Ulster Rugby
21 – 14
Halftime: 14 – 0
Attendance: 12012
Cardiff Rugby
Halftime: 14 – 0
Attendance: 12012
Saturday 31st January 2026
KO 19:45 GMT Europe
Kingspan Stadium
Ref: Hollie Davidson
United Rugby Championship
Match Report
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Ulster Rugby 21 Cardiff Rugby 14
by
Read more : Ulster Rugby 21 Cardiff Rugby 14Cardiff Rugby battled to claim a losing bonus-point in attritional BKT United Rugby Championship encounter at Affidea Stadium on Saturday night. Ulster dominated the first-half in Belfast and bludgeoned their way into a 14-0 lead thanks to tries from props Scotty Wilson and Angus Bell. But the Blue & Blacks battled bravely and dragged their […]
Match Stats
Check out the key stats for this game, including overall team performance and individual player highlights.
Match stats
Summary
| Stat. |
Ulster Rugby |
Cardiff Rugby |
|---|---|---|
| Tries |
Scott Wilson (11) Angus Bell (18) Charlie Irvine (65) |
Johan Mulder (53) Steffan Emanuel (67) |
| Conversions | Jack Murphy (11), (18), (66) | Callum Sheedy (54), (68) |
| Penalties |
Match Stats
| Stat. |
Ulster Rugby |
Cardiff Rugby |
|---|---|---|
| Posession First Half | 58% | 41% |
| Posession Second Half | 46% | 53% |
| Territory First Half | 68% | 31% |
| Territory Second Half | 41% | 58% |
| Tries | 3 | 2 |
| Conversions | 3 | 2 |
| Penalties Conceded | 10 | 6 |
| Passes | 145 | 131 |
| Tackles | 125 | 173 |
| Scrums Won | 9 | 9 |
Player Stats
C: Carries, CB: Clean Breaks, DB: Defenders Beaten, M: Metres, O: Offload, P: Passes, T: Tackles, TW: Turnovers Won
| No. |
Ulster Rugby |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angus Bell | 8 | 1 | 5 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Rob Herring | 9 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
| 3 | Scott Wilson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 4 | Iain Henderson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 5 | Charlie Irvine | 5 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| 6 | Matt Dalton | 10 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 0 |
| 7 | Marcus Rea | 7 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 |
| 8 | Dave McCann | 11 | 1 | 6 | 37 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | Conor McKee | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 55 | 5 | 1 |
| 10 | Jack Murphy | 8 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 25 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | Zac Ward | 13 | 4 | 5 | 133 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Ben Carson | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 |
| 13 | James Hume | 12 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 2 |
| 14 | Werner Kok | 6 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | Ethan Mcilroy | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Replacements
C: Carries, CB: Clean Breaks, DB: Defenders Beaten, M: Metres, O: Offload, P: Passes, T: Tackles, TW: Turnovers Won
| No. |
Ulster Rugby |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | James McCormick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Sam Crean | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | Bryan O'Connor | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Harry Sheridan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Lorcan McLoughlin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 21 | Dave Shanahan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Jake Flannery | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Ben Moxham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. |
Cardiff Rugby |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhys Barratt | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| 2 | Evan Lloyd | 9 | 1 | 2 | 46 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 3 | Javan Sebastian | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | Josh McNally | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 0 |
| 5 | George Nott | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | Alun Lawrence | 12 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 23 | 1 |
| 7 | Dan Thomas | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 0 |
| 8 | Taine Basham | 14 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | Johan Mulder | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 45 | 7 | 1 |
| 10 | Callum Sheedy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 25 | 6 | 0 |
| 11 | Tom Bowen | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | Steffan Emanuel | 7 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| 13 | Harri Millard | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| 14 | Ioan Lloyd | 9 | 0 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 15 | Cam Winnett | 8 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
Replacements
C: Carries, CB: Clean Breaks, DB: Defenders Beaten, M: Metres, O: Offload, P: Passes, T: Tackles, TW: Turnovers Won
| No. |
Cardiff Rugby |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Dafydd Hughes | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 17 | Danny Southworth | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 18 | Joe Cowell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 19 | Rory Thornton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Lucas de la Rua | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Aled Davies | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | Elijah Evans | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | Leigh Halfpenny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Match Line-up
View the starting and substitute players for each team.
Line-up
|
Ulster Rugby |
Cardiff Rugby |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angus Bell | Rhys Barratt |
| 2 | Rob Herring | Evan Lloyd |
| 3 | Scott Wilson | Javan Sebastian |
| 4 | Iain Henderson | Josh McNally |
| 5 | Charlie Irvine | George Nott |
| 6 | Matt Dalton | Alun Lawrence |
| 7 | Marcus Rea | Dan Thomas |
| 8 | Dave McCann | Taine Basham |
| 9 | Conor McKee | Johan Mulder |
| 10 | Jack Murphy | Callum Sheedy |
| 11 | Zac Ward | Tom Bowen |
| 12 | Ben Carson | Steffan Emanuel |
| 13 | James Hume | Harri Millard |
| 14 | Werner Kok | Ioan Lloyd |
| 15 | Ethan Mcilroy | Cam Winnett |
Replacements
|
Ulster Rugby |
Cardiff Rugby |
|
|---|---|---|
| 16 | James McCormick | Dafydd Hughes |
| 17 | Sam Crean | Danny Southworth |
| 18 | Bryan O'Connor | Joe Cowell |
| 19 | Harry Sheridan | Rory Thornton |
| 20 | Lorcan McLoughlin | Lucas de la Rua |
| 21 | Dave Shanahan | Aled Davies |
| 22 | Jake Flannery | Elijah Evans |
| 23 | Ben Moxham | Leigh Halfpenny |
Team Stats
Review overall team performance, recent form, and historical comparisons.
Team stats
The season so far
P: Played . W: Won D: Drawn L: Lost F: For A: Against Diff: Difference BP: Bonus Points Pts: Points (Total)
| No. | Team Name | P | W | D | L | F | A | Diff | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 |
|
Ulster Rugby | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 399 | 286 | 113 | 11 | 47 |
| 6 |
|
Cardiff Rugby | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 262 | 271 | -9 | 9 | 41 |
Form Guide
| Ulster Rugby | Played | Score | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlets | Away | 27-22 | Loss |
| Stade Francais Paris | Home | 26-19 | Win |
| Toyota Cheetahs | Away | – | Win |
| Munster Rugby | Home | 28-3 | Win |
| Cardiff Rugby | Played | Score | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benetton Rugby | Home | 17-8 | Win |
| Exeter Chiefs | Away | 31-0 | Loss |
| Racing 92 | Home | 32-13 | Win |
| Ospreys | Away | 33-22 | Loss |
Past Meetings
Sat 13th Dec 2025
KO 20:00 GMT
Cardiff Arms Park
Europe
European Challenge Cup
Cardiff Rugby
29
V
26
Ulster Rugby
Sat 26th Oct 2024
KO 19:35 BST
Cardiff Arms Park
Europe
United Rugby Championship
Cardiff Rugby
21
V
19
Ulster Rugby
Fri 19th Apr 2024
KO 19:35 IST
Kingspan Stadium
Europe
United Rugby Championship
Ulster Rugby
19
V
17
Cardiff Rugby
Head-to-head
|
Ulster Rugby |
Cardiff Rugby |
|
|---|---|---|
| Played | 39 | 39 |
| Wins | 22 | 16 |
| Wins at home | 15 | 13 |
| Wins away | 7 | 3 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 |
From data since 2003