The Murphys are not the first set of brothers to face off against each other for Irish provinces, and not even the first or second to do so in 2024, but their clash, when Connacht hosted Ulster last Saturday, did have a unique aspect.
Ben and Jack's father, Richie, is the head coach of Ulster and found himself in the unusual, if not unique, position of having to plot against his son.
It was a common problem for Ireland boss Andy Farrell, whose son Owen was England’s out-half on numerous occasions.
In the reverse Ulster-Connacht fixture in Belfast in October, the O’Connor brothers, Alan and David, met on the field of battle, with both introduced as replacements at the Kingspan Stadium, for the home and away sides, respectively.
Ireland internationals Cian Prendergast, Connacht captain, and Sam Prendergast, Leinster out-half, also played against each other at the end of last season.
On Saturday it was younger brother Jack, 20, a standout at out-half in Ireland's unbeaten run in the U20s Six Nations, on his first start for Ulster since joining from the Leinster academy over summer, who emerged victorious.
The visitors ended a five-game losing streak with a 17-7 win, while 23-year-old Ben, who also moved from Leinster over the summer, came on as a replacement for Connacht, who have now lost three URC games in a row.
"It’s something they’ve worked a long time at. To come from Presentation College Bray, which isn’t the strongest rugby school in the world, it just shows that if you are willing to work hard and master your craft, you can get to the top no matter where you are coming from.
"It’s a really good day for Pres, I’m a Pres boy myself to see three Pres boys out there all involved [was great].
"Myself and my wife Stephanie are incredibly proud of the two boys."
Ulster are in ninth place thanks to the win, while Connacht find themselves in 13th.
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Former Ireland and Ulster centre Darren Cave believes the win, which came without a number of senior players missing through injury, can boost the squad for the rest of the season.
"It’s funny how you go through the season and it’s all about Champions Cup qualification," he said.
"And when you are having a tough season, it’s the worst thing for you. Ulster have definitely fallen foul of that.
"They are away to Leicester and at home to Exeter, really tough fixtures coming up.
"This [win] has the opportunity to completely change the outlook on things.
"They [hadn’t] won a game since the middle of October, and I felt they were going to be at a stage at the end of January where they hadn’t won a game in three and a half months, which would have been a bit of a shambles.
"But they threw caution to the wind with the selection, they picked the young guys.
"I think they had to use that more gung-ho approach to their defence to change something, they took a lot more risks and it paid off for them and Connacht weren’t expecting it."
