Nick Timoney talks breakdown battles and Ireland ‘jobs on the line’ ahead of Munster’s visit to Belfast

One defeat and a draw in their opening two United Rugby Championship games this season have already increased the stakes for Ulster home game with Munster on Saturday evening.

Not that an inter-pro clash in Belfast needs any extra selling. There are much more than league points on the line for the players on both sides, although the home side’s need is greater given their stuttering start.

For Nick Timoney, though, there’s the added chance of measure himself against potential Ireland team-mates especially with head coach Andy Farrell set to decide his squad for the upcoming northern hemisphere leg of the Nations Championship.

The back row has enjoyed his busiest year in an Ireland shirt in 2026, featuring in all but one of their Six Nations games in the spring, including a try-scoring contribution to the opening day defeat to France.

He played all 80 minutes of the win over Japan and was sprung from the bench against Australia and New Zealand in Eden Park.

While stressing the need for Ulster to get that first win under their belts on Saturday, Timoney (31) admits that the visit of Munster is another chance to force himself into Andy Farrell’s thinking.

“They’ve got great players in my position and all across the pitch, so it’s going to be a tough battle, as it always is. And we need our first win and so it’s obviously a massive game,” he said.

Timoney’s time in the Ireland camp this year has allowed him to see many of his opponents at club level up close and whether they are in direct competition with him for an international place, he admits that always brings an added layer to these encounters.

Munster back rows Gavin Coombs and Alex Kendellen have been involved in Ireland squads while youngsters Ruadhán Quinn and Brian Gleeson have all impressed at Ireland A level.

Timoney added: “Certainly you get to know some of them in camp if you’re playing with them, or if you’re down there even training with them and stuff.

“And there is that added edge, because at the end of the day when the Ireland squads come out, it’s not necessarily you or them, but there’s a good chance it could come down to one of you versus one of them.

“So, those battles are all the way across the pitch. And I think even now with a lot of the emerging Ireland stuff and with more people coming through Irish U20s and stuff, that goes the whole way up and down through the squad, from the older lads like me to even the younger lads who are coming through who have maybe played an Emerging Ireland tour or they’ve played Irish 20s and they all know their opposite numbers pretty well.

“So, it’s certainly pretty personal and certainly jobs can feel like they’re on the line definitely.”

While the future may look bright from an Ireland perspective, Timoney knows that Ulster will have their hands full with one of the stars of the present as Tadgh Beirne makes his return to the Munster line-up after missing their first two games.

His return and Ulster problems with the breakdown in their opening two games will focus the minds in an Ulster pack where Timoney, in the absence of Iain Henderson and Rob Herring, is something of an elder statesman.

Having a plan for Beirne is one thing, being able to execute is quite another.

“A lot of what he does is just talent, though, and length and ability to get in positions,” Timoney says.

“He’s strong and he’s smart, and he’s relentless with it, to be fair. So, certainly, you can learn a lot from him. He’s one of the best players in the world.

“But, yeah, I mean, easier said than done, nullifying that.

“That’s certainly a big part of today’s game, by winning races and buying time and not letting them get a sniff, because the days of just clearing lads out like him, you’re not going to get a chance.

“So, yeah, it’s about being really fast, and it’s not just him with that Munster team, a lot of their forwards.

Despite dominating possession and territory in last week’s draw with Glasgow, Ulster have still coughed up 27 turnovers in their opening two games and although all haven’t come by way of the breakdown, it’s an area to get right if Ulster are to achieve that first win of the season.

“Certainly, breakdown would be a massive area and one we need to get right if we want to have a chance of winning.

“We’ve put together some great stuff on attack, but as you said, we can’t be giving the ball away as easily as we probably have been, so if we can rectify that by giving ourselves more opportunity to attack and holding on to the ball longer, we’ll certainly do that.

“If you look at the last couple of games, if we managed to secure the breakdown a few more times, certainly in the last quarter of the game, we’d have probably won arguably both of them. So, it can certainly be the winning and losing.”