Ulster Rugby vs Toulon

ULSTER BRANCH

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

John Kinnear / / President Bobby Stewart / / Senior Vice President John McKibbin / / Junior Vice President John McKibbin / / Honorary Secretary Michael Boyd / / Honorary Treasurer Denis Gardiner / / Competitions Secretary Shane Logan / / Chief Executive Chris Webster / / Domestic Rugby Manager Audrey Robinson / / Financial Controller Fiona Hampton / / H ead of Sales & Marketing

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to Kingspan Stadium for this Champions Cup match against Toulon.

I would like to welcome in particular the directors, players, supporters and coaches from Toulon. There can be few greater tests for Ulster than the visit of the reigning European champions. The Toulon side is packed full of international stars. Giteau, Bastareaud, O’Connor, Habana, Williams, Hayman and Fernandez Lobbe are just some of the household names that we will see this afternoon. Toulon started their Champions Cup campaign with a victory over Scarlets while Ulster lost narrowly to Leicester Tigers. While it was a disappointing first half at Welford Road, the second period of 40 minutes showed the character that exists in this Ulster side. They scored two excellent tries and secured what could be, a vital losing bonus point. This week, Ireland Head Coach, Joe Schmidt, announced his squad for the Autumn internationals. Congratulations to Jared Payne who has been included for the first time. No doubt he will make as big an impact on the international scene as he has done here at Ulster. Well done too to Rory Best, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Tommy Bowe, Craig Gilroy and Stuart Olding on their call ups.

While all eyes will be on Kingspan Stadium today, Ulster Rugby’s commitment to growing this fantastic game at grassroots level was displayed this week in Londonderry/ Derry. A new satellite club in Creggan Estate has been established in conjunction with City of Derry Rugby Club. This is a great example of how DCAL funding has allowed us to grow the game in non-traditional areas and I want to wish everyone involved every success. This afternoon, Rory Best will play his 50th European game. I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Rory on this landmark achievement. He has been and continues to be a fantastic servant to Ulster and Irish Rugby. This afternoon will be a wonderful occasion. We might be playing a team of well known rugby names, but our team is full of players from here, who grew up here and who are incredibly proud to wear the Ulster shirt. Your support will be vital if we are to get a result this afternoon and I would encourage you to stand up, shout loudly and support your Ulstermen like never before. Yours in Rugby. John Kinnear // President IRFU (Ulster Branch)

Kingspan Stadium, 85 Ravenhill Park, Belfast, BT6 0DG T // +44 (0)28 9049 3222 ulsterrugby .com