Ulster End Calendar Year With Elusive Derby Victory

Ulster put together a run of four unanswered tries between the 34th and 53rd minutes, as they emerged as 29-24 bonus point winners over provincial rivals Connacht at Dexcom Stadium tonight.

Bouncing back from two recent defeats and an 10-point deficit in Galway, Richie Murphy’s men won their first interprovincial derby since claiming a 17-7 victory at the same venue twelve months ago.

What was only their third away win of 2025 keeps Ulster in fifth place in the BKT United Rugby Championship, while Connacht, who have now lost ten successive matches against fellow Irish teams, remain outside of the top eight.

It had looked like Connacht were building nicely, as full-back Sam Gilbert set up Finn Treacy’s sweeping 24th-minute try while Jack Murphy was in the sin bin, and added five points with the boot.

But a battle-hardened Ulster recovered well to lead 12-10 at half-time, Zac Ward bagging a brace of tries in a seven-minute spell as the visitors twice got the ball to the edge and were clinical out wide.

With Stuart McCloskey and Bundee Aki both in the sin bin, Werner Kok pounced in the 47th minute for his seventh try in four games. Then the Ulster maul applied pressure to earn a penalty try and a yellow card for Joe Joyce.

Replacement Josh Ioane got the Connacht attack firing again, as converted scores from Sean Jansen (66 minutes) and Matthew Devine (77) brought it back to a two-point game with just under three minutes remaining.

It was only enough for a losing bonus point for the home side in the end, as Ulster took home the maximum haul, the issue settled by Jack Murphy’s 80th-minute penalty.

The early stages were heavily dominated by kicking on a cold but dry winter’s night. Ulster blew their first lineout opportunity when the ball went loose off David McCann’s fingertips, inside the oppositon 22.

A penalty for crossing put Connacht in a similar position, with Dave Heffernan and Josh Murphy making inroads with their carries. The phase-building was looking promising until Ulster captain Nick Timoney forced a penalty for holding on.

Driven forward by Cian Prendergast’s well-won penalty at the breakdown on halway, the hosts earned a kickable 13th-minute shot soon after. New Zealander Gilbert pulled his effort narrowly wide on the near left-hand side.

However, a closer look at an incident involving Jack Murphy and Jack Carty saw the former sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on. Jansen lost the ball in contact, though, before South African Kok won a turnover penalty.

Despite leaking a scrum penalty and Connacht debutant Daniel Ryan’s good line in attack, Ulster looked like seeing out the sin bin period without their try-line being tested until Treacy struck from the left wing.

Punishing Conor McKee’s kick which went out on the full, Connacht engineered a first-phase score from the resulting lineout. Aki and Carty had Gilbert moving at pace and he fed Treacy to cut inside Ward for a crisply-taken seven-pointer.

Gilbert was catching the eye, following up a classy aerial take with a promising link-up with Jansen before the ball was lost forward. Nonetheless, Sam Crean was penalised at the next scrum, giving Gilbert a simple place-kick for 10-0.

Ulster came back strongly, with player-of-the-match Cormac Izuchukwu using possession from a penalty to go on a tackle-breaking burst through the middle.

When they switched back to the left in the 34th minute, Ward’s pacy finish out wide rewarded Stuart McCloskey’s pullback pass, and quick hands from Murphy, Kok, and Jacob Stockdale.

The try survived a review of a potential knock-on from Juarno Augustus, and Murphy landed a tough conversion for good measure. It was a timely response from the Ulstermen, who ended the opening 40 minutes in impressive fashion.

Stockdale neatly got the ball into Ward’s hands again, following a scrum penalty and a free-kick at a lineout. Connacht were on the retreat when Ward shrugged off Ben Murphy near the left touchine, and then evaded Finlay Bealham’s tackle to score.

Jack Murphy’s conversion bounced away off the left-hand post, leaving it 12-10 to Murphy’s charges at the break. The Ulster lineout misfired early on the resumption, allowing Heffernan to bring play back outside of Connacht’s 22.

Both teams were soon down to 14 men, as McCloskey and Aki saw yellow for their part in some pushing and shoving off the ball. McCloskey was singled out for starting it, while replays showed Aki diving down on James Hume on the ground.

Stuart Lancaster’s side appeared to respond the better, as captain Prendergast led their maul defence for a turnover, and then Denis Buckley, on the night that he became Connacht’s second most-capped player of all-time with his 270th appearance, gained a scrum penalty.

Stockdale continued to have a big involvement in Ulster’s attack, however. His pass released McCann down the right wing, with Treacy caught out, and the flanker put the supporting Kok away from the edge of the hosts’ 22, with Murphy adding the extras.

Now trailing 19-10, the westerners’ discipline slipped further with a series of penalties, including one at scrum time. The Ulster forwards had two bites at a maul try, the second one resulting in the awarding of a penalty try and a yellow for Joyce for collapsing.

Tom O’Toole and Heffernan traded turnover penalties, and Connacht gathered some momentum on the hour mark as they advanced into scoring range. Ulster’s defence kept them at bay, forcing a knock-on at close quarters from Gilbert.

Undeterred, Connacht gave themselves a lifeline when Jansen dived over from replacement scrum half Devine’s pass. Ioane made the initial break through midfield and Treacy threatened on the left before the number 8 crossed from close range. Gilbert’s extras made it a nine-point game.

Ulster, who lost their own number 8, Augustus, to injury, made sure they were playing in the right areas of the pitch over the next while. McCann stole a lineout deep inside Connacht’s 22, and they pressurised the home lineout into an error to spoil Aki’s penalty win at the breakdown.

Ioane provided the spark again for Connacht, showing his pace to get away from Jude Postlethwaite on a wraparound move. It led to a penalty and a bout of forward pressure, before Devine sniped over. Gilbert’s tidy conversion left just two points in it.

Crucially, Ulster were able to control possession and make metres once they got their hands back on the ball. Connacht replacement Sean O’Brien was a little too eager at the breakdown, coming in at the side, and Murphy mopped up with the match-winning kick.