URC 2025/26 · Round 17
Munster
Ulster
Thomond Park, Limerick
Championship Standings
Two Irish provinces separated by a single point in the table — Ulster 5th on 47, Munster 6th on 46 — but Cardiff (46) and Bulls (45) are breathing down both necks. The top four is effectively locked (Glasgow, Stormers, Leinster, Lions); this is a straight scrap for top-eight seeding, and a home quarter-final is now out of reach for either side. Lose this, and you’re clinging to a knock-out place with two rounds to play.
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Glasgow Warriors | 15 | 11 | 4 | +150 | 55 |
| 2 |  Stormers | 15 | 11 | 4 | +130 | 51 |
| 3 |  Leinster | 15 | 10 | 5 | +70 | 51 |
| 4 |  Lions | 15 | 9 | 5 | +78 | 48 |
| 5 | Ulster | 15 | 9 | 6 | +105 | 47 |
| 6 | Munster | 15 | 9 | 6 | +5 | 46 |
| 7 |  Cardiff | 15 | 9 | 6 | −5 | 46 |
| 8 |  Bulls | 15 | 9 | 6 | +97 | 45 |
| 9 |  Connacht | 15 | 8 | 7 | +19 | 44 |
| 10 |  Ospreys | 15 | 6 | 7 | −28 | 34 |
| 11 |  Sharks | 15 | 6 | 8 | −30 | 34 |
| 12 |  Edinburgh | 15 | 5 | 10 | −70 | 28 |
| 13 |  Benetton | 15 | 5 | 8 | −104 | 28 |
| 14 |  Scarlets | 15 | 4 | 10 | −90 | 23 |
| 15 |  Dragons | 15 | 2 | 10 | −123 | 21 |
| 16 |  Zebre Parma | 15 | 2 | 13 | −204 | 14 |
Munster
W2, L3Munster’s last five URC rounds are a rollercoaster — nilled 45–0 at the Sharks, a brave 34–31 loss at Loftus, then a 45–15 thumping of Benetton at Monigo last weekend to finally break the losing streak. The 45-point reply at Treviso was their biggest away win in three years and a reminder that when Munster’s set piece fires, they’re still a handful. But four of these five results came on the road — they’re finally back at Thomond Park, where they’ve lost just once to Ulster in 15 years. Graham Rowntree will take a backs-to-the-wall, one-point-above-the-cut Munster at home any day.
Ulster
W3, L2Ulster’s form looks respectable on paper — 3W–2L — but the wins came against the URC’s bottom-feeders (Zebre, Edinburgh) and a labouring Ospreys in a four-point squeaker. The two losses are the worrying bit: a 21–10 no-show at Ospreys and a 19–26 home defeat to Connacht that was essentially an Irish derby audition they failed. Then last week Leinster turned them over 29–21 at Kingspan in the Champions Cup play-off — so the last two games against Irish opposition have produced two defeats. Richie Murphy’s side travel well in stats but poorly in practice: they’ve won 4 of 7 URC away trips this season, and none at a provincial derby venue.
Head-to-Head at Thomond Park
39 – 3 – 12
Munster wins · Draws · Ulster wins (54 meetings at Thomond Park)
Munster (39)This is one of the most one-sided home records in Irish rugby — Munster have won 39 of 54 meetings at Thomond Park, drawn 3, and Ulster have won just 12. The last 5 visits to Limerick: Munster 38–20, Munster 29–24, Ulster 15–14, Munster 18–13, Munster 38–10. Ulster’s only Thomond win since 2014 came in October 2022 (15–14, by a point). Overall across all 73 meetings it’s Munster 45, draws 4, Ulster 24. But ignore the recency at your peril: Ulster hammered Munster 28–3 at Kingspan in January 2026 — the most humbling Munster derby performance in years.
Recent Results
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 2026 | URC | Ulster 28–3 Munster |
| May 2025 | URC | Munster 38–20 Ulster |
| Dec 2024 | URC | Ulster 19–22 Munster |
| Jun 2024 | URC | Munster 29–24 Ulster |
| Nov 2023 | URC | Ulster 21–14 Munster |
| Jan 2023 | URC | Ulster 14–15 Munster |
Average score in the last 6 meetings: Munster 28 – Ulster 18 at Thomond Park across 54 meetings. The recent Thomond trend is Munster wins by 2, 5, 1 (loss), 5, 28 — tight derbies punctuated by the odd hammering. Bet on a one-score game unless one pack collapses.
Extended Form
Munster9W, 6L (URC)
URC wins: Leinster (31–14, A), Connacht (17–15, H), Ospreys (26–10, A), Dragons (22–20, H), Zebre (21–7, H), Scarlets (34–21, A), Benetton (45–15, A). Losses: Ulster (3–28, A), Glasgow (22–31, A), Sharks (0–45, A), Bulls (31–34, A), Leinster (8–13, H), Stormers (21–27, H). Also: Champions Cup exits to Toulon (27–25) and Castres (29–31) at home, and a 31–21 defeat at Exeter.
Munster’s defining result this season remains the 31–14 away win at the Aviva in October — and the low point is the 28–3 shredding at Kingspan in January. The 45–15 demolition of Benetton last week was the first real sign of life since that Leinster away win six months ago. At Thomond specifically their URC record is strong: beaten only by Leinster (8–13) and Stormers (21–27) at home all season. This is the venue where their season either resets or ends.
Ulster9W, 6L (URC)
URC wins: Munster (28–3, H), Cardiff (21–14, H), Scarlets (at home), Edinburgh (40–19, A), Zebre (28–12, A), Ospreys (28–24, H), plus three others. Losses: Ospreys (10–21, A), Connacht (19–26, H), Leinster (in season), Scarlets (22–27, A). Also: a 41–24 Champions Cup win over La Rochelle at home, and a 29–21 play-off loss to Leinster at Kingspan last week.
Ulster’s best rugby this season has come at Kingspan in knock-out or marquee fixtures — scalping La Rochelle 41–24, blowing Munster away 28–3. Away from home and on Irish soil, it’s a different story: beaten at Ospreys, at Connacht (home), and now at Kingspan by Leinster. Richie Murphy’s men have a dominant pack when they front up, but the consistency off-tune has cost them a home play-off. They have to travel now — and Thomond is the last place you want to travel to with your season wobbling.
Munster XV
Lineups have not yet been announced. Expect Munster to go near full-strength with finals rugby on the line — Peter O’Mahony, Tadhg Beirne, RG Snyman and Conor Murray all available, and Jack Crowley in his preferred 10 jersey at Thomond. Fineen Wycherley (top-5 URC tackle count) will again anchor the lineout, and Gavin Coombes was outstanding with a hat-trick at Benetton. Calvin Nash and Shane Daly give them finishing out wide.
Ulster XV
Lineups have not yet been announced. Ulster will be sore and short-turnaround after an 80-minute play-off loss to Leinster — expect rotation, particularly in the front row and back row. Iain Henderson, Rob Herring and Nick Timoney should all feature; at halfback the Ulster attack relies on John Cooney’s tempo and Aidan Morgan’s game management. Jacob Stockdale and Mike Lowry are Ulster’s strike runners out wide, and Werner Kok will come up against familiar faces.
Key Matchups
Munster’s edge is up front. The backrow of O’Mahony, Hodnett and Coombes — fresh off a hat-trick from Coombes at Monigo — is arguably the best in the URC when fit, and Ulster’s back row has had to patch up all season. Scrum and breakdown are where Munster will try to squeeze this into a penalty-shootout kicking game. Ulster’s best shot is tempo: John Cooney’s box-kick accuracy versus an aerial contest with Shane Daly, and Stockdale/Lowry finding seam space against a Munster midfield missing its Six Nations sharpness. Crowley v Morgan at 10 is a genuine coin-flip — both have had wobbly springs, both can win a game off one moment.
Match Forecast
Irish derbies at Thomond Park obey their own laws — it’s almost never a blowout, and the home side almost always wins. Ulster have won here once since 2014. Munster arrive off their best performance of the season (45–15 at Benetton) and Ulster arrive off their worst run of Irish-opposition results (28–3 was six months ago, but losses to Connacht at home and Leinster in a play-off bracket them badly). The scorecard likes Munster for a handful of reasons that all compound at Thomond: the venue record, the set-piece edge, the short turnaround Ulster are working off.
The caveat is the January meeting — Ulster hammered Munster 28–3 at Kingspan and there will be lingering scar tissue. If Cooney’s box-kick accuracy pins Munster deep and Timoney/Rea get over the ball, this tightens fast. But Thomond crowds and a Munster pack with something to prove usually swing this one kicks late — and the last four Ulster visits to Limerick have produced margins of 5, 1 (loss), 5, 18. Expect a one-score game into the final ten, Munster to have the better bench, and Crowley to land the decisive three.
Munster to win an Irish derby dogfight — Thomond history and a hungry pack tip it by a score or two.