Connacht 27 - 28 Bulls

Full time

17 Oct 2025

Stage: Regular Season Round 4

Dexcom Stadium

🎉 1

In a thrilling URC clash, Connacht narrowly lost to the Bulls with a final score of 27-28. Connacht started strong with a try from Ioane, who also converted his effort to lead early on. However, a red card for Murphy shortly after allowed the Bulls to capitalize, with tries from de Wet and le Roux putting them ahead. Johannes extended the Bulls' lead with a drop goal shortly after halftime. Connacht fought back with a try from Blade and another from Naughton, but the Bulls' resilience shone through. Johannes' kicking proved decisive, as he added penalties to keep Connacht at bay. The match concluded with Hansen's late try not being enough to secure victory for the home side.

Broadcasters

IE
GB
IE TG4

Where to watch in: Ireland, United Kingdom

Weather

Temperature: 14.0°C (Feels like 11.1°C) Condition: Cloudy Wind: 15.4 km/h, gusting to 26.0 km/h Humidity: 80% Cloud Cover: 99%

Highlights

Events

Kickoff
9'

Try

Josh Ioane · Connacht

5 - 0
10'

Conversion

Josh Ioane · Connacht

7 - 0
12'

Try

Paul de Wet · Bulls

7 - 5
18'

Red Card

Josh Murphy · Connacht
19'

Try

Willie le Roux · Bulls

7 - 10
20'

Conversion

Keagan Johannes · Bulls

7 - 12
Halftime 7 - 12
Second Half
42'

Drop Goal

Keagan Johannes · Bulls

7 - 15
44'

Try

Caolin Blade · Connacht

12 - 15
45'

Conversion

Josh Ioane · Connacht

14 - 15
51'

Substitution

Jordan Duggan on for Peter Dooley · Connacht
51'

Substitution

Joe Joyce on for David O'Connor · Connacht
53'

Try

Paul de Wet · Bulls

14 - 20
54'

Conversion

Keagan Johannes · Bulls

14 - 22
54'

Substitution

Francois Klopper on for Wilco Louw · Bulls
55'

Substitution

Sean Naughton on for Chay Mullins · Connacht
55'

Substitution

Dylan Tierney-Martin on for Cian Prendergast · Connacht
57'

Substitution

Jack Aungier on for Finlay Bealham · Connacht
59'

Substitution

Gerhard Steenekamp on for Alulutho Tshakweni · Bulls
59'

Substitution

Johan Grobbelaar on for Jan-Hendrik Wessels · Bulls
59'

Substitution

Cathal Forde on for Bundee Aki · Connacht
62'

Penalty

Keagan Johannes · Bulls

14 - 25
64'

Substitution

Harold Vorster on for Jan Serfontein · Bulls
66'

Substitution

Cian Prendergast on for Dylan Tierney-Martin · Connacht
66'

Substitution

Matthew Devine on for Caolin Blade · Connacht
67'

Try

Sean Naughton · Connacht

19 - 25
69'

Substitution

Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg on for Reinhardt Ludwig · Bulls
71'

Penalty

Keagan Johannes · Bulls

19 - 28
73'

Penalty

Sean Naughton · Connacht

22 - 28
73'

Substitution

Stravino Jacobs on for Sebastian de Klerk · Bulls
74'

Substitution

Embrose Papier on for Paul de Wet · Bulls
78'

Try

Mack Hansen · Connacht

27 - 28
80'

Substitution

Mpilo Gumede on for JJ Theron · Bulls
Fulltime 27 - 28

Player ratings

Connacht

15 Mack Hansen 7.7
14 Chay Mullins 6.6
13 Byron Ralston 6.9
12 Bundee Aki 7.3
11 Shayne Bolton 6.4
10 Josh Ioane 6.9
9 Caolin Blade 7.9
1 Peter Dooley 6.3
2 Dave Heffernan 8.0
3 Finlay Bealham 6.3
4 Darragh Murray 6.7
5 David O'Connor 6.2
6 Josh Murphy 4.0
7 Cian Prendergast 6.2
8 Sean Jansen 6.8
16 Dylan Tierney-Martin 5.3
17 Jordan Duggan 6.0
18 Jack Aungier 6.3
19 Joe Joyce 6.6
20 Sean O'Brien –
21 Matthew Devine 5.8
22 Sean Naughton 7.1
23 Cathal Forde 5.9

Bulls

15 Willie le Roux 7.5
14 Canan Moodie 7.0
13 David Kriel 7.0
12 Jan Serfontein 7.4
11 Sebastian de Klerk 8.8
10 Keagan Johannes 6.9
9 Paul de Wet 8.1
1 Alulutho Tshakweni 7.1
2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels 7.6
3 Wilco Louw 6.8
4 Cobus Wiese 6.5
5 Reinhardt Ludwig 7.7
6 Nama Xaba 8.1
7 JJ Theron 7.2
8 Jeandre Rudolph 8.2
16 Johan Grobbelaar 7.2
17 Gerhard Steenekamp 6.8
18 Francois Klopper 6.9
19 Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg 6.6
20 Mpilo Gumede –
21 Embrose Papier –
22 Harold Vorster 6.1
23 Stravino Jacobs –