Ulster Rugby Annual Report

A strong home victory in the opening round of Europe against Leicester got Ulster off to the perfect start, knowing that the following week would be the toughest assignment in the group stages, away to Racing. A quite remarkable atmosphere in a stadium that seemed more geared to a ‘concert’ than a rugby match was certainly a novelty factor for most of the Ulster faithful travelling support! Racing were just a little strong, but it was still a very creditable performance from Ulster who played with ambition and flair. Good wins against the Dragons, away to Treviso (which is no mean feat these days as most teams have found), and at home to Cardiff, set us up nicely for the back-to-back European fixtures against last year’s semi-finalists, the Scarlets. A nail- biting 25-24 away win was critical and again showed the togetherness and determination of a team prepared to fight right to the death. That was followed by a comfortable home win, putting Ulster in a great position for potential qualification for the first time in five years. The Christmas Inter-pro period didn’t go as planned with only one win from three but it was also a time for rotation, getting some bodies rested under the IRFU player management policy, in advance of rounds Five and Six of Europe in January. Once again, the team showed its true mettle, overcoming an incredibly powerful Racing side at home 26-22 and then achieving what many struggle to do in Europe, beating Leicester at Welford road, coming from 13-0 down to win 14-13, a truly memorable occasion, the reward for which was a first quarter-final in five years. To win five from six games in Europe is an outstanding achievement and, after last year’s troubles, was certainly unexpected by many of the critics. The switch back to the Pro14 saw good form continue, with four victories in the next five games, with only a

boots, (Bowe/Trimble/Marshall/Diack) allied to some changes in key staff personnel, meant there was an air of starting again or ‘rebuilding’. New Head Coach, Dan McFarland, took the reins during the pre-season and had an immediate impact. A very clear strategy for the playing squad was laid out by Dan and the buy-in and implementation has been excellent. Aided by a new defence coach, recent retiree, Jared Payne, few expected just how impressive an impact he would make in his first year as a senior coach. With Tom Clough, the new head of Strength & Conditioning in place, and a progression for Chris McNichol into the Lead Physiotherapist role, it certainly was an all-new look support staff team. Recent recruits Marty Moore, Jordi Murphy, Will Addison and Billy Burns all contributed massively during the season, while the widely welcomed return of a fit Marcell Coetzee, back to his destructive best, reminded us all just what we had been missing. With this group added to the current crop, the emerging talent from the Academy and a few other additions for 2019/20, things are certainly looking very positive for Ulster Rugby moving forward. As in previous seasons, a strong start in the opening four games with two home wins against arch conference rivals, Scarlets and Edinburgh, alongside a productive South African trip yielding a bonus-point win against the Kings and a high-scoring draw to the Cheetahs, saw us as the early pace-setters. This was short-lived after a fairly forgettable loss away to Munster and our first home loss to Connacht in well over fifty years. This brought the squad back down to earth with a bump. However, even with those two losses the evidence was there of a side improving and having a very clear game-plan that would reap rewards.

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IRFU ULSTER BRANCH ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19