Quotes supplied by Simon Thomas’ URC Review
The first weekend of the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship season is in the books, with no shortage of drama coming out of the first round of action. There were plenty of last minute winners to keep the URC fans on the edge of their seats, beginning with a shock defeat for the reigning champions Glasgow Warriors.
The Warriors were beaten by an 85th Ulster minute try, to record an unforgettable opening night in Belfast. The Dragons claimed an 84th minute winner to take home the spoils of an incredible Welsh derby, with the Ospreys stunned at the death by the Rodney Parade faithful.
Elsewhere in the opening round, there was further late drama as Benetton and the Scarlets battled to a 20-20 draw. The Treviso side had a shot at goal for a last minute winner, yet the conversion attempt was squandered with the Italians begrudgingly settling for a share of the purse. It also went down to the wire in Limerick as Munster Rugby held on for a narrow 35-33 win against Connacht Rugby after a 10-try thriller.
Here is a recap of the opening round of the 2024/25 United Rugby Championship.
A Special Night in Belfast: Ulster Rugby 20 – 19 Glasgow Warriors
Ulster coach Richie Murphy hailed a “really special” win following his team’s last gasp 20-19 triumph over champions Glasgow at the Kingspan Stadium. “I thought it was incredible the way the lads just stuck at it,” he said.
“We didn’t play our best rugby by a long way. We were put under a lot of pressure from a really good Glasgow team, but we stuck in it, which is something we are trying to build, and to get the win at the end was really special.
“The lads rolled up their sleeves and, in the end, got the job done. I’m really happy to come away with the win because we were playing against a really good side.
“But we are going to have to learn quickly, because that’s not going to be good enough on most nights.”
Skipper Iain Henderson added: “One thing we spoke about before the game was making sure the guys were fighting right to the end and, fair play to them, they did that.”
Replacement scrum-half Dave Shanahan was the match-winning hero, dabbing down from close range five minutes into stoppage time, with his try being confirmed after a TMO review.
“I was a tiny bit nervous. I celebrated a bit early and then I saw the ref go to check it, but I was happy to get over in the end,” he said.
Giving his thoughts, Glasgow flanker Rory Darge added: “We are gutted after that, but fair play to Ulster, they were class. It was a physical game. A lot of matches have come down to the last minute this weekend in the first round of the season.”
Derby Delight for the Dragons: Dragons 23 – 21 Ospreys
Dragons coach Dai Flanagan said he was “super proud” of the character his players showed to secure a final play 23-21 victory over the Ospreys at Rodney Parade.
The game seemed done and dusted when the visitors led 21-13 three minutes from time with their opponents down to 14 men following a yellow card for hooker James Benjamin.
But Flanagan’s charges made light of their numerical disadvantage as they dug deep to earn a penalty which new fly-half Lloyd Evans slotted to set up a grandstand finish.
Then, in the 84th minute, replacement prop Luke Yendle burrowed over after a succession of forward carries, with 13-point Evans slotting the match-winning conversion from in front of the posts. It was the first time the Dragons had claimed a victory on the opening weekend of the league season since 2013 and the celebrations both on and off the field were suitably euphoric.
Flanagan commented: “I thought the character to pull it back was excellent and it’s something we can really build on. I am just super proud of the group. The game looked like it was going away from us, but we had a clear plan.
“The problem solving and having the clarity in what we needed to do in that last play, that is real maturity from us. We spoke in the week about going 12 rounds. I might have to change that to six rounds, because I don’t think I can go through that again!”
Ospreys coach Toby Booth said: “We grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory. I thought we were the better team and I don’t mean any disrespect by that. When you get somebody on the canvas, you have to knock them out and we didn’t do that.”
Ospreys full-back Jack Walsh – the Player of the Match – added: “There’s a sense of frustration. We controlled most of the match pretty well, but we just didn’t close it out.
“Our accuracy at the end let us down. The Dragons are a quality side and if you give them easy territory, they are going to take it and they made us pay.”
Sheedy Shines on Cardiff URC debut: Cardiff Rugby 22 – 17 Zebre Parma
Turning to the other Welsh teams, Cardiff fly-half Callum Sheedy produced a URC Man of the Match display on his competitive debut for Cardiff, setting up the opening two tries in the 22-17 bonus point victory over Zebre at the Arms Park.
Cardiff Coach Matt Sherratt said: “I thought Callum started really well with two assists. In a fairly hectic part of play, he looked pretty cool. Time kind of stood still a little bit and he picked the right option. He showed some moments.”