Ulster

Image source, Inpho

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy said his side are "struggling to get over the line" after their 34-19 loss to Benetton.

The province have lost seven of their 11 games in the United Rugby Championship (URC) this season and have fallen to 14th in the standings.

Their latest defeat came after they were leading 19-17 at half-time but failed to score a single point after the restart.

Central to their struggles in the second half were yellow cards for David McCann, Nick Timoney and Stewart Moore, while they had a try chalked off late on for an illegal clear-out by Tom O'Toole.

"The game got away from us in the second half and our own ill discipline cost us," said Murphy.

"Yellow cards and a try chalked off have a big bearing on the game.

"We came under a lot of pressure and unfortunately we don't have the answers at the moment."

Murphy had no complaints about his side's disallowed try, although he thought a penalty rather than yellow card would have sufficed for Timoney's high tackle.

In the final stages of the game, the head coach felt his side "became a bit individual" as they tried to turn the tide.

"Where we are at the moment, lacking in ability to get over the line, when the pressure comes on it's important we stick together and play as a team," he added.

"We went away from that and became a bit individual, trying to solve problems on our own, and ultimately that cost us the game."

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Ulster back row David McCann believes victory over Benetton on Saturday would be 'massive' for the side heading into a crucial period of their season.

After a home defeat by Zebre last month, the province have fallen to ninth in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and have ground to make up over the final eight games of the season if they are to secure a place in the play-offs.

Benetton are two places below Richie Murphy's men in the table, although the sides are level on 23 points.

"I think we have the potential to go there and get a result that can turn around our season and give us that momentum going into the next few weeks," said McCann.

"It is massive for us. We've had a few weeks of training under our belt so it's implementing all the things we've been working on and we should get the result if we do that accurately."

Ulster have won just one of their past five league games and the loss to Zebre on 26 January was their first ever at home to the Italian side.

"We are definitely still using it as motivation for ways we have get better and not forgetting about that result on our home pitch," added McCann.

"It is good for motivation, but we have definitely taken the learnings and moved on.

"We were compounding mistakes and I think we could sense we were doing that. We should have reacted better and identified that during the game, we tried to, but we had a lot of mistakes.

"With an inexperienced team, it is about taking those learnings and being concise about changing that."

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Willie Faloon and Mark Sexton will join the Ulster Rugby coaching staff for the 2025-26 campaign.

Both men previously worked with head coach Richie Murphy during his spell with the Ireland Under-20s.

Sexton, brother of former Ireland fly-half Johnny, has worked as Connacht's attack coach for the past two seasons, and was skills and assistant attack coach to Murphy for back-to-back underage Six Nations Grand Slams.

Faloon, the former flanker who made 67 appearances for the province as a player, has already been assisting Murphy with the defence after the mid-season departure of Jonny Bell having previously coached the Irish Under-20s and in the Ulster academy.

It had previously been confirmed that assistant coach Dan Soper will have a new title of development and transition coach next season, and Jimmy Duffy will continue to serve as forwards coach.

"Knowing Mark from our time together in the Irish under-20 setup, I could see first-hand that he is a talented young coach who knows how to drive an attack," said Murphy.

"He has built up a great reputation at Connacht and we are getting a hungry coach who is excited to work with the talent we have here.

"Willie Faloon is also a very talented coach with a growing reputation in the game. He's a good example of someone coming up through the Ulster coaching pathway and we look forward to seeing what impact he can make on the team."

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Ireland prop Tom O'Toole is available for Ulster's United Rugby Championship (URC) trip to Benetton on Saturday after serving a six-game suspension.

O'Toole, 26, was sent off for a dangerous clearout on Alex Nankivell during his province's 22-19 defeat by Munster in December and missed four Ulster fixtures, as well as the opening two rounds of Ireland's Six Nations campaign.

"He's been brilliant, he's been making some real progress this season," said Ulster's forwards coach Jimmy Duffy.

"He's asserting himself as a real leader in the group. It's brilliant to have him back, he'd been in a great space prior to getting the little lay-off."

Fellow Irish internationals Jacob Stockdale, Stuart McCloskey and James Hume all came through their returns from injury in last week's 38-31 friendly defeat to Queensland Reds and bolster head coach Richie Murphy's options for the visit to the Stadio Monigo.

Andrew Warwick and Eric O'Sullivan both picked up knocks last week however, leaving Ulster potentially short of options at loose-head prop.

Hooker Tom Stewart is also a doubt with a hamstring issue.

Duffy said the side are awaiting scan results on a number of injuries, as well as news of whether Irish internationals Iain Henderson, Cormac Izuchukwu and Rob Herring will be released from Ireland's Six Nations squad to feature.

Ulster are ninth in the URC and will be in action for the first time since losing to Zebre at home last month.

"We know the journey we're on. It's probably not nice if you're a fan waiting for this stuff to come to fruition but the lads are working really hard," Duffy said.

"It is a young group, which we've said numerous times. That will take time.

"They've shown in some big games that they're capable of it but consistency is what we're chasing at the moment. We've shown big performances but it's backing it up week to week."

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Centre James Hume said he "didn't feel out of place" as he made a try-scoring return to action for Ulster after nine months out with a knee injury.

Hume played 50 minutes of the province's 38-31 defeat to Queensland Reds in a mid-season friendly match at Kingspan Stadium on Friday night.

He touched down in the corner to score early in the second half shortly before he was replaced, and the 26-year-old was pleased with his display as he came through unscathed in his first appearance of the season.

"I did water boy at the Leinster game [a 20-27 home loss in November] which was ages ago so I've been in and round the match day experience, so it was great this week to be involved, I loved it," he said.

"It was nice to come in after the Zebre game [a 14-15 home loss in January] and change a few things, do the basics well and lead from the front.

"I haven't had a try in a long time, so it felt good, and I didn't feel out of place at all, it was seamless."

Hume praised the work of Ulster physio Gareth O'Neill for helping him through the long rehabilitation programme and getting him back playing within the nine-month time frame he had envisaged.

"Everything went to plan, Gareth has got me feeling more comfortable than when I was last playing," he explained.

Hume who has won three caps for Ireland, was also able to call upon help from a close support network of friends and relatives as well as Ulster hooker Tom Stewart, who was recovering from an ankle injury whilst Hume was also out.

"There were some really dark times but I have exceptionally good friends and family there to make me feel good so it could have been way worse.

"Tom helped me as well, he was getting his ankle rehabbed for five months during my nine months, so we had some good craic together."

Mark Strange
BBC Sport NI contributor

Image source, Inpho

Ulster fell to a 38-31 defeat to Queensland Reds in a mid-season friendly match at Kingspan Stadium.

In a game that saw former Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss welcomed back to Belfast as boss of the visitors, the northern province had Irish international trio Jacob Stockdale, James Hume and Stuart McCloskey all make their returns from injury.

Stockdale and Hume would both get on the scoresheet in a game that featured 11 tries, six for the Reds and five for the hosts.

Visiting hooker Matt Faessler was the first to dot down when he got over off the back of a rolling maul.

The hosts were held up over the line twice in quick succession as they sought a response before they finally got the ball down after 19 minutes when Stockdale was set free by a wide pass from Aidan Morgan who then added the extras.

The game was end-to-end with Australia captain Harry Wilson going over from close range for a seven-pointer before Ulster answered back just before the half-hour mark when scrum half Conor McKee nipped over after linking up well with Stuart McCloskey.

However, Kiss' side would lead at the break when Wilson broke the line and popped off to scrum half Tate McDermott to canter over under the posts.

Harry McLaughlin-Phillips added the conversion to give his side a 19-14 lead at half-time.

With Stockdale and McCloskey replaced at the break, it was another returning international in James Hume who went over in the corner before Stockdale's replacement Mike Lowry capitalised on a loose pass in their own half from the Reds to go over in the corner and erase the five-point deficit ten minutes after the break.

The game flipped again when Heremaia Murray bounced off white shirts and put opposite wing Tim Ryan over for a converted score to nudge his side ahead again.

The game had loosened by the final quarter and Ryan went over again, this time after nice work from full back Campbell and Tom Lynagh added another difficult conversion.

With a large number of replacements used, the game got scrappier which suited the Australians and Murray got a score of his own in the corner.

Richie Murphy's men kept plugging away and Stewart Moore barged over for a try, converted by James Humphreys, to set up a grandstand finish but Ulster could not force their way over from close range in the final moments.

Image source, Getty Images

When Stuart McCloskey suffered a "decent enough" hamstring tear against Munster in December, just a few weeks out from the Ireland squad announcement, he knew the Six Nations was going to come too soon for him.

The timing was far from ideal, especially given McCloskey's ongoing attempts to reclaim a Test starting spot.

But after seven weeks on the sidelines, the 32-year-old centre is available again for Ulster and will feature in Friday's friendly at home to Queensland Reds.

McCloskey retains hope that he may he get a call from Ireland interim head coach Simon Easterby during the Six Nations and he will be an interested spectator on Sunday when the holders face Scotland at Murrayfield.

"I think we've had, touch wood, the number over Scotland over the last few years and I think [Sione] Tuipulotu being out for Scotland as well is going to be massive," said McCloskey.

"So that I think hopefully tips it in our favour."

He added: "He's probably the form 12 in Europe, if not the world, over the last six months or so.

"Losing a guy like that, a guy that a lot of their shape goes around as well, I think he takes a lot of pressure off Finn Russell.

"Losing a guy like that is always going to affect your team, especially when he's such a fulcrum for what they do in attack."

McCloskey's return is part of a triple boost for Ulster boss Richie Murphy, who also welcomes back Jacob Stockdale and James Hume, the latter having spent 10 months out with a knee injury.

Now 32, he will be one of the most experienced heads in an experimental Ulster side facing a Reds outfit packed with Wallabies experience on Friday.

The Reds are now coached by former Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss and McCloskey smiled when asked about catching up with his former boss on Friday.

"Strangely, he messaged me on LinkedIn about six months ago saying, 'I probably won't see you when you're at this game', but it looks like I am,  so it'll be good to have a beer with him after."

Jude McCann
BBC Sport NI Journalist

Image source, Inpho

Head coach Richie Murphy has welcomed the return of internationals Jacob Stockdale, James Hume and Stuart McCloskey for Friday's game against Queensland Reds (19:35 GMT).

The Ireland trio have all been named in the starting line-up with lock Alan O'Connor captaining the side and Conor McKee making his debut at scrum-half for the friendly in Belfast.

While Ulster line up with a mix of experience and young prospects, Murphy is looking forward to facing a Reds side packed with international pedigree.

"They scored 82 points last weekend. We'll try and make sure that they don't score 82 points this weekend and hopefully the game lives up to its billing," Murphy told BBC Sport NI.

"The lads are looking forward to it, looking forward to getting back on the field and try to fix a few of the things that weren't quite right against Zebre."

Murphy has made 11 changes to his team that lost to the Italians last time out with Tom Stewart, Lorcan McLoughlin and David McCann the only surviving forwards.

In the back line, Aidan Morgan starts at fly-half with Jake Flannery coming in at full-back.

"It's one of these games where you get an opportunity to try a few things, so in that regard, we're really looking forward to it," Murphy added.

"The three boys coming back in is a massive thing and it's great the way we have this game in order to give them some experience before we get back into the league.

"The likes of Conor McKee hasn't played with us before so he'll get an opportunity to play this week. Matty Dalton's coming back from a long time away from the province, has shown up really well in training, so we're really excited to see those guys go."

Image source, Getty Images

Ulster backs James Hume, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale are all set to return to action after injury lay-offs.

The club have said the Ireland international trio have resumed full training and are available for selection in Friday's mid-season friendly against Queensland Reds at Kingspan Stadium (19:35 GMT).

Centre Hume has not played since suffering a serious knee injury last April, while Stockdale and McCloskey have been out since November and December with hamstring problems.

Wing Werner Kok is ruled out of Friday's having undergone wrist surgery, while Ethan McIlroy had knee surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

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Ulster forward Kieran Treadwell will leave the province at the end of the season to rejoin Harlequins.

The 29-year-old arrived at Kingspan Stadium from the Gallagher Premiership side in 2016 and has made 171 appearances in the white jersey, in addition to winning 11 caps for Ireland.

Treadwell made his international debut against Japan in 2017 and was a member of Andy Farrell's side that won a series in New Zealand in 2022, appearing in all three Tests, as well as featuring in the final game of the 2023 Six Nations Grand Slam campaign.

He is a product of the Quins' academy and made six appearances for the side before his move to Ulster.

"I arrived in Belfast eight years ago as a 20-year-old with a chance to represent Ulster and a dream of playing international rugby," he said.

"I never knew when I arrived how much playing for Ulster would mean to me and how much I would love living here.

"I leave as a man who has represented the province over 170 times and fulfilled my ambition of playing international rugby."

Ulster have previously confirmed that Juarno Augustus will be added to their pack before the 2025-26 campaign.

Image source, Oliver McVeigh

On this week's GAA Social podcast, Thomas and Oisin talk to famed GAA sports photographer Oliver McVeigh.

Despite a lifetime covering GAA, one of his most recognisable photos came during an infamous moment in European rugby history.

In December 2009, Stade Francias were in Belfast facing Ulster when, after the game, Ireland international Stephen Ferris alleged he had been gouged in the eye by France international David Atoub.

"I was the only photographer who picked it up," McVeigh said on the GAA Social podcast.

"There was a scuffle, not something you see often in rugby, in fairness and being a GAA man, you just rattle off and see what comes next.

"I've a picture of Ferris getting up and you can clearly see Ferris going 'I've been gouged in the eye, I've been gouged in the eye.' You can tell from the distance."

McVeigh said he didn't realised he had captured the image until after the game when he became aware the incident would be escalated.

"We went in after the match and were going through the pictures, and somebody says Stephen Ferris is going to the citing officer about being gouged in the eye.

"I quickly go through my photos and the UR [Ulster Rugby] photographer was next to me.

"This (photo) pops up and he goes, 'Wow, look at that, that's unbelievable.'

"David Humphreys was the team manager and asked if he could use it and I said go ahead use it wherever you want."

Atoub unsuccessfully tried to contest the ban, which was the second-longest in rugby history for an eye gouge at 70 weeks, and McVeigh's image had to be checked that it was authentic.

"He tried to say he didn't do it, tried everything. My pictures had to be sent off to see that they were authentic.

"He got a 40-page document done to say it was the wrong angle and this, that, and the other.

"I have a Google alert on my phone for Atoub. Every time he's on the internet, I can see what he's saying.

"He said it cost him 100,000 euro in wages and sponsorships and things."

Listen to the GAA Social here, where McVeigh talks about some of his most famous images and about his brother, Columba, who is one of the Disappeared from the Troubles.

Image source, Inpho

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy admits Sunday's surprise defeat by Zebre in the United Rugby Championship "has put a dent in our season".

Zebre ran out 15-14 winners in Belfast as the Italian side ended a 36-game winless run away from home in the United Rugby Championship.

After a morale-boosting win over Exeter to progress in Europe the previous week, Sunday's loss means Ulster missed out on the chance to move into the top eight in the URC.

Murphy admitted the result was damaging to Ulster's hopes of securing Champions Cup rugby with a top-eight finish in the league.

The defeat was a sixth in 10 domestic matches for Murphy's side.

"It was a result that we unfortunately deserved," added Ulster's head coach.

"We weren't only looking for top eight but a little bit higher than that."

After Bautista Staville and Giocomo Da Re scored quickfire tries at the start of the second half, Ulster pushed for a late response but fell up short.

"It's not a very happy dressing room, as you can imagine.

"We have come into the game tonight knowing exactly what we needed to do and we haven't managed to do that.

"We were a long way off, so collectively and individually we need to have a look at ourselves."

"We need to stop this inconsistency that's in our game. One week we are up, the next we are down."

Image source, Inpho

United Rugby Championship, Ulster v Zebre

Date: Sunday 26 January Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast Kick-off: 17:30 GMT

Coverage: Live on BBC Two NI, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website from 17:15; text commentary, report and highlights on BBC Sport website

Ulster centre Jude Postlethwaite says playing regularly for the Irish province this season feels "surreal".

The former Royal Belfast Academical Institution player has already racked up 11 appearances this campaign, scoring a try in a United Rugby Championship home win over Connacht and touching down twice in an away defeat by Cardiff Blues during October.

The 22-year-old was the leading try-scorer in the Ulster Schools' Cup in 2020, earning him a nomination for the competition's Player of the Year.

On leaving school, he initially missed out on a contract with the Ulster Academy, while some of his contemporaries and friends, including present day team-mates Ben Carson and Nathan Doak, were awarded places.

Postlethwaite says being overlooked for the Academy in the first instance "drove me a lot".

"Seeing Carsy and Doaky and all my good mates getting into the Academy drove me to where I want to be," he told BBC Sport NI.

The ex-RBAI pupil is a former Grand Slam winner with Ireland Under-20s, having also participated in sevens rugby.

With James Hume having been ruled out as he recovers from knee surgery and Stuart McCloskey also having his injury problems, Postlethwaite has occupied the roles of both outside centre and inside centre this term.

"It's all surreal to be honest. I didn't think this year I'd be playing as much as I have been and I'm really enjoying it.

"I feel like I'm getting better each game and learning a lot. Stuart McCloskey and James Hume are there to answer any questions I have. Any time I need to review games they're always very helpful."

Having qualified for a last-16 tie against Bordeaux in the Champions Cup after beating Exeter last weekend, Ulster's attention now turns back to the URC, beginning with a game against Zebre at Kingspan Stadium on Sunday.

"It's all about building momentum these next five games or so," added Postlethwaite.