URC highlights: No Edinburgh Rugby 'system error' as champions Leinster take heavy punch
A full round-up of the opening weekend in the URC
Edinburgh Rugby head coach Sean Everitt says their last-gasp URC opening-day defeat by Zebre was not down to a “system error”.
Edinburgh twice fought back from 14-point deficits against the Italians at Stadio Lanfranchi, only to be floored by a late Martin Farias penalty to seal a 31-28 victory for Zebre. The defeat was made more painful given Zebre played 30 minutes with a 14 men after a red card for skipper Giovanni Licata.
Aiming to rid themselves of last season’s inconsistencies, this was far from the ideal start to the 2025/26 campaign for Edinburgh. Despite tries from Liam McConnell, new captain Magnus Bradbury, Ben Vellacott and Patrick Harrison, they came up short against a Zebre side they have now failed to beat in their last three encounters.
“We did very well to come back and we were always within grasp, so to lose it in the last couple of minutes was really disappointing,” said Everitt. “We’ve got to go and have a look at why. It’s definitely not a system error, so we’ll have a look at the individual errors that cost us.”
Edinburgh return to Hive Stadium on Friday night with a home match against Ulster, who defeated Dragons 42-21 in their curtain raiser.
The most eye-catching result of the weekend came in South Africa, with defending champions Leinster losing 35-0 to Stormers in Cape Town. “We just weren’t at the races,” said the Irish side’s head coach Leo Cullen. “We have had a proper punch in the nose. It’s how we respond now and get back on the horse.”
Leinster remain in South Africa and face the Bulls next, who were 53-40 victors over Ospreys in an entertaining match at Loftus Versfeld.
Cardiff coach Corniel van Zyl paid tribute to the fight shown by his team following a 33-20 bonus point victory over Lions, with two tries from replacement hooker Evan Lloyd off close-range lineouts sealing the spoils. “There were a few rollercoasters in that game,” said Van Zyl. “There was good leadership from the senior players on the field.”
Connacht and Munster were the other victorious teams on Saturday, overcoming Benetton 26-15 and Scarlets 34-21 respectively. They join Glasgow Warriors in the top half of the table after their 35-19 win over Sharks on Friday night.
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