Cardiff Rugby
29 – 26
Halftime: 12 – 14
Attendance: 6425
Ulster Rugby
Halftime: 12 – 14
Attendance: 6425
Saturday 13th December 2025
KO 20:00 GMT Europe
Cardiff Arms Park
Ref: Evan Urruzmendi
European Challenge Cup
Match Report
-
Cardiff Rugby 29 Ulster Rugby 26
by
Read more : Cardiff Rugby 29 Ulster Rugby 26Callum Sheedy landed a match-winning penalty with the final kick of the game as Cardiff completed a remarkable comeback in an epic Challenge Cup encounter at the Arms Park. With just 15 minutes to go, they were trailing 26-12 and seemingly on course for a first home defeat of the season. But tries from prop […]
Match Stats
Check out the key stats for this game, including overall team performance and individual player highlights.
Match stats
Summary
| Stat. |
Cardiff Rugby |
Ulster Rugby |
|---|---|---|
| Tries |
George Nott (6) Tom Bowen (12) Danny Southworth (64) Dan Thomas (72) |
Tom Stewart (21) James Hume (39) Werner Kok (44), (53) |
| Conversions |
Leigh Halfpenny (7) Callum Sheedy (64), (73) |
Jake Flannery (22), (40), (54) |
| Penalties | Callum Sheedy (80) |
Match Stats
| Stat. |
Cardiff Rugby |
Ulster Rugby |
|---|---|---|
| Posession First Half | 46% | 53% |
| Posession Second Half | 49% | 50% |
| Territory First Half | 47% | 52% |
| Territory Second Half | 46% | 53% |
| Tries | 4 | 4 |
| Conversions | 3 | 3 |
| Penalties Conceded | 8 | 12 |
| Passes | 173 | 168 |
| Tackles | 183 | 127 |
| Scrums Won | 7 | 2 |
| Yellow Cards | 1 | 2 |
Player Stats
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhys Barratt | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| 2 | Dafydd Hughes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | Keiron Assiratti | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | George Nott | 5 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| 5 | Rory Thornton | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 1 |
| 6 | James Botham | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 1 |
| 7 | Dan Thomas | 11 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 1 |
| 8 | Alun Lawrence | 17 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 19 | 1 |
| 9 | Aled Davies | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 11 | 0 |
| 10 | Callum Sheedy | 6 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 33 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | Tom Bowen | 9 | 2 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 12 | Ben Thomas | 16 | 1 | 6 | 44 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 2 |
| 13 | Harri Millard | 7 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 14 | Josh Adams | 8 | 0 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Leigh Halfpenny | 4 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 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 | Evan Lloyd | 7 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 17 | Danny Southworth | 8 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 18 | Sam Wainwright | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| 19 | Josh McNally | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | Lucas de la Rua | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Ellis Bevan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Jacob Beetham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | Cam Winnett | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| No. |
Ulster Rugby |
C | CB | DB | M | O | P | T | TW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Crean | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| 2 | Tom Stewart | 13 | 1 | 5 | 48 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| 3 | Tom O'Toole | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | Harry Sheridan | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 5 | Charlie Irvine | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 6 | Dave McCann | 11 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| 7 | Sean Reffell | 5 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| 8 | Bryn Ward | 12 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 9 | Conor McKee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 89 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | Jake Flannery | 6 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 33 | 6 | 0 |
| 11 | Zac Ward | 12 | 1 | 4 | 64 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 12 | Ben Carson | 14 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 0 |
| 13 | James Hume | 13 | 1 | 1 | 67 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | Werner Kok | 4 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | Stewart Moore | 11 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 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 | John Andrew | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | Angus Bell | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 18 | Rory McGuire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | Cormac Izuchukwu | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 20 | Juarno Augustus | 4 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 21 | Dave Shanahan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | James Humphreys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Match Line-up
View the starting and substitute players for each team.
Line-up
|
Cardiff Rugby |
Ulster Rugby |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhys Barratt | Sam Crean |
| 2 | Dafydd Hughes | Tom Stewart |
| 3 | Keiron Assiratti | Tom O'Toole |
| 4 | George Nott | Harry Sheridan |
| 5 | Rory Thornton | Charlie Irvine |
| 6 | James Botham | Dave McCann |
| 7 | Dan Thomas | Sean Reffell |
| 8 | Alun Lawrence | Bryn Ward |
| 9 | Aled Davies | Conor McKee |
| 10 | Callum Sheedy | Jake Flannery |
| 11 | Tom Bowen | Zac Ward |
| 12 | Ben Thomas | Ben Carson |
| 13 | Harri Millard | James Hume |
| 14 | Josh Adams | Werner Kok |
| 15 | Leigh Halfpenny | Stewart Moore |
Replacements
|
Cardiff Rugby |
Ulster Rugby |
|
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Evan Lloyd | John Andrew |
| 17 | Danny Southworth | Angus Bell |
| 18 | Sam Wainwright | Rory McGuire |
| 19 | Josh McNally | Cormac Izuchukwu |
| 20 | Lucas de la Rua | Juarno Augustus |
| 21 | Ellis Bevan | Dave Shanahan |
| 22 | Jacob Beetham | James Humphreys |
| 23 | Cam Winnett |
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 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 36 | 51 | 3 | 7 |
| 4 |
|
Cardiff Rugby | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 64 | -18 | 1 | 5 |
Form Guide
| Cardiff Rugby | Played | Score | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stade Francais Paris | Away | 38-17 | Loss |
| Zebre Parma | Away | 14-29 | Win |
| Edinburgh Rugby | Home | 20-19 | Win |
| Dragons RFC | Away | 17-24 | Win |
| Ulster Rugby | Played | Score | Win/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| Racing 92 | Home | 61-7 | Win |
| Benetton Rugby | Home | 47-13 | Win |
| Emirates Lions | Away | 49-31 | Loss |
| Hollywoodbets Sharks | Away | 26-34 | Win |
Past Meetings
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
Sat 4th Mar 2023
KO 19:35 GMT
Cardiff Arms Park
Europe
United Rugby Championship
Cardiff Rugby
20
V
42
Ulster Rugby
Head-to-head
|
Cardiff Rugby |
Ulster Rugby |
|
|---|---|---|
| Played | 38 | 38 |
| Wins | 15 | 22 |
| Wins at home | 12 | 15 |
| Wins away | 3 | 7 |
| Draws | 1 | 1 |
From data since 2003