SPORT ISN’T ALWAYS black and white, and with their season now over Ulster supporters are left mulling over whether the campaign was a good one, or ultimately, one which they should have finished with more to show for it.
As is often the case, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, and takes in a little bit of both.
The province went into last Friday’s Challenge Cup final in Bilbao – their first European final appearance since 2012 – with dreams of lifting a trophy and with it, bagging a place in next season’s Champions Cup.
Yet defeat presented the gutting reality that for all Ulster’s improvement over the last 12 months, they would again be a Challenge Cup team next year. After the early months of promise, the second half of Ulster’s 2025/26 campaign will be remembered for the slide which saw the province slip out of the URC play-off race on the final weekend.
The margins were fine, as head coach Richie Murphy pointed out in the aftermath of Friday’s defeat to Montpellier, but that will be of little consolation to a squad who just a couple of months ago looked well-placed to make a good run in the URC knockouts.
“At the start of the season, if you told me we’d get 52 points in the league and we’d be in a European final with a chance to win it, I probably would have taken your hand off,” Murphy told reporters in Bilbao.
“52 points has never not got into the top eight before.”
Ulster head coach Richie Murphy. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
The URC was Ulster’s best route into the Champions Cup, and their problem was that too many of those 52 points came across the first half of the season. With nine games played, Ulster had collected 32 points with six wins to their name. Across their next nine URC fixtures, the province won three and added only 20 points.
Yet the groundwork across those opening rounds had kept Ulster in the right part of the table until the final stretch. Eight games in, Ulster were third, and the province were still inside the top three as recently as round 14. If Ulster didn’t have a Challenge Cup final in their diary, they would have fielded a stronger side in the final round loss to Glasgow (a 26-22 defeat in Belfast), but these are the decisions that come up when you’re fighting on two fronts.
To come home ninth feels a poor return from where they were, but by any measure, the season has been a stark improvement on the previous one.
Across 2024/25 Ulster won just seven URC games and finished with 38 points in 14th. Twelve months on, that return improved by 14 points and lifted Ulster five places up the table – although the killer was to only move from seven wins to nine. In that regard, the late loss to Scarlets in January (the Welsh sides’ first over Ulster since 2018) and a controversial defeat at Ospreys (where Ulster were denied a late try) stand out as games that got away from Murphy’s men.
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Those are the types of contests Ulster must come out on the right side of if they are to become the team they want to be.
And bridging that gap will again prove difficult next season. One of the big challenges facing Ulster came as a direct result of their upturn in form. As Murphy again highlighted over the weekend, last season Ulster had just two players in Ireland camp, while this year they had eight.
Stuart McCloskey and Robert Baloucoune became key men for Ireland. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
That left the province more stretched during the rounds around the Test windows, and when key men like Stuart McCloskey and Robert Baloucoune picked up injuries, Ulster’s depth was tested. Montpellier are currently a better team than Ulster, but even in the energy-sapping Bilbao heat Friday would surely have looked different had McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Rob Herring (all injured) and Iain Henderson (suspended) been available.
Ulster will have to negotiate the same problems next season, but the positive side is that Murphy’s young players have another year of senior rugby under their belts.
A player like Jack Murphy is a prime example of this. Still only 21 (22 in July), Murphy was shown a lot of faith this season and the out-half rose to the challenge. The addition of Irish-qualified Jamie Benson (23) from Harlequins will add competition at 10.
Bryn Ward (21) was another big success story, training with Ireland during the Six Nations, while older brother Zac (27) was a standout on the wing. Nathan Doak is well-experienced for a 24-year-old, and is coming off his best season yet. Robert Baloucoune (28) is now a proven Test winger. All should still have their best years ahead of them.
Doak had his best season yet for Ulster. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Matt Devine (24) is a smart signing from Connacht, but looking at the outgoings, players with the quality of Angus Bell and fan favourite Werner Kok are not easily replaced. Bell’s power is hard to find on the market and Kok was an energetic, reliable squad player.
One of the big changes this season was the appointment of Mark Sexton as attack coach, a move which led to Ulster playing some of the most exciting rugby in the league. The hope would be that Sexton gets even more out of the group in his second season, while the appointment of New Zealander Clarke Dermody as forwards coach brings another new voice to the training pitch. The long-serving Highlanders coach will have been an interested onlooker as Montpellier’s power game battered Ulster at the San Mames.
Murphy is building a skilful, ambitious side who are a great watch on their day, but they’ll need better luck with injuries if they are to kick on again next season, while the power game could remain an issue against the top sides.
Ulster are on the right track, but the next chapter looks as though it could be even more testing.
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Ulster have made great strides but next steps will be challenging
SPORT ISN’T ALWAYS black and white, and with their season now over Ulster supporters are left mulling over whether the campaign was a good one, or ultimately, one which they should have finished with more to show for it.
As is often the case, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, and takes in a little bit of both.
The province went into last Friday’s Challenge Cup final in Bilbao – their first European final appearance since 2012 – with dreams of lifting a trophy and with it, bagging a place in next season’s Champions Cup.
Yet defeat presented the gutting reality that for all Ulster’s improvement over the last 12 months, they would again be a Challenge Cup team next year. After the early months of promise, the second half of Ulster’s 2025/26 campaign will be remembered for the slide which saw the province slip out of the URC play-off race on the final weekend.
The margins were fine, as head coach Richie Murphy pointed out in the aftermath of Friday’s defeat to Montpellier, but that will be of little consolation to a squad who just a couple of months ago looked well-placed to make a good run in the URC knockouts.
“At the start of the season, if you told me we’d get 52 points in the league and we’d be in a European final with a chance to win it, I probably would have taken your hand off,” Murphy told reporters in Bilbao.
“52 points has never not got into the top eight before.”
The URC was Ulster’s best route into the Champions Cup, and their problem was that too many of those 52 points came across the first half of the season. With nine games played, Ulster had collected 32 points with six wins to their name. Across their next nine URC fixtures, the province won three and added only 20 points.
Yet the groundwork across those opening rounds had kept Ulster in the right part of the table until the final stretch. Eight games in, Ulster were third, and the province were still inside the top three as recently as round 14. If Ulster didn’t have a Challenge Cup final in their diary, they would have fielded a stronger side in the final round loss to Glasgow (a 26-22 defeat in Belfast), but these are the decisions that come up when you’re fighting on two fronts.
To come home ninth feels a poor return from where they were, but by any measure, the season has been a stark improvement on the previous one.
Across 2024/25 Ulster won just seven URC games and finished with 38 points in 14th. Twelve months on, that return improved by 14 points and lifted Ulster five places up the table – although the killer was to only move from seven wins to nine. In that regard, the late loss to Scarlets in January (the Welsh sides’ first over Ulster since 2018) and a controversial defeat at Ospreys (where Ulster were denied a late try) stand out as games that got away from Murphy’s men.
Those are the types of contests Ulster must come out on the right side of if they are to become the team they want to be.
And bridging that gap will again prove difficult next season. One of the big challenges facing Ulster came as a direct result of their upturn in form. As Murphy again highlighted over the weekend, last season Ulster had just two players in Ireland camp, while this year they had eight.
That left the province more stretched during the rounds around the Test windows, and when key men like Stuart McCloskey and Robert Baloucoune picked up injuries, Ulster’s depth was tested. Montpellier are currently a better team than Ulster, but even in the energy-sapping Bilbao heat Friday would surely have looked different had McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Rob Herring (all injured) and Iain Henderson (suspended) been available.
Ulster will have to negotiate the same problems next season, but the positive side is that Murphy’s young players have another year of senior rugby under their belts.
A player like Jack Murphy is a prime example of this. Still only 21 (22 in July), Murphy was shown a lot of faith this season and the out-half rose to the challenge. The addition of Irish-qualified Jamie Benson (23) from Harlequins will add competition at 10.
Bryn Ward (21) was another big success story, training with Ireland during the Six Nations, while older brother Zac (27) was a standout on the wing. Nathan Doak is well-experienced for a 24-year-old, and is coming off his best season yet. Robert Baloucoune (28) is now a proven Test winger. All should still have their best years ahead of them.
Matt Devine (24) is a smart signing from Connacht, but looking at the outgoings, players with the quality of Angus Bell and fan favourite Werner Kok are not easily replaced. Bell’s power is hard to find on the market and Kok was an energetic, reliable squad player.
One of the big changes this season was the appointment of Mark Sexton as attack coach, a move which led to Ulster playing some of the most exciting rugby in the league. The hope would be that Sexton gets even more out of the group in his second season, while the appointment of New Zealander Clarke Dermody as forwards coach brings another new voice to the training pitch. The long-serving Highlanders coach will have been an interested onlooker as Montpellier’s power game battered Ulster at the San Mames.
Murphy is building a skilful, ambitious side who are a great watch on their day, but they’ll need better luck with injuries if they are to kick on again next season, while the power game could remain an issue against the top sides.
Ulster are on the right track, but the next chapter looks as though it could be even more testing.
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