Edinburgh beaten at home by Ulster

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MARCH 13: Edinburgh's Charlie Shiel in action during a BKT United Rugby Championship match between Edinburgh Rugby and Ulster Rugby at Hive Stadium, on March 13, 2026, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

First half tries from Ross Thompson, Harry Paterson and Wes Goosen had Edinburgh ahead at the break, but the visitors took command in the second half to claim a bonus point win.

Edinburgh came racing out the traps and scored within six minutes after Mosese Tuipulotu’s flat pass carved the 14 men of Ulster open for Thompson to sear clear. It was well deserved, with Ulster having Zac Ward sent to the bin for playing the nine. Only four minutes later the scores were level, with second-rower Charlie Irvine crashing through (7-7, 10 mins)

Halfway through the first period, Harry Paterson made an expert home maul count, gathering Goosen’s dinked pass to hit the line as Ulster committed bodies to the floor. Ten minutes later Goosen turned scorer, after fine work from Venter, Tuipulotu and Thompson (19-7).

Eventual Player of the Match Augustus reduced the arrears before the break, at the end of a flowing full pitch move involving Ward and McKee (19-14, 35 mins).

Half Time: Edinburgh 19-14 Ulster

The second half began with Edinburgh on the front foot as Harry Sheridan sent to the bin for high contact on Connor Boyle. Not to be denied even with 14, they levelled through Jake Flannery, before Sheridan’s yellow was upgraded to a 20 minute red (19-19, 51 mins).

The game became cagey until the last quarter, when Ulster began to turn the screw. They took the lead through substitute Scott Wilson’s sheer brute force after waves of attack. Edinburgh’s misery was compounded when Harri Morris took out Cormac Izuchukwu in the air from the restart. Like Sheridan, it was upgraded to a 20 minute red moments later (19-26, 67 mins).

Into the last ten and Ulster put the game beyond an increasingly beleaguered Edinburgh, with further tries from McKee and Carson both converted by fly-half Jack Murphy. It added points to what had been a bullish second half performance from the visitors (19-40, 74 mins).