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Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999.
Andrew Trimble is a former Irish rugby union player who played for Ulster and represented Ireland at international level.
Andy Ward is a New Zealand-born former rugby union player, who played flanker professionally for Ulster and internationally for Ireland.
Darren Cave is a retired professional Irish rugby union player who played centre for Ulster, sharing the province's appearance record with Andrew Trimble and Rob Herring with 229, and won eleven caps for Ireland.
Willie Faloon is a rugby union coach and former player from Northern Ireland. His main position was at flanker and he primarily played at openside. Since 2021, he has been an Elite Performance Development Officer with the Ulster Rugby academy. In 2024 he took over from Richie Murphy as head coach of the Ireland under-20 team for the 2024 World Rugby U20 Championship.
Robert Patrick Herring is a professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for United Rugby Championship club Ulster. Born in South Africa, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
Stuart McCloskey is a professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland, who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Ulster and the Ireland national team.
Rory Scholes is an Irish rugby union player. He plays primarily as a wing, but also covers fullback. Scholes last played for Brive. He has previously played for his native province of Ulster, Scottish side Edinburgh and another Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14.
Dan McFarland is an English rugby union coach and former player. He was head coach of Ulster Rugby from 2018 to 2024.
Ross Kane is a professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland, who played at tighthead prop for Ulster and Ealing Trailfinders.
Nick Timoney is an Irish rugby union player, who plays in the back row for Ulster and Ireland. He is regarded as a "hybrid" player, an athletic forward with the pace of a back. He was named in the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship Dream Team.
Jonny Murphy is a former professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland, who played hooker for Ulster (2015-17), Rotherham Titans (2017-18) and Connacht (2018-22).
Michael Lowry is an Irish rugby union player from Northern Ireland who plays fullback and out-half for United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup side Ulster, and internationally for Ireland. Doubted early on because of his small stature, he has exceptional footwork and acceleration. Ireland coach Andy Farrell describes him as a "nightmare" to play against, praising his explosiveness and bravery.
Eric O'Sullivan is an Irish rugby union player who plays loosehead prop for United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup side Ulster and internationally for Ireland.
The 2021–22 season was Ulster Rugby's 28th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's fourth season as head coach. They competed in the inaugural United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The 2019–20 season was Ulster's 26th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's second season as head coach. Lock Iain Henderson was named captain in place of retired hooker Rory Best. They competed in the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Both competitions were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he later stages being played in August, September and October 2020. In the Pro14, Ulster finished second in Conference A, making the playoffs and qualifying for next season's Champions Cup. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. They finished second in Pool 3 in the Champions Cup, qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Toulouse.
The 2018–19 season was Ulster's 25th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's first season as head coach. Rory Best was captain. They competed in the Pro14, making the semi-finals, and the European Rugby Champions Cup, making the quarter-finals.
The 2017–18 season was Ulster's 24th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Jono Gibbes' only season as head coach. Rory Best was captain. They competed in the inaugural Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The 2016–17 season was Ulster's 23rd season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and the third under Director of Rugby Les Kiss and head coach Neil Doak. They completed in the European Rugby Champions Cup and the final season of the Pro12 before it became the Pro14 with the addition of two teams from South Africa.
The 2022–23 season was Ulster Rugby's 29th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union. They competed in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. It was Dan McFarland's fifth season as head coach.
References
- ↑ ItsRugby profile
- ↑ "Best, Gilroy And Cave Among The Ulster Award Winners", Irish Rugby, 1 May 2015
- ↑ "Meet the Next Gen: Lyttle living the dream at Ulster", United Rugby Championship, 8 September 2020
- ↑ "Rob Lyttle | In Flying Form", Ulster Rugby, 28 November 2016
- ↑ Michael Glennon, "Half century for Lyttle as Ulster welcome Scarlets", RTÉ Sports, 27 January 2022
- ↑ Jonathan Bradley, "I’m sad to be leaving Ulster at end of the season, admits winger Rob Lyttle", Belfast Telegraph, 11 April 2023
