When news broke last week that Ulster number eight Juarno Augustus had sustained what was described as a “significant” ankle injury, fans of the northern province could have been forgiven for fearing the worst.
Richie Murphy’s side have made a fine start to the 2025-26 campaign, all the more so when compared with their 14th-place finish in the United Rugby Championship last season.
Injuries were a huge contributing factor to last year’s struggles but, in their first game without Augustus, encouragingly it was his replacement Bryn Ward who was named player of the match in the 28-3 win over Munster.
“This week, with such a player like Juarno getting injured, it’s obviously a big role for me to try and fill,” said the 21-year-old.
“Juarno has been so good since he’s come in and I’ve certainly learnt a lot off him.”
Indeed, so impressed was head coach Richie Murphy by Ward’s efforts in the interprovincial win that he described his work with ball in hand as “up there with the best ball carriers in the world”.
“I thought Bryn, stepping into Juarno’s shoes was incredible,” Murphy said.
“His ball carrying is right up there with the best ball carriers in the world, really. At 118kgs he moves quicker than most wingers.
“He has good feet as well at the line, so it’s an incredible strength for a back row forward to have.”
The win over Munster was Ward’s seventh Ulster appearance, an occasion the former Ireland under-20 international marked with his first senior try.
As he seeks to establish himself at the Affidea Stadium, there has at least been one familiar face already in the team.
Ward’s brother Zac, an Irish Olympian in rugby sevens at Paris two summers ago, made his own breakthrough for the side last season.
The older of the siblings has five tries from the wing already during this campaign and again caught the eye against Munster.
“We’ve grown up together playing in the back yard and stuff so to now be out there in front of 16,500 in a sold-out Affidea, it’s pretty surreal,” said the back row of playing alongside the brother six years his senior.
“Watching him throughout the sevens and stuff, whenever I was in school and just coming out of school, he’s definitely been really influential on me. It’s just nice to have a familiar face around the place as well and its class to play with him as well.
“I dropped the ball out there and he was the first one to come over and give me a pat on the bum and say, ‘keep your head’, so it’s been really good.”
The younger of the Ward brothers, who are the sons of former Ulster captain Andy Ward, is not the only inexperienced player to make an impact in recent weeks with locks Joe Hopes and Charlie Irvine also playing meaningful minutes.
With the likes of Stuart McCloskey, Iain Henderson, Nick Timoney and Jacob Stockdale around them, Ward believes it has been hugely beneficial to be able to lean on the advice of Test players as they make the step up.
“The biggest thing probably is the speed of the game. Physically, I’ve been playing for Ballynahinch in the AIL [All-Ireland League], so it’s obviously a step up physically when you’re playing South African teams and big interpros.
“It’s definitely just the pace of the game, you’ve got to be so switched on and defensively you’ve always got your head on a swivel.
“Having guys in the club that have so much experience, it’s so good for the young boys coming through that they can give us such a help to make the jump.”
