Ulster: United Rugby Championship 2026-27 preview

# Overview Ulster began last season in promising form but faded in the United Rugby Championship, failing to win any of their final four matches and missing out on a play-off place. They reached the Challenge Cup final but lost to Montpellier. The province still supplied ten players to Ireland's Nations Championship squad, and the squad shows signs of forward momentum heading into 2026-27.

# What went wrong last season

# Squad strengths and concerns Stuart McCloskey delivered the best campaign of his career, winning Ulster's Player of the Year awards and contributing two tries, ten assists, 18 dominant contacts in the Six Nations and eight turnovers won. His later-season hamstring injury coincided with the team's slump, highlighting how dependent Ulster can be on his influence.

# Coaching and backroom changes Richie Murphy remains head coach with Mark Sexton, Willie Faloon and Dan Soper retained. Clarke Dermody joins as forwards coach, replacing Jimmy Duffy. Joe Schmidt has been appointed in a Coach Development Advisor consultancy role aimed at improving the coaching pathway within the province.

# Key additions and departures Signings that could affect selection and depth include Matthew Devine (Connacht), Chay Mullins (Connacht), Eduardo Bello (Newcastle Red Bulls), Eli Snyman (Benetton), Jamie Benson (Harlequins), Ben Donnell (Cardiff), Keynan Knox (Nevers), Daniel Hawkshaw (Clontarf) and Marton Moloney (Exeter Chiefs).

Departures of note are Angus Bell (Waratahs) and Werner Kok (Newcastle Red Bulls), plus several released players including John Andrew, Ben Moxham and Marcus Rea.

# One to watch Matthew Devine arrives reunited with his former Ireland U20 coach Richie Murphy. Frustrated for minutes at Connacht, Devine will compete with Nathan Doak for the No.9 jersey and is expected to press for significant game time.

# Prediction and outlook Ulster's balance of experienced internationals and incoming reinforcements makes a play-off push credible. The preview predicts no repeat of last season's late collapse and lists a top-four finish as a realistic target. Betting odds published in the source put Ulster at 16-1 for the URC title.

# What to monitor

• Stuart McCloskey's fitness and availability across the season.
• The impact of Clarke Dermody as forwards coach on scrum discipline and penalty count.
• Whether Matthew Devine can win the starting scrum-half role and change Ulster's tempo and kicking frequency.
• How Joe Schmidt's development role translates into on-field consistency and coaching outputs.

# Bottom line