Ulster’s Jamie Benson has enjoyed a swift rise into the Ireland squad.

Ulster are still waiting for their first win of the United Rugby Championship season as despite taking the lead against Stormers in Cape Town they slipped to a third defeat in five matches, losing 33-7

Battered Ulster count the cost of Stormers loss.

Northern province make eight changes to side which lost to The Bulls.

James McNabney and Joe Hopes have also put pen to paper.

Ulster have confirmed that Robert Baloucoune, James McNabney and Joe Hopes have all signed two-year contract extensions that will see them remain at the province until 2029.

Ulster came back from 21-0 down to give the Bulls an almighty scare in Pretoria, but ultimately left South Africa still searching for their first league win. Peter Lockhart and Gareth Steenson look back at the 34-26 defeat, the positives, the problems and some impressive individual performances. We also look ahead to Saturday's clash with the Stormers in Cape Town. With nine players away on Ireland duty and a seriously dangerous Stormers side waiting, it's another huge challenge for Richie Murphy's men. Can Ulster finally get that elusive first win?

It was one of the games of the season when Ulster and the DHL Stormers battled it out in the second half round of the regular season. Re-live all the action before they meet again this weekend in Cape Town. Ulster Rugby : Michael Lowry; Werner Kok; Ethan McIlroy; Jude Postlethwaite; Zac Ward; Jack Murphy; Nathan Doak ; Angus Bell; James McCormick; Tom O’Toole; Iain Henderson (C); Charlie Irvine; Cormac Izuchukwu; Nick Timoney; Juarno Augustus Replacements: Tom Stewart; Eric O’Sullivan; Scott Wilson; Harry Sheridan; Bryn Ward; Conor McKee; Jake Flannery; Wilhelm De Klerk DHL Stormers : Warrick Gelant, Wandisile Simelane, Dan du Plessis, Damian Willemse, Leolin Zas, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Imad Khan, Ntuthuko Mchunu, André-Hugo Venter, Sazi Sandi, Adré Smith, Ruben van Heerden, Deon Fourie (C), Ben-Jason Dixon, Evan Roos. Replacements: Paul de Villiers, Oli Kebble, Zachary Porthen, Connor Evans, Hacjivah Dayimani, Keke Morabe, Stefan Ungerer, Jurie Matthee Head to URC TV to watch full match replays of every game: https://URC.tv Tune in to the live action & subscribe: South Africa: https://bit.ly/SuperSportURC UK & Ireland: https://bit.ly/PremierSportsURC SUBSCRIBE and activate notifications on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3D6AJLo Want more URC? Head to our official website: https://UnitedRugby.com Follow us across social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/URCOfficial TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@URC Instagram: https://instagram.com/URC Facebook: https://facebook.com/URC #URC #Rugby #RugbyUnion #RugbyHighlights

Ulster fell short as they were beaten 34-26 by the Bulls despite a superb fightback in their United Rugby Championship clash in Pretoria.

Northern province fight back in second half, but hosts win in Pretoria.

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy says his side had chances to win against the Bulls.

Dropping points at home to Edinburgh and Munster feels costly considering Ulster’s ninth-placed finish last season.

Juarno Augustus seeks to back up recent strong form.

Six tries, five points and finally a first win of the season! Ulster got the job done in Parma, and there was plenty to like about it (and also quite a lot to work on!) We chat about what clicked for Richie Murphy’s men, whether Ulster have finally turned a corner, and the small matter of a trip to South Africa to face a Bulls side stacked with Springboks. Can Ulster back it up, or is it a reality check waiting in Pretoria? All that and plenty more on this week’s Stand Up Ulster Rugby Podcast!

Ulster made hay in the opening 40 minutes.

Henry Walker scored two first-half tries as Ulster opened their Challenge Cup campaign with a 40-21 bonus-point victory away at Pool 1 rivals Zebre.

Richie Murphy has handed a first senior competitive start to development hooker Henry Walker.

Well, where do you even start with that one? Ulster somehow managed to come back from 21 points down to snatch a 26-26 draw with Munster at Ravenhill. Some cracking stuff from the backs, but the less said about the scrum and maul the better. Plenty to admire about the fightback, but plenty to be worried about too. How do you even begin to make sense of it? We're joined by former Ulster and Zebre player Mick Kearney and Munster fan and rugby journalist Caolan Scully to pick the bones out of it all. What went wrong, what went right, and are we just papering over the same old cracks? We also look ahead to Zebre next weekend. Surely a chance to get things back on track... surely? Plenty to get stuck into. Enjoy the episode and let us know what you made of it all in the comments!

After a patchy start to the season, it's clear that Ulster's problems currently lie in the fundamentals and the basics of their forwards game.