Zebo backs Munster to carry Bulls comeback confidence into Ulster away test

Munster claimed their first URC win of the season with a 26-22 bonus-point victory over the Bulls at Thomond Park on Saturday, and former wing Simon Zebo believes the result sets the province up perfectly for next weekend’s interprovincial clash against Ulster in Belfast.

Fly-half Charlie O’Shea was the standout performer in his first competitive start for Munster, scoring a try in each half to earn the Player of the Match award. Diarmuid Kilgallen and Alex Kendellen also crossed the whiteline, bookending O’Shea’s brace as Munster dominated possession and territory throughout.

The result arrives a week after a 26-20 home defeat to Glasgow in round one, and Zebo was particularly impressed by the maturity the young squad showed in closing out the win against a quality Bulls side.

“That’s exactly where you want to be heading into an inter-pro — you want the confidence, especially when it is an away inter-pro game, against Ulster, who we’ve had some really tough battles with over the past couple of years,” Zebo said.

“I think Munster will fancy their chances, although going up there will be difficult. But they can take a lot of confidence.”

Zebo also highlighted the quality of the opposition as context for the achievement. “There was a lot of quality in that Bulls team, and to put them away with such a young group and to have such a mature second-half performance from them in terms of the position where they played and how they played and approached that second half — that was really good stuff, far better than last week.”

The one concern from the night was an eighth-minute leg injury to prop Michael Milne, which will be assessed ahead of the Ulster fixture. Munster’s schedule intensifies further after Belfast, with a Champions Cup home tie against Racing 92 to follow.