Trokkie concern as Ulster outclass Connacht, Glasgow down Edinburgh to retain 1872 Cup

SATURDAY WRAP: Ulster outclassed a plucky Connacht outfit by 26-24 at Dexcom Stadium, whilst Glasgow Warriors retained the 1872 Cup in a late surge to win 21-3 at Murrayfield.

Ulster outscored Connacht by four tries to three to earn a bonus point victory.

Their victory has been dampened by the injury of Springbok hopeful Juarno Augustus, who appeared to have suffered an Achilles tendon injury in the 63rd minute.

The No.8 had a solid outing on the defensive front, making 16 tackles before being forced off the field.

Ulster were dealt an early blow with a yellow card shown to Jack Murphy in the 15th minute.

Connacht were first on the scoreboard in the 23rd minute through Finn Treacy, converted by Sam Gilbert after an arm wrestle in the opening quarter.

Gilbert added a penalty to edge out a 10-point lead before Zac Ward responded with a brace in the 33rd and 40th minutes respectively, with Jack Murphy converting the first score for a 12-10 lead heading into the sheds.

After a scuffle between Bundee Aki and Stuart McCloskey, both centres were sent to the sinbin in the 42nd minute.

Werner Kok dotted down for Ulster’s second try in the 46th minute as Murphy added the extras to take the score to 19-10 in favour of the visitors.

Connacht lock Joe Joyce received a yellow card in the 52nd minute for illegally collapsing a maul, leading to a penalty try for Ulster.

The hosts fought back bravely, with tries by Sean Jansen and Matthew Devine in the 65th and 76th minutes respectively, converted by Gilbert.

Murphy slotted a penalty in the 80th minute to seal a hard-earned five-point win in Galway.

Scorers

For Connacht:
Tries: Treacy, Jansen, Devine
Cons: Gilbert 3
Pens: Gilbert

For Ulster: 
Tries: Ward 2, Kok, Penalty try does not require a conversion
Cons: Murphy 2
Pens: Murphy

Yellow cards: Jack Murphy (Ulster, 15), Bundee Aki (Connacht, 42′), Stuart McCloskey (Ulster, 42′), Joe Joyce (Connacht, 52′)

Teams

Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Daniel Ryan, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Ali, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Cian Prendergast (captain), 6 Josh Murphy, 5 David O’Connor, 4 Joe Joyce, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 Darragh Murray, 20 Sean O’Brien, 21 Matthew Devine, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Hugh Gavin.

Ulster: 15 Jacob Stockdale, 14 Werner Kok, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Conor McKee, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Nick Timoney (captain), 6 David McCann, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Harry Sheridan, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Tom Stewart, 1 Sam Crean.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Joe Hopes, 20 Bryn Ward, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Jake Flannery, 23 Jude Postlethwaite.

Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ireland); Max Weston (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)

Earlier, Glasgow Warriors scored 19 unanswered points to defeat Edinburgh by 21-3 at Scottish Gas Murrayfield.

The contest was an armwrestle for the most part, with multiple handling errors and poor execution from both sides being a thorn in the side.

It was also a special milestone for Scotland international and Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn, who celebrated his 100th cap for the club.

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Hear from the Skipper on retaining the 1872 Cup on his 100th cap 🔥#WhateverItTakes ⚔️🛡️ pic.twitter.com/HZuUgF1Q9i

— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) December 27, 2025

The Warriors held a 7-3 lead at half-time thanks to a 31st-minute try by Jamie Dobie converted by Adam Hastings, with Edinburgh’s only score in the match coming in the form of a Cammy Scott penalty.

Glasgow flanker Angus Fraser was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle in the 49th minute, but the hosts couldn’t capitalise with the extra player at their disposal.

The match remained in the balance before two late tries by George Horne and Dobie, with the latter bagging a brace in the final five minutes of the contest, which sealed the deal for the visitors to clinch the 1872 Cup.

Scorers

For Edinburgh:
Pen: Scott

For Glasgow Warriors: 
Tries: Dobie 2, Horne
Cons: Hastings, Dobie, Lancaster

Yellow card: Angus Fraser (Glasgow Warriors, 49′ – Dangerous play: high tackle)

Teams: 

Edinburgh: 15 Wes Goosen, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Matt Currie, 12 James Lang, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Cammy Scott, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Magnus Bradbury (captain), 7 Dylan Richardson, 6 Liam McConnell, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Glen Young, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Harri Morris, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty, 17 Boan Venter, 18 Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, 19 Callum Hunter-Hill, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Charlie Shiel, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Jack Brown.

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Kyle Steyn (captain), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Adam Hastings,9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Angus Fraser, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Sam Talakai, 2 Johnny Matthews, 1 Patrick Schickerling.
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Rory Darge, 22 Ben Afshar, 23 Dan Lancaster.

Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Scotland); Jonny Mackenzie (Scotland)
TMO: David Sutherland (Scotland)

In the earlier clash, Benetton put on a dominant display to defeat Zebre by 37-23 at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

The visitors scored the only try of the first half through Ignacio Mendy, with the boot of Jacob Umaga keeping the scoreboard ticking over with three penalties and a conversion to be ahead 16-9 at the break.

Discipline was an issue for both sides as Zebre’s Giacomo Ferrari and Damiano Mazza were yellow carded, and Benetton’s Michele Lamaro getting a rest in the sinbin as well.

Zebre drew first blood in the second half with a try by Simone Gesi in the 42nd minute, with Giacomo Da Re’s conversion bringing it back to a two-point match.

Following a penalty try and Mazza’s yellow card in the 52nd minute, the floodgates opened for the visitors.

Paolo Odogwu crossed the line in the 61st minute, followed by replacement Louis Werchon eight minutes later, both converted by Umaga.

Zebre, however, had the final say with a late try by Malik Faissal converted by Da Re in the 79th minute to conclude the match.

Scorers: 

For Zebre:
Tries: Gesi, Faissal
Cons: Da Re 2
Pens: Da Re 3

For Benetton:
Tries: Mendy, Odogwu, Werchon, Penalty try does not require a conversion
Cons: Umaga 3
Pens: Umaga 3

Yellow cards: Giacomo Ferrari (Zebre, 5′), Michele Lamaro (Benetton, 24′), Damiano Mazza (Zebre, 52′)

Teams: 

Zebre Parma: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Malik Faissal, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giovanni Licata (captain), 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Giacomo Ferrari, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Alessandro Ortombina, 3 Juan Manuel Pitinari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa.
Replacements: 16 Giampietro Ribaldi, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Matteo Nocera, 19 David Odiase, 20 Davide Ruggeri, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Giulio Bertaccini, 23 Bautista Stavile.

Benetton: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Ignacio Mendy, 10 Jacob Umaga, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Michele Lamaro (captain), 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor, 5 Eli Snyman, 4 Riccardo Favretto, 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Siua Maile, 1 Mirco Spagnolo.
Replacements: 16 Nicholas Gasperini, 17 Destiny Aminu, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 21 Federico Ruzza, 22 Louis Werchon, 23 Rhyno Smith.

Referee: Clara Munarini (Italy)
Assistant referees: Federico Vedovelli (Italy); Lorenzo Pedezzi (Italy)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Image credit: @UlsterRugby