When Ulster finished third from bottom in the United Rugby Championship last season, the questions were loud and the doubts were real. Missing out on both the URC play-offs and Champions Cup qualification left the Irish province searching for answers. Fast forward just one year, and the narrative has flipped completely.
On Saturday, Ulster powered past Exeter Chiefs to secure a spot in the Challenge Cup final. Now, Richie Murphy's squad stands on the brink of ending a 20-year trophy drought when they face Montpellier in Bilbao on May 22. It's the kind of turnaround that feels almost scripted—except nobody saw it coming.
"Not many people would have been putting money on us being in a final this year," admits flanker Nick Timoney, speaking with the kind of honest reflection that comes from having been through the lows. "The opportunity is there in front of us now. We've got to go take it because I know from personal experience, and a lot of us do, they're rare opportunities."
So, what changed? According to Timoney, the answer starts with a reset—and a roster of young players who carry "no scars" from past disappointments. "We all knew at the time it wasn't good enough," he explains, "but it's sometimes hard to reflect when you're in the moment and you're going week to week. You feel like you're trying your best, but it's not working and then that leads to frustration and lack of confidence."
The off-season provided a clean slate, and the coaching staff made a conscious decision to steer things in a new direction. "There was great buy-in from the players," Timoney notes, "and certainly from some of the important players, leaders in the group and whatnot, that we were going to see this thing in the right direction."
The result? A blistering start to the season that put Ulster in strong URC contention. While a mid-season wobble has made their play-off hopes precarious—thanks to a fiercely competitive top 10—the team's resilience has never been more evident. "Obviously, it hasn't always been perfect," Timoney admits, but for a squad that has shed its past and embraced a fresh identity, perfection isn't the goal. Progress is. And right now, that progress has them one game away from glory.