URC: Round 5 – Five players who impressed as Munster and Stormers remain unbeaten
United Rugby ChampionshipMonday, 27 October 2025 at 10:13
Only two sides remain unbeaten in the BKT United Rugby Championship after five rounds — the DHL Stormers and Munster Rugby — who continue to set the pace at the top of the table.
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and get the latest rugby news straight to your phone.The Stormers wrapped up their European tour in style, overturning a halftime deficit to beat Benetton 31-16 in Treviso, with fly-half Jurie Mathee contributing 21 points. Munster, meanwhile, edged Connacht 17-15 in a tense Irish derby at Thomond Park, clinching victory through Jack O’Donoghue’s late try.
Ulster’s first loss of the season came in a 12-try thriller against the Lions, while Glasgow Warriors and Cardiff Rugby both claimed their fourth wins to sit close behind the leaders. With Leinster hitting 50 points and the Sharks breaking their duck, the URC pauses for autumn internationals after a dramatic opening block.
BKT United Rugby Championship Round 5 Results
Friday, 24 October
Glasgow Warriors 21 – 12 Vodacom Bulls
Saturday, 25 October
Emirates Lions 49 – 31 Ulster
Hollywoodbets Sharks 29 – 19 Scarlets
Benetton 16 – 31 DHL Stormers
Dragons 19 – 19 Ospreys
Leinster 50 – 26 Zebre
Cardiff Rugby 20 – 19 Edinburgh
Munster 17 – 15 Connacht
BKT URC: Round 5 - 5 Players who impressed
1 Aaron Wainwright
Dragons managed to secure a hard-fought draw at home to Ospreys in their all-Wales clash that saw No.8 Aaron Wainwright show why he is so highly rated, and why Wales's back row looks very good heading into the autumn. He was an absolute ball carrying machine, making over 50 metres with the ball, and deservedly won the Player of the Match award.
Time and time again, he earned some serious yards for the hosts, which gave them a good platform to build some threatening attacks from. While it wasn't a win, it was a very good result for a side that has struggled recently in the URC.
2 Sione Tuipulotu
It ended up being a relatively comfortable win for Glasgow on Friday night against their visiting South African opposition, which they will have no complaints about given that the Bulls were finalists last year. Tuipulotu showed why he is the key man of this team at the moment, scoring a tidy try early on, and marshalling much of the Warriors' attacking threat.
He made plenty of yards, got himself involved off the ball and was generally a dangerous player all-round. Now with the autumn to look forward to, Scotland will see Tuipulotu as key to their chances.
3 Vincent Tshituka
The Sharks made life difficult for themselves at home against Scarlets, but eventually ended up doing enough to get a 10-point victory against the Welsh side. Given the nature of the game, they needed someone to put in the hard graft and help to grind out a result, which Vincent Tshituka did brilliantly.
He got himself a very powerful try early on in the contest, and some of his work on the ball was absolutely brilliantly, getting Sharks up the pitch and into some very advantageous positions. While a few of the Sharks players also put in a shift, Tshituka stood out as the one who get them over the line on this occasion.
4 Jurie Matthee
Fly-half Matthee ran the show in Stormers' away win against Benetton, doing just about everything that a No.10 needs to create opportunities for his team. He nailed four penalties and two of his three conversion attempts, as well as notching himself a try just after half time.
Aside from that, Matthee found a lot of space, making over 55 metres with the ball in hand, as well as showing some quality kicking out of his hands to put the Benetton defence under pressure, which included a 50:22 that was expertly done.
5 Harry Byrne
Leinster's Harry Byrne may not always get the headlines, but he certainly led his team to their 50-point haul against Zebre Parma this weekend. Five conversions and a try tell some of the story, which can then be compounded by some of the work that he managed to do with the ball.
He showed some great game intelligence to keep play moving, knew when to take it himself and marshalled a very fluid and potent attack. A few missed tackles were the only blemish on an otherwise very good performance.
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