Ulster Rugby chase first trophy in 20 years against Montpellier
ulster rugby went into the Challenge Cup final in Bilbao with a 20-year trophy wait hanging over them. Montpellier stood across from them at San Mamés Stadium at 8pm, and a win would have given Ulster their first silverware since 2006 as well as a route into next season’s Champions Cup.
Nick Timoney Leads Ulster
Nick Timoney captained the side, with Michael Lowry at fullback and Robert Baloucoune back after missing since the Six Nations. Jack Murphy and Nathan Doak formed the half-back pairing, while James Hume, Jude Postlethwaite and Zac Ward joined Baloucoune in a backline built for speed and width.
Doak was the sharper edge in Ulster’s build-up. He led the URC in individual kicks in play and try assists, handling 147 of Ulster’s 373 kicks this season and finishing with 11 try assists. That workload put the scrumhalf at the centre of how Ulster tried to control territory and create chances from broken field.
San Mamés And The Trophy Wait
Ulster had not won European rugby’s second-tier prize before, and their last European trophy came in 1999. Their last piece of silverware of any sort was the 2006 Celtic League title, which made this final more than a single-night chance at a title. Winning in Bilbao would have ended the longest trophy drought of any of the four Irish provinces.
The selection also carried a cost. Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale were out through injury, leaving Ulster without two established options for the final. Baloucoune’s return mattered because it restored one of the backline threats Ulster had been missing since the Six Nations.
Montpellier Second In Top 14
Montpellier arrived as the side sitting second in France’s Top 14, so Ulster were not getting a soft landing at the end of the tournament. The final still offered them something more immediate than reputation: a trophy, and the alternative route into next season’s Champions Cup that came with it.
For Ulster, the night in Bilbao was about turning a long wait into a result. For the players in that starting XV, it was a chance to leave San Mamés with the club’s first silverware in 20 years and a direct path back into Europe’s top competition.
