Family ties give Richie Murphy solace after Ulster's defeat against Munster

After seeing his team fall to a fifth defeat in a row on Friday night, Ulster coach Richie Murphy cut a frustrated figure as he tried to make sense of their 22-19 loss to Munster.

Having taken the lead on three separate occasions, the last of which was just three minutes from full-time, the province still found a way to lose a game in which they had largely controlled, despite playing 50 minutes of the contest with 14 players following a red card for Tom O'Toole.

Amid all the frustration, Murphy did have reason to perk up when he was asked about the province’s debutant on Friday night.

A hamstring injury to Stuart McCloskey has added to a growing injury headache the Ulster coach is dealing with at the moment, but it did provide the opportunity for Jack Murphy – Richie's son – to come on and make his first appearance for the province.

The 20-year-old out-half was one of the stars of the Ireland U20s that finished second in an unbeaten Six Nations in 2024, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup.

And after following his father Richie north to Ulster’s academy this summer, the young prospect (below) earned his first appearance for the side on Friday night.

"Jack done [sic] well. He's disappointed [with the result] but for myself and Stephanie, from a parent's point of view, we're very proud of him," Richie said, although he wasn't letting his son off the hook for his decision to kick the ball out at half time rather than attempting a long-range drop-goal

"From a coach's point of view, he should have dropped the goal.

"I think John Cooney told him to get the ball off the park but just drop the goal like!

"I suppose over the last number of weeks – he's spent probably the last five weeks training with us full-time. Within