RICHIE MURPHY CAME into the Ulster press room and told one reporter he’d never seen him look so cold. Ulster centre James Hume, joining Murphy for the post-match chat, shivered as he took his seat, and hadn’t warmed up by the time his media duties were finished.
It was that kind of night in Belfast. Wet, windy, and bitterly cold. And still, Ulster managed to deliver a confident, composed performance to see off a spirited, albeit heavily depleted La Rochelle side and book their place in the Challenge Cup semi-finals.
One of the more encouraging aspects of the performance was just how smart Ulster were in their play. At times, they kept it tight and carried hard. When the opportunities were there, they carved La Rochelle open with sharp running and clever passing.
The end result was a fine 41-24 win that sets Ulster up for a semi-final date with the winners of Sunday’s meeting between Benetton and Exeter.
“A really tough night as everyone knows, to score six tries was really good,” Murphy said.
“I thought we played some really good rugby at times, but those conditions were really tough.
“The half-backs, the way they controlled the game in the first half and got us out of our end was really good, finding a way to win sometimes is more important than playing really flashy rugby and at times we moved the ball really well but at times we just roll our sleeves up.
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“So there was a couple of different ways of playing the game out there tonight and starting to show some signs of maturity within the team and know what the right fit is for the right occasion.”
Ulster opened the scoring with a well-crafted lineout move, Tom Stewart peeling away and slipping a pass inside to Zac Ward, who needed a sharp sidestep to finish the score.
⚪ @UlsterRugby strike first against La Rochelle through Zac Ward
— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) April 10, 2026
“We back ourselves, the way we want to play the game is to try and move the ball around,” Murphy continued.
“We feel that that is the strongest part of our game. We’ve got some freakish outside backs who move really well and so getting the ball into those spaces is really important for us, and we still managed to do some of that even in those conditions tonight.”
The backs did their job, but so did the forwards, with Murphy highlighting Ulster’s scrum as another positive.
“I thought our set piece, our scrum, the way the way they went about their business tonight was excellent, we really stuck in together and worked really hard and managed to get some pressure onto the La Rochelle, which which was fantastic.
“The forwards were excellent, as I say the scrum in particular really stuck together and worked really hard, a couple of really good mauls, also some of the goal line stuff, we looked hard to score against. I know we conceded at the end of the game, but in general I thought we took a step forward in our defence tonight.”
A step that leaves the province one game away from a Challenge Cup final. It’s a tantalising prospect, but one that goes on the backburner for now.
This Ulster side are fighting on two fronts, sitting third in the URC and heading into key league games against Leinster and Ulster.
These guys are really hungry, they want to be in the latter stages of these competitions.
“From our coaching point of view, it’s about pointing them in the right direction and trying to help them build a plan in order to be successful. So we’re in the last four, we don’t know whether we’re home or away, but that’ll be exciting watching that on Sunday, and see what happens.
“The group is on a journey,” Murphy added.
“We’ve come a long way since this time last year. We’re moving in the right direction. I think it’s really important that, the old saying of we approach every game as it comes, our focus now, we’ve parked the semi-final, it’s brilliant to have it, but we’ve got to go and try and get a result against Leinster and then Munster the following week.
“So it’s really important that the feel good factor we have tonight, we bring that into Monday, we prepare really well and lead into that Leinster game.
“I can’t remember how many games we have left but it’s an exciting run-in for everyone.”
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'These guys are really hungry, they want to be in the latter stages of these competitions'
RICHIE MURPHY CAME into the Ulster press room and told one reporter he’d never seen him look so cold. Ulster centre James Hume, joining Murphy for the post-match chat, shivered as he took his seat, and hadn’t warmed up by the time his media duties were finished.
It was that kind of night in Belfast. Wet, windy, and bitterly cold. And still, Ulster managed to deliver a confident, composed performance to see off a spirited, albeit heavily depleted La Rochelle side and book their place in the Challenge Cup semi-finals.
One of the more encouraging aspects of the performance was just how smart Ulster were in their play. At times, they kept it tight and carried hard. When the opportunities were there, they carved La Rochelle open with sharp running and clever passing.
The end result was a fine 41-24 win that sets Ulster up for a semi-final date with the winners of Sunday’s meeting between Benetton and Exeter.
“A really tough night as everyone knows, to score six tries was really good,” Murphy said.
“I thought we played some really good rugby at times, but those conditions were really tough.
“The half-backs, the way they controlled the game in the first half and got us out of our end was really good, finding a way to win sometimes is more important than playing really flashy rugby and at times we moved the ball really well but at times we just roll our sleeves up.
“So there was a couple of different ways of playing the game out there tonight and starting to show some signs of maturity within the team and know what the right fit is for the right occasion.”
Ulster opened the scoring with a well-crafted lineout move, Tom Stewart peeling away and slipping a pass inside to Zac Ward, who needed a sharp sidestep to finish the score.
Later in the game, Jacob Stockdale’s kick and chase led to the Ward brothers, Zac and Bryn, showcasing their pace and power to bag try number five.
“We back ourselves, the way we want to play the game is to try and move the ball around,” Murphy continued.
“We feel that that is the strongest part of our game. We’ve got some freakish outside backs who move really well and so getting the ball into those spaces is really important for us, and we still managed to do some of that even in those conditions tonight.”
The backs did their job, but so did the forwards, with Murphy highlighting Ulster’s scrum as another positive.
“I thought our set piece, our scrum, the way the way they went about their business tonight was excellent, we really stuck in together and worked really hard and managed to get some pressure onto the La Rochelle, which which was fantastic.
“The forwards were excellent, as I say the scrum in particular really stuck together and worked really hard, a couple of really good mauls, also some of the goal line stuff, we looked hard to score against. I know we conceded at the end of the game, but in general I thought we took a step forward in our defence tonight.”
A step that leaves the province one game away from a Challenge Cup final. It’s a tantalising prospect, but one that goes on the backburner for now.
This Ulster side are fighting on two fronts, sitting third in the URC and heading into key league games against Leinster and Ulster.
“From our coaching point of view, it’s about pointing them in the right direction and trying to help them build a plan in order to be successful. So we’re in the last four, we don’t know whether we’re home or away, but that’ll be exciting watching that on Sunday, and see what happens.
“The group is on a journey,” Murphy added.
“We’ve come a long way since this time last year. We’re moving in the right direction. I think it’s really important that, the old saying of we approach every game as it comes, our focus now, we’ve parked the semi-final, it’s brilliant to have it, but we’ve got to go and try and get a result against Leinster and then Munster the following week.
“So it’s really important that the feel good factor we have tonight, we bring that into Monday, we prepare really well and lead into that Leinster game.
“I can’t remember how many games we have left but it’s an exciting run-in for everyone.”
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