Ulster Rugby v Edinburgh

IRFU ULSTER BRANCH 2017/18 OFFICERS Graffin Parke President Stephen Elliott Senior Vice President Gary Leslie Junior Vice President Denis Gardiner Honorary Secretary Michael Boyd Honorary Treasurer Greg Irwin Competitions Secretary EXECUTIVE TEAM Shane Logan Chief Executive Barry Willis Acting Domestic Rugby Manager Audrey Robinson Head of Finance & Operations Fiona Hampton Head of Sales & Marketing

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

Following last week’s round of games, which saw Ulster’s comprehensive defeat of the Southern Kings and Edinburgh’s impressive win over Leinster, there are just three points separating tonight’s opponents in the Conference B table. We therefore expect a full-blooded confrontation, with major playoff implications potentially resting on the result. Those of us who were in Dublin last weekend witnessed an excellent display from the Irish team to record an emphatic win over Italy, with captain Rory Best scoring a try and Jacob Stockdale bagging a pair. Congratulations to them both, and also to Ulster teammate Iain Henderson, who also played a key role in the victory. The Ireland U20s and Ireland Women also recorded wins over their Italian counterparts last weekend, and we congratulate our Ulster representation on both those teams. In particular, it is worth noting that we have no less than nine Ulster players on the Ireland U20 squad, which is an outstanding achievement. The competition is heating up in the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup as we are down to the last eight, with the quarter-finals due to be played tomorrow morning, while fixtures in the subsidiary schools’ competitions also continue over the coming weeks. We have a full programme of games in the Ulster Bank All Ireland League this weekend, as well as a host of activity in local men’s, women’s and youth competitions, so please get out and support your local club. Once again, we thank all our sponsors and loyal supporters, and we look forward to another enjoyable rugby experience here at Kingspan Stadium tonight. SUFTUM! Graffin Parke President IRFU (Ulster Branch) As President of the IRFU Ulster Branch, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to Kingspan Stadium for tonight’s Guinness PRO14 Round 15 game against Edinburgh. PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

Bryn Cunningham Operations Director

Kingspan Stadium, 134 Mount Merrion Avenue Belfast, BT6 0FT T +44 (0)28 9049 3222 ulsterrugby.com

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