dalton, Enya Breen (capt); Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe; Nicole Fowley, Emily Lane; Niamh O’Dowd, Neve Jones, Linda Djougang; Dorothy Wall, Fiona Tuite; Erin King, Aoife Wafer, Brittany Hogan.

Replacements: Cliodhna Moloney, Siobhan McCarthy, Andrea Stock, Ruth Campbell, Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird, Molly Scuffil-McCabe, Dannah O’Brien, Eve Higgins.

Andy Gray
BBC Sport NI Journalist

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Cheetahs (17) 24

Tries: Hunt, Annies 2, Ferreira Cons: Wentzel 2

Ireland (12) 33

Tries: O'Connell, Osborne, Soroka, Devine, Sheahan Cons: Prendergast 2, Murphy 2

Emerging Ireland ended their three-match tour of South Africa with an entertaining 33-24 victory over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

After victories over Pumas and Western Force, the youthful Emerging Ireland side trailed 17-12 at half-time in the third match of their South African tour.

Robert Hunt burrowed over inside seven minutes from a maul to give the Cheetahs the lead, but Ireland hit back when Evan O'Connell crossed and Sam Prendergast converted.

The Cheetahs responded midway through the half when Michael Annies spotted a gap in the Irish defence, and Ethan Wentzel converted.

Schalk Ferreira crashed over from a maul to extend the Cheetahs' lead, but Ireland had the final say of the half when Andrew Osborne crossed in the corner.

Ireland put in a strong showing in the second half to respond. Replacement Alex Soroka touched down to bring Ireland level in the 54th minute and the boot of Prendergast nudged the tourists back in front.

In an end-to-end second half, Annies showed a great turn of speed to race clear for his second try of the game, but Ireland hit back once more when replacement Matthew Devine picked the ball up from 40 metres and raced clear to score unchallenged.

Ulster fly-half Murphy, who played a key role in Devine's try, converted to put Ireland back ahead with 10 minutes to play.

Danny Sheahan crashed over with three minutes to play to put the game beyond the Cheetahs, and Murphy's second conversion rounded out a strong tour for Simon Easterby's side.

Cheetahs: Michael Annies; Prince Nkabinde, Munier Hartzenberg; Carel-Jan Coetzee; Asanda Kuene; Ethan Wentzel, Rewan Kruger; Schalk Ferreira, Corne Fourie, Robert Hunt; Carl Wegner, Victor Sekekete (capt); Gideon van der Merwe, Sisonke Vumazonke, Friedle Olivier.

Replacements: Marko JV Rensburg, Hencus van Wyk, Laurence Victor, Ulrich Stander, Neels Volschenk, Jandre Nel, George Lourens, Cohen Jasper.

Emerging Ireland: Ben O’Connor; Andrew Osborne, Hugh Cooney, Hugh Gavin, Zac Ward; Sam Prendergast, Cormac Foley; Alex Usanov, Stephen Smyth, Jack Aungier; Evan O’Connell, Darragh Murray; Harry Sheridan, Sean Edogbo, James Culhane (capt).

Replacements: Danny Sheahan, George Hadden, Scott Wilson, Conor O’Tighearnaigh, Alex Soroka, Matthew Devine, Jack Murphy, Charlie Tector.

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Munster flanker Peter O'Mahony will miss Saturday's United Rugby Championship showdown with rivals Leinster because of a hamstring injury.

The 35-year-old Ireland captain picked up the injury in last weekend's 23-0 victory over Ospreys in Cork.

O'Mahony and prop Oli Jager, who hurt his neck against the Welsh side, were both forced off in the first half.

Munster issued a squad update for the Croke Park match on Tuesday and said O'Mahony and Jager "will go for scans and are both unavailable".

Leinster sit top of the URC table after winning their opening three games while third-placed Munster are four points behind.

More than 70,000 tickets have been sold for the game in Dublin, which kicks off at 17:45 BST.

O'Mahony's injury comes a month before Ireland's autumn internationals opener against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium.

The All Blacks game is followed by Dublin encounters against Argentina, Fiji and Australia.

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Ulster trialist Zac Ward returns to the backline in one of 12 changes Emerging Ireland head coach Simon Easterby has made for Wednesday's tour finale against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein (18:00 BST).

Ward scored Emerging Ireland's opening try in their win over the Pumas last week before being rested for the defeat of Western Force on Sunday.

Leinster's Sam Prendergast starts his third game at fly-half with Cormac Foley named at scrum-half.

Ben O'Connor returns at full-back while Andrew Osborne moves to the right wing, with Hugh Gavin and Hugh Cooney making up the midfield partnership.

Leinster prop Alex Usanov is the only player retained in the pack with former Ireland under-20 captain Evan O'Connell recalled to the second row and Ulster's Harry Sheridan part of a new-look back row alongside Sean Edogbo and captain James Culhane.

"The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them," said Easterby.

"It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot. While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times.

"The action has come thick and fast and we know that we have to be clinical in our execution. We will need to go up another level on Wednesday to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high."

Emerging Ireland: Ben O’Connor (Munster); Andrew Osborne (Leinster), Hugh Cooney (Leinster), Hugh Gavin (Connacht), Zac Ward (Ulster); Sam Prendergast (Leinster), Cormac Foley (Leinster); Alex Usanov (Leinster), Stephen Smyth (Leinster), Jack Aungier (Connacht); Evan O’Connell (Munster), Darragh Murray (Connacht); Harry Sheridan (Ulster), Sean Edogbo (Munster), James Culhane (Leinster, captain).

Replacements: Danny Sheahan (Munster), George Hadden (Munster) Scott Wilson (Ulster), Conor O’Tighearnaigh (Leinster), Alex Soroka (Leinster), Matthew Devine (Connacht), Jack Murphy (Ulster), Charlie Tector (Leinster).

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Ulster lock Cormac Izuchukwu is relishing working with the national side's coaching staff on the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa.

Andy Farrell's assistants Simon Easterby and Paul O'Connell have been on the trip with Izuchukwu, who toured South Africa with the senior side in the summer without winning his first Test cap, having also been a member of the Emerging Ireland panel back in 2022.

"These trips are something special," said the 24-year-old.

"Being around guys like Paulie, Simon Easterby and stuff like that. They're unbelievable coaches, the best in the world."

In what is the final fixture of the three-game tour, Emerging Ireland will face the Cheetahs on Wednesday hoping to build upon victories over Pumas and Western Force.

"On this trip especially, it's a much younger squad but lads have really, really stepped up," Izuchukwu added.

"It's been a really short time from last Wednesday when we joined up. Every game has been one level above, hopefully on Wednesday we can get to that next level and make it three from three."

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Jude Postlethwaite will be available for Ulster's United Rugby Championship game against Connacht on Saturday after being released from the Emerging Ireland squad.

The 22-year-old centre scored the opening try in Emerging Ireland's win over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

While Ben Carson started Ulster's defeat by the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday, Postlethwaite's return bolsters a problem area for the province's coach Richie Murphy with Stuart McCloskey and James Hume sidelined.

Gus McCarthy (Leinster) and Sean O’Brien (Munster) have also been released from the Emerging Ireland set-up.

Having won their first two games, Simon Easterby's side conclude their tour of South Africa against the Cheetahs on Wednesday (18:00 BST).

After two defeats in South Africa, Ulster host Connacht in Belfast on Saturday evening (20:00 BST).

Peter Lockhart
BBC Sport NI contributor

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Emerging Ireland (26) 29

Tries: Postlethwaite, Mullins, Jansen, Kendellen Cons: Prendergast 3 Pens: Prendergast

Western Force (14) 24

Tries: Grealy, Landman, Dolly Cons: Fines-Leleiwasa, Burey, Miln Pens: Miln

Emerging Ireland held on to secure a 29-24 win over Western Force in the second game of their three-match series in South Africa.

Ulster's Jude Postlethwaite notched the opening try for Simon Easterby's side in Bloemfontein with Chay Mullins, Sean Jansen and Alex Kendellen also touching before half-time.

Western Force hit back with tries from Mac Grealy and Justin Landman but the Australian side still trailed 26-14 at half-time.

A Nic Dolly try and Coby Miln conversion cut Emerging Ireland's lead to five points but Sam Prendergast's late penalty helped close out the game.

Emerging Ireland got off to a promising start with centre Postlethwaite powering his way over the try-line after a strong carry.

The Irish continued to dominate the opening quarter with Connacht winger Mullins providing the finish to a well worked backs move before Jansen crashed over following a series of strong carries and slick offloads.

The momentum switched in the direction of Western Force who scored a quickfire double from Mac Grealy and Landman to reduce the deficit.

However, a maul try from Munster flanker Kendellen increased Ireland’s lead before the break.

Western Force capitalised on a period of pressure in the second half, with hooker Dolly burrowing his way over from the back of a lineout maul as Miln added the extras.

But Prendergast’s 75th-minute penalty - Emerging Ireland's only second-half score - gave his side a sufficient cushion despite Miln's further penalty for Western Force.

Emerging Ireland defeated the Pumas 36-24 in their tour opener and will complete their series of games with a contest against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Wednesday.

Emerging Ireland: Andrew Osborne, Chay Mullins, Hugh Cooney, Jude Postlethwaite, Sean O’Brien, Sam Prendergast, Ethan Coughlan; Alex Usanov, Gus McCarthy, Ronan Foxe, Cormac Izuchukwu, Conor O’Tighearnaigh, Alex Soroka, Alex Kendellen (captain), Sean Jansen.

Replacements: Danny Sheahan, Scott Wilson, Jack Aungier, Evan O’Connell, Sean Edogbo, Cormac Foley, Charlie Tector, Hugh Gavin.

Western Force: Mac Grealy; Justin Landman, Harry Potter, Sio Tomkinson, Ronan Leahy; Max Burey, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa; Harry Hoopert, Nic Dolly, Tom Robertson, Sam Carter, Darcy Swain, Will Harris, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Reed Prinsep (capt).

Replacements: Tom Horton, Marley Pearce, Tiaan Tauakipulu, Lopeti Faifua, Titi Nofoagatotoa, Henry Robertson, Coby Miln, Divad Palu.