How tough season came to premature end for Ulster

Without a win since the end of March, Ulster had already pulled up a stool at the last chance saloon by the time they travelled south to Munster for their penultimate game of the season on Friday.

Knocked out of the Champions Cup by eventual finalists Bordeaux-Begles last month, all their eggs were in the United Rugby Championship (URC) basket and, despite taking an early lead in Thomond Park, they were deservedly beaten by their Irish rivals.

While the 38-20 defeat did not quite seal their fate, results later in the weekend ensured that the northern province will miss out on the play-offs in the URC and, for the first time, not feature in next season’s Champions Cup rugby.

After winning just eight of 22 games in all competitions this year with only a dead rubber against Edinburgh to come, such an outcome has looked a possibility for some months but will still be a jarring one for the 1999 European Cup champions who were in a league final under Dan McFarland just five years ago.

Ulster’s failure to score after the turn against Munster was far from an isolated incident. Indeed, it was the sixth occasion this season when they could not muster a single score in a second half.

In two of those games, against Cardiff and the Sharks, leads of 19-0 were surrendered in hugely damaging losses, while close contests against Benetton, Bordeaux-Begles and Leicester Tigers, the latter pair in the Champions Cup, became lopsided defeats.

Coupled with a home loss to 15th-placed Zebre in January, when the side bucked the trend and instead failed to score in the first-half, it is not hard to find where Ulster left crucial points behind them that would have made a huge difference in their play-off push.

Heading into the Munster game, head coach Richie Murphy said his available squad was the strongest it had been since he took on the job in March of 2024.

While that was perhaps a case of too little, too late, there is no doubt that injuries have had a huge impact upon Ulster’s season.

Skipper Iain Henderson saw his first action of any kind since February, and his first league minutes since October, in the defeat but in total has played only 10 times for his province this season thanks to various knocks.

Robert Baloucoune (2), James Hume (4), Tom Stewart (8), Cormac Izuchukwu (12), Rob Herring (12), Stuart McCloskey (13) and Jacob Stockdale (13) all also saw their appearances limited though injury.

In any sport, but especially rugby, injuries are part and parcel of any season. While Ulster’s problems have felt severe, the squad is not equipped in the way it once was to replace like for like when experienced players are forced onto the sidelines.

In each of the past two off-seasons there have been more senior players leaving than arriving with the panel impacted by the side’s well-documented financial constraints.

International imports Duane Vermeulen, Sam Carter, Jeff Toomanga-Allen and Rory Sutherland all departed two summers ago, while Steven Kitshoff and Dave Ewers made their own exits last year.

Former Ireland players Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Ian Madigan, Jordi Murphy, Marty Moore, Billy Burns and Will Addison all retired or moved on during the same period.

As Ulster look to replenish their squad not through the open market but their academy system, that group with experience of playing at the highest level or winning the game’s biggest prizes have been replaced by players still finding their feet at the professional level.

With Ulster having had to cut their cloth accordingly in a different financial landscape, there will be a concern that off-field struggles impacting on-field results becomes something of a spiral.

Already, the pattern of the season’s conclusion seeing plenty of experienced stalwarts heading out the door was set to be repeated.

John Cooney has been a talisman for the province since arriving from Connacht in 2017 but the 11-times capped Irish international has signed a three-year deal with Brive.

Lock Kieran Treadwell, who has also won 11 caps for Ireland, will return to Harlequins, while Andy Warwick and Alan O’Connor, who have represented Ulster a combined 421 times, are among the summer exits too.

All told, eight departing players accounted for 93 outings this season and, to date, the impressive signing of Northampton Saints number eight Juarno Augustus is the only confirmed arrival.

Despite missing the play-offs for the first time since the URC expanded to 16 teams and missing out on the Champions Cup for a first time ever, the season has not been without a few positives.

The performance against Munster was a disappointment, all the more so in that second half when their season was on the line, but recent showings have displayed flashes of promise.

Conversely while on a losing streak, there were times against Leinster, Bordeaux and the Sharks in April when the side looked to be playing considerably better than they were during their winning run through March.

Lock Cormac Izuchukwu made his Ireland debut in November and has added excellent line-out work to his obvious dynamism as the season has progressed.

Once the province settled on Jack Murphy at fly-half, he joined his fellow former Ireland Under-20s Grand Slam winner James McNabney in showing real promise too.

Richie Murphy has already spoken about how Ulster will “dust themselves off” and attempt to come back stronger next year.