Ulster player ratings vs Stormers | 2026/27 URC

Ulster player ratings: Ulster’s search for a first win goes on, but there were periods here where Richie Murphy’s side made life decidedly uncomfortable for the Stormers. Matthew Devine brought tempo and invention, David McCann led from the front and Ethan McIlroy was electric whenever space opened up.

Unfortunately for the visitors, a struggling scrum, costly errors and a second-half drop-off ultimately proved fatal. There was enough here to suggest better days are coming, but also enough self-inflicted damage to explain why they left Cape Town empty-handed.

1. Eric O’Sullivan – 5
Spent much of the afternoon in survival mode against Wilco Louw and a rampant Stormers scrum. Worked hard around the park but the set-piece battle was hugely one-sided.

2. Rob Herring – 6
Brought all of his vast experience to the table in his first appearance of the season. The lineout functioned well for long spells and he made some important contributions in contact.

3. Keynan Knox – 4.5
Under severe pressure at scrum time and then compounded matters by earning a yellow card for an early engagement at a Stormers driving maul. A difficult day.

4. Ben Donnell – 5
Worked tirelessly without seeing much reward. Did plenty of graft but found himself physically overmatched by a Stormers pack on the front foot.

5. Eli Snyman – 5
Much the same story as Donnell. Honest effort throughout but never quite able to stem the tide.

6. Cormac Izuchukwu – 5
A surprisingly quiet first half considering his Ireland Test pedigree. Later got smashed backwards in contact and endured a frustrating afternoon that summed itself up when a late break ended with him being held up over the line.

7. David McCann – 8
Ulster’s best forward. Crashed over for their opening try, pinched a superb lineout steal and consistently emptied the tank. Also found himself warned by the referee as the Stormers maul piled on pressure, but his effort never wavered.

8. Juarno Augustus – 7.5
Brought the fight to his former South African rivals. Produced several powerful carries and gave the Stormers a taste of their own medicine physically. Recovered well from an earlier knock-on. Shame we didn’t see more of ‘Trokkie’.

9. Matthew Devine – 7.5
Very nearly scored twice and was responsible for many of Ulster’s best attacking moments. His sniping game caused havoc while his kicking out wide was intelligent and varied. One moment of complete brainrot when a Hollywood reverse pass gifted momentum straight back to the Stormers and directly preceded Roos’ killer score, but otherwise this was a very encouraging display.

10. Jack Murphy – 6
His game management and kicking game were excellent during the opening half-hour. Victim rather than villain for the chargedown try, having been handed a hospital pass by Lowry in his own 22. Hard to play behind a pack that was getting pumped.

11. Zac Ward – 6
Dangerous in flashes without quite finding the decisive opening. One strong second-half carry stood out before he was later penalised for holding on after becoming isolated.

12. James Hume – 5
Perhaps bit in a little on the Schickerling try, but there was an argument he had little choice given how quickly the Stormers got around the corner.

13. Ben Carson – 5
Had a few opportunities with ball in hand but found it almost impossible to eke out meaningful metres against the Stormers midfield defence.

14. Ethan McIlroy – 8.5
Outstanding. Produced a searing early counter-attack and looked dangerous whenever involved. One shanked touchfinder was badly against the run of play but, in truth, he could scarcely have done more before departing shortly after halftime.

15. Michael Lowry – 3.5
One to forget. The usually electric full-back endured a nightmare afternoon. The hospital pass that led to De Villiers’ try hurt Ulster badly and errors kept mounting, including multiple dropped balls and missed tackles. Nothing seemed to go right.

Replacements – 5
Jake Flannery spilled possession in midfield during one promising attack. There were willing contributions from the bench Henry Walker, and others throwing themselves into the fight, but they couldn’t match the impact delivered by the Stormers replacements. Chay Mullins and Harry Sheridan added energy.