Murphy Criticizes Ulster’s ‘Training Session’ Standard After 26-26 Draw with Munster

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy has launched a scathing critique of his side’s performance following a 26-26 draw against Munster, accusing the team of treating a competitive United Rugby Championship (URC) fixture like a routine training session.

The match, played in Belfast on Saturday, saw Ulster trail 26-5 at halftime after a dominant first-half display from Munster. However, a spirited second-half comeback featuring tries from Jacob Stockdale, David McCann, and Stuart McCloskey ensured the hosts shared the points.

The result extends Ulster’s winless run in the domestic competition to seven games. Having opened their campaign with a defeat by Edinburgh and a stalemate in Glasgow, Murphy’s squad remains without a victory before their upcoming European Champions Cup debut next week.

Murphy pointed to the return of key players from injury as a factor in the lack of cohesion. “We’re still very much in the early part of the season. We’ve got three or four players coming back in for their first games this weekend,” he explained. “The flow of the team hasn’t completely settled in. At the moment, we’re playing matches like they’re training sessions.”

The Ireland internationals, including Stockdale and McCloskey, were among those returning to the fold, but Ulster struggled to cope with the physicality of Clayton McMillan’s Munster side. Tries from Alex Kendellen, who scored twice, along with scores from Marnus van der Merwe and Dan Kelly, put the visitors in control before the interval.

Murphy expressed frustration at Ulster’s inability to seize momentum early. “We allowed Munster to set the tempo. We were inaccurate with our first launch,” he said. “Off the back of that, penalty, penalty, and then you’re back in your corner fighting for your life. Once you’re five metres out and the opposition have a line-out, it’s very hard to stop, so that gave them control of the first half.”

Despite the improved intensity after the break, ball retention remained an issue, and field position was poorly managed. Ulster missed an opportunity to claim victory on the final play of the game when Robert Baloucoune’s attempted pass to Matthew Devine was intercepted by Alex Nankivell.

“We made some changes, but we were still very inaccurate in the second half and didn’t look after the ball well enough,” Murphy admitted. “Our turnover rate needs to come down. Our scrum has been going really well but took a backward step tonight, and I kind of feel like we didn’t attack the game the way we needed to.”

Munster manager Clayton McMillan was equally blunt, admitting his side failed to put the result beyond doubt after the break. The visitors, who were held scoreless in the second half, allowed Ulster to claw back into contention.

“We talked about it at half-time that Ulster are a quality side that won’t go away,” McMillan said. “We needed to continue to be accurate and just apply pressure in the right parts of the field. But we didn’t quite get the same quality of possession in the second half, and Ulster were good enough to find a way back into the game.”