Ulster vs Munster Predictions - Ulster to prevail against Munster

Brad Newcomb

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Last updated: 1 hour ago

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Brad Newcomb 1 hour ago

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Ulster strong at home, winning last 4 matches.
Munster have won 3 of last 5 away games.
Ulster favoured to cover the -3.5 handicap.

Ulster have yet to lose at home this season (Gallo Images)

Ulster have been in excellent form at home in the URC this season. Munster have played well on the road lately and have had success against Ulster in recent encounters.

Ulster have won 3 of their last 5 fixtures in all competitions.
Ulster have won 4 consecutive home matches in all competitions.
Ulster have won 2 of their last 4 home games against Munster.
Munster have won 3 of their last 4 away fixtures in all competitions.
Munster have won 3 consecutive matches against Ulster.

Head to Head

Munster have a slight edge with 19 victories to 15 against Ulster, including two draws in 36 meetings.

Ulster Form

Ulster scored two tries and a conversion in the first half against Connacht last weekend to lead 12-10 at half-time.

Ulster added a converted try and penalty, and were awarded a penalty try in the second half to register a 29-24 away win over Connacht.

Ulster have been performing well at home in their last five fixtures in all competitions. They lost 22-19 to the Sharks before defeating the Dragons 42-21, the Bulls 28-7, Benetton 47-13, and Racing 92 61-7.

Ulster are 5th in the United Rugby Championship table with 27 points after seven matches.

Ulster have been in great touch at home during this campaign, winning four in a row and scoring plenty of tries in their previous two outings in front of their loyal fans.

Munster Form

Munster failed to score any points in the first half against Leinster last weekend, going into the break trailing 7-0.

Munster crossed the try line early in the second half and added a penalty to their tally, but it was not enough, losing 13-8 to Leinster at home.

Munster lost 25-24 to the Sharks, beat the Scarlets 34-21 and Leinster 31-14, lost 40-14 to Bath before defeating the Ospreys 26-10 in their last five away fixtures in all competitions.

Munster are 2nd in the United Rugby Championship standings with 30 points from eight games.

Munster have been in solid form away from home lately, but will need to play well to beat Ulster in their own backyard, as their hosts have yet to lose a match at their stadium this season.

Team News

Ulster

Head coach Richie Murphy has stated that his team have played their best rugby at home this season: “We’re home in the Affidea and we’ve played some of our best rugby here this year and we feel very positive going into the game.

“We have a full house coming and it’s really important that we keep going, and try and be a little bit more consistent but keep playing the rugby that we’ve shown.

“We started the season positively and the confidence within the group is growing every week.”

Juarno Augustus suffered an ankle injury against Connacht and will be sidelined for several weeks.

Eric O'Sullivan, Matthew Dalton, Iain Henderson, and Rob Herring have all resumed team training and could feature against Munster.

Munster

Munster captain Tadhg Beirne recently commented on the current state of rugby: "If we're being serious, teams are just kicking the ball. Why? Because it's a 50-50 chance of getting the ball back.

"Teams are going to set-pieces more because if you go up for a 50-50 in the air and you get a knock on, you get a scrum. And if you have a good scrum, you can get a penalty into the corner.

"It's just becoming a set-piece and kicking game with the way they've changed the rules. You see teams kicking more and more and I think it's just going to continue going that way unless they decide to do something about it."