URC Round 14 Recap: Ulster's Grit, Sublime Edinburgh And Standout Stars
URC Round 14 Recap: Ulster's Grit, Sublime Edinburgh And Standout Stars
Get a full recap of URC Round 14! From Ulster's gritty win to standout player performances, catch all the moments from a thrilling weekend of rugby action.
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Foot to the floor in sixth gear; there are no reverse gears in the URC!
Played out across eight pulsating fixtures, Round 14 of the 2024-2025 season shifted the playoff paradigm once more.
On a sliding scale of probability, the majority of the league will still feel as though they are in with a shout of qualifying for this year’s quarterfinals.
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So, without further ado, here is a recap of what was a jam-packed weekend of URC action.:
Match Of The Week
Three of the teams firmly in the hunt for a finish between fifth and eighth place were in action Friday, as Ulster hosted the DHL Stormers in Belfast, while fellow contender Edinburgh hosted the only team firmly out of the playoff running in the Dragons.
Entering the round in ninth and eighth position, respectively, Ulster and the Stormers knew this was a circle-the-wagons fixture.
Rampaging out of the gates early, the visitors were firmly in play for a huge road win and, with it, another surge up the table.
Scoring 17 points inside the opening 10 minutes, the Stormers were in full flight with fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu piloting a lethal attacking game.
Despite being under the cosh, Richie Murphy’s side recovered from the early body blows to score 17 points of its own to head into the halftime break almost unbelievably on level pegging with the visitors.
Scoring the first of Ulster’s tries was winger Robert Baloucoune, who was making his first appearance of the season following a long injury layoff.
Serving a quick reminder to those who had forgotten about his finishing prowess, the 27-year-old dotted down perfectly.
Given all of the hoopla in recent months about a perceived lack of out-and-out pace in Irish Rugby, Baloucone’s return, combined with Jacob Stockdale’s return to form, now sees Ulster Rugby blessed with arguably the best wing combination in Irish Rugby.
Both players are amongst the quickest players in Irish Rugby and should they continue their ascension; they could rightly find themselves back in the national team setup.
The second half would prove to be the Stormers' undoing, with Ulster flying out of the blocks to score an early try through Stockdale. They made use of an extra man with Feinberg-Mngomezulu in the sin bin for a cynical off-the-ball shove of Baloucoune in a try-scoring opportunity.
Ulster exploited the space in the Stormers' defense for the winger to pounce.
Adding to the visitors’ woes from the ensuing kickoff, captain Neethling Fouche was shown red for a dangerous tackle on Ulster center Ben Carson.
Many felt a red card was harsh on Fouche, who had to contend with an extremely low carry by Carson.
The laws of the game did allow for any mitigation, given the burly prop did not wrap his arms in the contact.
Ulster then took its first two-score lead of the evening through replacement winger Zac Ward, who had replaced a cramping Baloucoune.
Showing their character, the Stormers came tearing back into the contest through replacement backrow Willie Engelbrecht. This score was immediately canceled by a try to Stewart Moore, which restored the breathing space for the home side.
Continuing the seesaw nature of the clash, Stormers No. 8 Evan Roos claimed his second try of the evening to set up a grandstand finish with five minutes left to play.
Clattering away, the Stormers piled the pressure on to Ulster, which, prior to Roos’s score, had seen backrow Harry Sheridan sent to the sin bin.
Displaying a steely grit, Murphy’s side repelled the visitors to take a significant scalp over a fellow playoff contender.
Speaking post-match, Murphy clearly was ecstatic that his side managed to get the job done and take its record to an even seven wins and seven losses in the league.
“It was an incredible game of rugby, wasn’t it? I am absolutely delighted with the win," he said. "When we went 17 points down at the start, we could have easily fallen away, but the lads showed unbelievable fight. They worked really hard for each other. You could see the hunger with the lads to fight back.
“It shows the character that we are building within the team. The lads really rolled their sleeves up and put in an unbelievable performance in order to get over a very good team.
“Five points keeps us in the hunt, and we look forward to the next one.”
While there is no doubt Ulster’s key players stood tall, the top performer on the day was none other than the head coach’s son, Jack.
Still just 20 years old, the fly-half bossed his team around the park in what was a truly authoritative display. Putting on some great footwork both running the ball and with his tactical kicking, Murphy took a clear step forward as the front-runner to hang on to the No. 10 shirt.
Around The League
Away from the action in Belfast, the other Friday fixture was a more one-sided affair, as Edinburgh shredded the Dragons 38-5 to return to the top 8.
Dazzling those watching, Scotland winger Darcy Graham had himself a day, making 90 meters off 14 carries with five line breaks, 11 defenders beaten and a try scored.
Matching his back-three compatriots’ efforts, the fullback topped the meters-carried charts with 106 from seven carries.
While in the pack, Magnus Bradbury was the go-forward machine, making 45 meters off 16 carries to go along with 12 tackles.
On Saturday, the action got underway in sweltering conditions in Pretoria, as the Bulls trampled their way over Zebre 63-24 to all but cement their spot in the top 3 this season.
Unfortunately for the Italian side, they left Pretoria empty handed, having been unable to get close to match the power game of their hosts. Still, departing South Africa with two log points from their previous fixture against the Sharks was not a bad return for the league’s most improved side.
Traveling back north for another game-of-the-week contender, Munster overcame a first-half red card to center Alex Nankivell to secure a season sweep of Connacht, 30-24.
Played at a sold-out MacHale Park in Mayo, the Irish provinces duked it out in a highly entertaining contest.
On the whole, Munster was largely the better side, with the halfback pairing of Craig Casey and Jack Crowley on another level to just about everyone else on the park.
Returning from a three-month injury layoff, Casey added a tempo to the Munster game that previously had been absent, bar their clash with Northampton in the Investec Champions Cup.
Outside Casey, Crowley was top notch in all departments and clearly appears unfazed by what has been a challenging period with the Irish National setup for him on a personal level.
Crossing the Irish sea for another derby clash, the Scarlets laid down a marker with a comprehensive dismantling of the Ospreys. The result not only saw the Scarlets stay within touching distance of the top 8, it also brought an end to a hot run of form for the Ospreys.
Next up, were a pair of tight fixtures that went down the wire, as a heavily rotated and inexperienced Leinster side pulled off a masterful performance to down the Sharks 10-7 in Durban.
The win both highlighted Leinster’s remarkable strength in depth once again this season and also just how inconsistent the Sharks are.
Given the clear disparity in experience and perceived class between the two sides, this might just have been the Sharks' worst performance of the season in the URC.
Striking a different tone back in the Northern Hemisphere, Benetton squeaked home against Cardiff in what was a nip-and-tuck affair at the Stadio Monigo.
The result ensures Benetton still is in the top 8, while dropping Cardiff down to ninth position, meaning no Welsh side is in the playoff running.
Guiding his team past what could’ve been a banana skin at home, Benetton fly-half Tomás Albornoz was in a class of his own. Scoring all of his team’s points, other than a penalty try, the Argentinean international was impervious throughout the contest.
Concluding a tough round for South African teams, the reigning champions, the Glasgow Warriors, battered the Lions 42-0 at Scotstoun Stadium.
Simply shredding their visitors from the off, the Warriors were exceptional, with scrumhalf George Horne becoming Glasgow’s all-time try-scoring leader with 55 five-pointers.
Performance Of The Round
Given the sheer quality of rugby on display, locking in on one player is challenging to say the least.
For us this week, the key protagonists were wearing the No. 10 shirts, with Jack Murphy, Jack Crowley and Tomas Albornoz all putting in top-level performances.
Carrying the ball nine times, making two line breaks, beating two defenders, scoring a try and making 10 tackles to along with an improved showing from the kicking tee, Crowley takes our player-of-the-round award for this week.
Amidst the mass speculation surrounding his future in recent weeks, with Gallagher Premiership outfit the Leicester Tigers offering him a reported contract of £650,000 per season, Crowley parked all of the noise to lay down a statement performance.
Next on his hit list is a clash with iconic former Munster fly-half Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle in the Investec Champions Cup.
Having copped a bit of criticism in recent times from the man who tried to lure him to France a few years ago, expect another big showing from the 25-year-old.
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