Ulster's second-half form suggests they can open with a Challenge Cup win

15:40, 12 Oct 2026Updated 15:41, 12 Oct 2026

Ulster failed to make the 2026/27 European Champions Cup, coming close on both qualification fronts, but having to settle for a Challenge Cup spot.

Then again, that's a task they are familiar with having reached the Challenge Cup final last season and it will be interesting to see how coach Richie Murphy wants to approach this season's competition.

There is a line of thought that the province need to steady their URC ship, that they should be prioritising a top eight finish which would bring then back into the main European competition for 2027/28.

But surely having gone so close and seeing the Challenge Cup prize up close there might be a hankering within the group to have a second tilt if things start falling into place.

Indeed there may be no need to make snap decisions in this regard given their opening pool game is in Zebre where they are hot favourites to post a victory.

Selecting strong, taking the win now and waiting the see what the lie of the land ahead of the December games might be a prudent option.

Beside, were Ulster to reproduce the second-half form that turned a 5-26 interval deficit into 26-26 draw with Munster in Belfast last Weekend, it should be too much for Zebre and, at the same time, a morale booster.

Certainly there is a sign some of their front-line stars are starting to come into their own.

Jacob Stockdale was in outstanding form, bagging two tries, one in each half, on his 150th appearance for Ulster last Friday night.

This is the kind of form that have him on Andy Farrell's radar, not least if it was signalling a post-injury return to his 2018-19 form when he was nominated for 2019 European Player of the Year.

The winger, who made his Ulster debut in January 2016 for the province a decade ago, came out onto the field with his two young daughters ahead of the game and it was clearly an emotional occasion for him.

“They are everything to me. They are the biggest thing in my world,” said the 30-year-old.

“So just to get to experience that with them and with my wife in the tunnel, it was amazing.

“It’s something that I’m never going to forget.

“I’ll hopefully get to do it at least once more, at 200, but we’ll see.”

Commenting on a second successive draw for Ulster, he said: “We are an unbelievably potent team when we get it right, but we can’t keep giving teams that much of an advantage to then try and claw it back.”

The Player of the Match award went to Munster’s South African hooker Marnus van der Merwe.

He said: “We should have controlled it better. But, credit to Ulster, they came out banging in the second half.

“We just need to improve and look at our mistakes. There were a few penalties that cost us.”