URC: Bulls 34 Ulster 26
A lot of teams come to South Africa and simply roll over. Ulster did not do that, which is something that coach Richie Murphy is most pleased with following his side’s narrow 26-34 defeat against the Bulls in Pretoria.
“You’ve got to stick in the fight here,” Murphy says. “I’m really proud about the way the lads stuck to the task.
“We had a way that we wanted to try and play. We probably moved away from that early in the game, but we got more towards what we wanted to do towards the back end of the half and into the second half.
“We struggled at the start of the game to get a foothold into it, and turned over possession too easily. That puts you under pressure, especially if you’re playing against a team like the Bulls.
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“They got access into our 22 and coming up to halftime they had almost 65 per cent territory and possession. It’s hard to stop them.
“I thought our guys did a really good job in relation to sticking to the plan. And to put ourselves within two or three plays from actually winning the game. We’re disappointed in the end. Disappointed not to get the last try, and disappointed not to get another bonus point at the end of the game.”
The game at Loftus Versfeld was played in pretty alien conditions for the men from Belfast. The temperature in Pretoria was 31 degrees, with water breaks and umbrellas to boot, introduced midway through each half and the halftime break extended to 20 minutes.
Significantly, whereas the altitude, with Loftus Versfeld being 4,429 feet above sea level, was expected to start taking its toll on Ulster in the second half, Murphy’s side emerged strongest after the break. In fact, Ulster “won” the second stanza 19-13, outscoring the 2025/26 finalists by three tries to one. The eventual try tally was four apiece, with the Irishmen enjoying 51 per cent possession and territory.
“It was really hot, and we’re at altitude,” Murphy says. “All those factors come into the game.
“It’s a combination of the Bulls being a really good team and being at Loftus, but I think over the course of the game we became more used to where we were and, again, we weren’t too far off at the end. We were still competing.
“We did a lot of work preseason in relation to our fitness. And, as far as the culture of this team is concerned, we’re not a team who likes to roll over.
“The lads worked really hard, and they’re very proud to play for Ulster. We always knew that this would be a tough period in relation to the season, but the lessons learned here will drive us forward.
“Although we have drawn two and now lost two, the opposition that we played were all tough teams. In the long term, looking at the rest of the season, we should really benefit from these games.
“We were in tight battles, and at one stage it looked like it might end up in a draw again. We’ve got to keep putting ourselves in that situation. The lads have learned some lessons, and the lessons are around our discipline. Our discipline wasn’t good in the first half, we gave them access to penalties.
“Also our ability to hold on to our ball in multiphase. When we played some really nice rugby, we turned the ball over probably too much.”
The visitors from Ireland suffered a horror start when Bulls captain and former Ulster backrow Marcell Coetzee powered across from an attacking lineout with the first two minutes.
Thereafter, Ulster composed themselves reasonably well to restrict the Bulls from scoring for the next 15 minutes. Tom Stewart and his warriors certainly defended bravely during this period, even holding Springbok hooker Johan Grobbelaar up across the line in the 11th minute, while halfback Nathan Doak relieved pressure effectively with his kicks from the base of the ruck.
Stewart even turned possession over, burst into Bulls territory and forced a penalty in the 12th minute, but Ulster were unable to benefit from the resultant 22 entry.
Bok number eight Elrigh Louw finally crossed for the Bulls’ second try midway through the half, and Coetzee smashed through for a brace of tries after half an hour. That opened up a commanding 21-0 lead, with the home side enjoying 62 per cent possession and 64 per cent territory.
With no time left in the opening half, however, winger Chay Mullins raced in for an important try, after number eight Juarno Augustus, who stood his ground against the Bulls in the physical exchanges, had powered across the gainline and Stewart drew the defence brilliantly to create the overlap. Jack Murphy converted from up against the touchline to reduce the half-time deficit to 7-21.
Ulster carried on where they left off in the first half, to manoeuvre flanker David McCann for their second try five minutes after the break.
In addition, Coetzee was yellow carded for head contact, yet Ulster were unable to capitalise during the 10 minutes the Bulls were reduced to 14 men.
However, midway through the second half, Augustus ripped the ball from Handré Pollard’s hands and charged into Bulls territory to set up a great attacking penalty. Mullins dotted down in the corner for his second try following sustained pressure from the subsequent lineout, but the Bulls struck back almost immediately through Grobbelaar to stretch their lead to 31-19.
Still, Ulster refused to toss in the towel and kept the pressure up for Stuart McCloskey to cross for their bonus-point try. With 10 minutes left and the Bulls clinging to a 31-26 lead, it was still anyone’s game.
Ulster just could not get over the line in the end, and instead Bulls’ replacement Curwin Bosch nailed a long-distance penalty in the 82nd minute to seal a hard-fought win for the home side.
Apart from Stewart, who led from the front, and Augustus, Michael Lowry was all energy on the left wing, while loosehead Tom O’Toole was a major steadying influence in the Ulster pack, which refused until the very end to succumb to their Bulls counterparts at scrum time.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: Coetzee try, Pollard con, 7-0; 18: Louw try, Pollard con, 14-0; 32: Coetzee try, Pollard con, 21-0; HT: 21-0; 41: Mullins try, Murphy con, 21-7; 45: McCann try, Murphy con, 21-14; 50: Pollard pen, 24-14; 64: Mullins try, 24-19; 66: Grobbelaar try, Pollard con, 31-19; 70: McCloskey try, Murphy con, 31-26; 82: Bosch pen, 34-26
BULLS: L Giliomee; S de Klerk, S Xamlashe, H Vorster, C Jooste; H Pollard, P de Wet; G Steenekamp, J Grobbelaar; F Klopper, R Vermaak, R Ludwig; M Coetzee (capt), H Liebenberg, E Louw.
Replacements: D Maart for Jooste (50 mins); Z Burger for Xamlashe (63); A Tshakweni for Steenekamp, C Wiese for Vermaak (both 65); C Hanekom for Louw (66); K Mchunu for Klopper (70); C Bosch for Pollard, M van Staden for Grobbelaar (both 74).
Yellow card: Coetzee (45 mins).
ULSTER: J Stockdale; C Mullins, J Benson, S McCloskey, M Lowry; J Murphy, N Doak; T O’Toole, T Stewart (capt), K Knox; B Donnell, C Izuchukwu; D McCann, N Timoney, J Augustus.
Replacements: M Devine for Doak (56 mins); E Snyman for Izuchukwu (57); E O’Sullivan for O’Toole, S Wilson for Knox, J McKillop for Timoney, J McNabney for Augustus (all 65); Doak for Devine (68); H Walker for Stewart (74).
Referee: Ru Campbell (Sco).
