After losing the European Challenge Cup final to Montpellier and finishing ninth in the URC Ulster will be excluded from the 2026/27 Champions Cup
Richie Murphy was left counting the cost of a million euros gamble that came unstuck.
Ulster had banked on their ability to fight on two front in the post-Six Nations part of the season, that they could chase a European dream and stay inside the URC’s top eight.
However, the net effect of losing the European Challenge Cup final to Montpellier and finishing ninth in the URC means the province will be excluded from the 2026/27 Champions Cup.
“It was a very difficult day, we came up against a real powerhouse of French rugby,” admitted the Ulster coach in the aftermath of a one-sided final in Bilbao.
“They are right up at the top of the table and ultimately they had too much power for us. We’ve done incredibly well to get this far, we’re definitely not satisfied with that but we’ll come back fighting again.
Murphy praised his charges for their stoic resistance all the same, it augurs well for the immediate future.
“I think we’re a completely different team than we were this time last year.
“Fifty-two URC points has never not got into the top eight before.”
“At the start of the season, if you told me we’d get 52 points in the league and we’d be in a European final with a chance to win it, I probably would have taken your hand off.
“The rugby we played, reaching a European final – obviously was not the result that we wanted – all those things have had an impact on us making the top eight as well.
“Unfortunately we’ve had to move our resources around and at this moment in time our squad probably isn’t strong enough to be able to compete in two competitions and ultimately still get into the top eight.
“We will learn a huge amount from that experience and I think this will drive us forward because it gives us a taste of how good we have to be to be at the top end of Europe.
Ulster captain Nick Timoney acknowledged what everyone inside the Bilbao hotbox was thinking:
“It was sweaty and greasy and I think they did a good job of putting our skills under pressure and flying off the line.
“They were physical in the contact and you probably saw that caused a couple of balls to come loose in contact.
“That was probably the main thing. It was hot and very similar for both teams. They maybe did a better job of holding onto it or being clinical with our mistakes.”
It was a chastening defeat but there were a lot of lessons to be learned by what’s still a very young group.
“I haven’t spoken to the group properly yet, but I guess the message will be the same as it’s been last year, which is that we need to keep progressively trying to get better,” added Timoney.
“We’ve done that certainly to an extent and we just need to keep pushing. Wales are a much better team than we were this time last year but as we saw tonight there’s levels to go.
“Luckily for us we have a lot of young and talented players who have only been making a breakthrough this season and a lot of them played an integral part of today.
“All of us who are lucky enough to keep playing for Ulster next season need to make sure that we’re never satisfied with where our game’s at.
“It was an amazing experience for them and for people like me. We need to keep pushing and getting better until Ulster Rugby is back where it should be.”
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