Ulster Rugby: Province still seeking ’80-minute performance’ after Racing 92 win says David McCann

Ulster back row David McCann believes the province will be “hard to deal with” if they can achieve greater consistency across games.

Richie Murphy’s side have made a strong start to the season, winning five of their first games of the 2025-26 campaign in all competitions.

They thumped Racing 92 by a score of 61-7 in the Challenge Cup on Friday night but seven of their nine tries came after half-time and they carried just a 14-7 lead into the turn.

McCann believes small alterations made a “massive difference” as the game progressed.

“I actually don’t think we were that bad. We were just maybe half a second off,” he said of the first-half showing.

“But we switched that up, showed ball focus, early to the breakdown, winning all the scraps, and you saw how that just allows us to play our game.

“When we attack like that, we’re hard to deal with. I think if we can start to pair that together with 80-minute performances like that, we’re going to be hard to deal with.”

After a break for the November Test window, Ulster have won the first two contests of a run of 10 games in 10 weeks.

With a trip to Cardiff in the Challenge Cup to come on Friday, followed by three interprovincial derbies in the United Rugby Championship, Richie Murphy’s side have found form in a key period of the season.

“I think momentum’s huge but [there is a] general belief in what we’re doing,” added McCann.

“When we defend well, we get the ball back, and then when we get the ball back, I think everyone knows what our attack looks like now.

“So it’s that belief that’s huge at the moment. There’s obviously some big games coming up, so it’ll be good to see how we go.”