Skip to main content

Ulster beat Zebre 40-21 with six tries to open Challenge Cup campaign

Hooker Henry Walker scored twice on his first competitive start as last season's beaten finalists led 19-0 at half-time in Parma.

By RuckBee Newsroom1 min read
A muddy player in white celebrates with a teammate at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi while opponents in striped shirts trudge away.
AI illustration

A new hooker set the tone for Ulster in Parma. Henry Walker scored two first-half tries on his first competitive start, and Richie Murphy's side went on to run in six for a 40-21 bonus-point win over Zebre in Pool 1 of the Challenge Cup.

Ulster were the beaten finalists in this competition last season, and they began this campaign by taking full points away from home at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

A 19-0 lead by half-time

Walker got the scoring going in the 12th minute. Jacob Stockdale crossed next, and Walker then added his second, which left the visitors 19-0 up at the break.

Zebre, coached by Massimo Brunello and currently bottom of the URC table, hit back three minutes into the second half. Giovanni Licata scored their first try and Giacomo Da Re converted it. Ulster answered four minutes later through David McCann, who was captaining the side for the first time.

The hosts got their second try through Alessandro Ortombina a minute after Ulster replacement Jack Murphy had been sent to the sin-bin. In the last 10 minutes, though, Michael Lowry and Martin Moloney scored a try each to put the result beyond doubt. Nathan Doak kicked three conversions and Jamie Benson two.

Next up: the Bulls and the Stormers

The Challenge Cup now breaks until December.

Sources

All pro rugby stories
Three rugby players in red jerseys stand arm in arm, two weeping with heads bowed, before vineyards and hills at sunset.

Pro Rugby

Lions players in tears at Hyron Andrews tribute before La Rochelle defeat

The 31-year-old lock died after a fall at the team hotel on the Île de Ré, and the Lions dedicated their first Champions Cup match to him the next day.

Muddy players in black kit cheer a seated teammate in a changing room, with suitcases and a floodlit Tbilisi building outside.

Pro Rugby

Ospreys beat Black Lion with seven tries in Tbilisi to end long road trip

Flanker Gwilym Evans was player of the match in only his fourth start for the club, and Ospreys led 22-7 at half-time at Avchala Stadium.

A blond player in a headband holds up Stormers and Sharks jerseys on a terrace below a flat-topped mountain, the city and the sea.

Pro Rugby

Stormers sign Corné Rahl, with the Sharks lock joining in July 2027

The 24-year-old lock from Montagu arrives when the current season ends in July 2027 and will play alongside former Oakdale schoolmate Paul de Villiers.