Latest news with #ULSTER
The 42
17-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Ulster confirm pre-season home fixture with Edinburgh
ULSTER HAVE CONFIRMED a pre-season fixture against Edinburgh. Richie Murphy's team will welcome the Scottish side to Affidea Stadium on Friday, 12 September, with a 7.35pm kick-off. 'We are really looking forward to welcoming Edinburgh Rugby to Belfast in September,' Murphy said. Advertisement 'It's important that we have this match to work towards in our pre-season preparation. Edinburgh are a very competitive side and will bring a strong squad over to test us. 'The fixture offers our players an opportunity to build their match fitness, and also put their hand up for selection going into the new season. 'We face Edinburgh in Round 2 of the URC at the start of October, so this will be ideal preparation. 'As a squad and staff, we are also looking forward to seeing our supporters again ahead of the new season at Affidea Stadium.' Tickets go on sale from Tuesday, 22 July at 10am. Ulster open their 2025/26 URC campaign against Dragons in Belfast on Friday, 26 September.
The 42
14-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Ulster confirm signing of props Sam Crean and Rory McGuire
ULSTER HAVE CONFIRMED the signing of two new props from this summer. Sam Crean will join the province on a permanent basis from Saracens after making two appearances as short-term injury cover earlier in the season. Advertisement Leinster academy graduate Rory McGuire has featured eight times under Leo Cullen and will also be reunited with head coach Richie Murphy having been a member of the Ireland U20 side that won the Grand Slam in 2022. 'We are delighted to be bringing in both Rory and Sam this summer. Both are talented props at good age profiles to develop as players and add competition to our squad,' Ulster Rugby's general manager, Bryn Cunningham, said. 'Rory is a big, physical tighthead prop who will be pushing hard for his opportunity to play more senior rugby. 'Richie knows him well from Ireland U20s and we think he is an exciting prospect, who is eager to kick on under Jimmy Duffy. 'Sam, after a brief stint earlier this season on loan during which he really impressed the coaches, can hopefully hit the ground running and really challenge both Eric and Callum for the number one jersey.'
The 42
06-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Ulster's O'Toole, Lowry and Moore available for Munster clash
ULSTER HAVE BEEN boosted by the news that Tom O'Toole, Michael Lowry and Stewart Moore will all be available for selection against Munster on Friday night. Doubts still remain, however, over the fitness of Iain Henderson, Sean Reffell, Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, and Eric O'Sullivan for the Thomond Park clash. Lowry (concussion and neck injury) and Stewart Moore (concussion), who were both injured in the recent defeat to Leinster, have returned to full fitness. O'Toole, who missed the game against the Sharks due to a family bereavement, has resumed full squad training. Advertisement Henderson, Reffell, Baloucoune, Hume, and O'Sullivan have all returned to squad training, and their availability for the Munster game will be monitored throughout the week. Jake Flannery (knee), John Cooney (ankle), Ben Carson (back), Ethan McIlroy (knee), and Ben Moxham (knee) remain injured and unavailable for selection. Meanwhile, Andrew Smith has signed a one-year contract with Munster for the 2025/26 season. Pen-to-paper: Andrew Smith. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO Smith joined Munster on a short-term loan in March and made an immediate impact, scoring three tries in four appearances. He was a try-scorer in the Champions Cup round of 16 win against La Rochelle and dotted down twice away to Bordeaux-Begles in the quarter-final defeat a week later. The 24-year-old is a former Ireland U20s international and represented the Ireland 7s team at the Paris Olympics in 2024. He joins from Connacht, where he made 14 appearances since joining in 2023. Last month saw the winger win the All Ireland League Division 1A title with Clontarf at the Aviva Stadium.
Irish Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Unheralded 20 year-old making huge waves as Ulster look to URC knockouts
ULSTER have somewhat remarkably managed to stay in the UCL fight and, if anything, seemed buoyed by defeat to Leinster at the Aviva last they had scored the first score and the first try against the Blues for what seemed an aeon, had been competitive to half-time finished with a 17-41 defeat, it wasn't a total had even crossed for two tries, only Cardiff have posted more URC points in Dublin this actual result was of no help to them in the table and, dropping to 10th with 37 points means they will need 10/11 points from their remaining three games to make the sure, it doesn't come much tougher than Leinster last Saturday followed by fourth-placed Sharks this the game is at Kingspan Park and there is the hope the South Africans might leave some front-liners at home to rest the more problematic outing will be the second-last match, against Munster at Thomond wouldn't be an imaginative leap to think Ulster fans would be wishing the Reds win this week so there isn't a feverish 'knockout' type inter-pro at that in real time, however, first-up news for Sharks isn't great, full-back Michael Lowry and centre Stewart Moore are both ruled out following picking up injuries last Cooney, Rob Herring and Callum Reid also picked up knocks at Leinster while Stuart McCloskey, who pulled out before the game, are also return of Cormac Izuchukwu from injury last week and the performance he put in, scoring a great try, will have been a huge Murphy: 'It's brilliant to have Cormac back. He has done a couple of weeks training now and coming into this game was always a sort of a case where we get him to about 50 minutes, and try and get him off. "He has turned into a really good athlete. If you look at where we've picked Cormac. We've picked him in the second row since the start of this year. "He's a very good, intelligent line-out forward. Trying to build him into a line-out, second row stroke six, so he could do both roles, is probably where people see him.'"His line-out work against Leinster, I thought, was exceptional. I think we probably upset six of the Leinster line-outs in the first half. "He's a big part of that, really growing into that role. Then obviously his strengths around the pitch are there for everyone to see. A lovely runner, very balanced and pretty strong too.'Jacob Stockdale also looked a threat and Leinster had to work very hard to keep the lid on there.'Jacob is in a really good place. He's very fit, strong. He's running really well. He's sort of taken up a more senior role within our team. "Talking to a lot of the young players that are out there, giving them bits of advice. He has been a super influence on our group in the last season really. "I think he's probably a better player than he was in 2018. He's definitely a cleverer player in relation to the game. It's great to see him back out there.'Meanwhile there is out-half Jack Murphy continuing at out-half in the continuing absence of New Zealand import Aidan 20 year-old Murphy has held that fort for seven consecutive games since mid-January, more or less with his light hidden under a bushel as the Prendergast-Crowley wars rage there have been fours wins, against Exeter, Scarlets, Dragons and Stormers, matched with reasonably predictable defeats at Leinster and at Bordeaux and with just that blot at Zebre making up the septet. Murphy has actually done very Ulstermen are standing up and fighting with everything they've got and as Richie Murphy has noted it is essentially final, final, final, for them over the next three games. Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email.
