Murphy ‘blown away’ by Ulster display in Bulls win

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy says he was hugely impressed by the commitment from his players in Saturday’s 28-7 win over South African side Bulls.

Wilco Louw cancelled out Stuart McCloskey’s try in the first half but Ulster scored three tries after the restart, through Juarno Augustus, Rob Herring and Cormac Izuchukwu, to power to victory.

It was a second bonus-point win in as many matches in the United Rugby Championship for Ulster, who have a game in hand over the majority of the league after their game in Edinburgh was postponed as a result of Storm Amy.

“Absolutely, I was blown away by their commitment, work ethic and grit to stay in the fight,” Murphy said when asked if it was the best team performance since he took charge of Ulster in March 2024.

“I thought we worked really hard for each other defensively. It shows the team is building nicely and there’s still loads of things we feel we can be better at.

“We have to build on it going forward now.”

Ulster will now travel to South Africa for two matches against Sharks and Lions before the URC takes a break for the November internationals, and Murphy says his side are “going down there on a mission to win”.

“I don’t think we should worry about any team we are playing,” he said.

“Going down to South Africa is obviously a very difficult place to go.