Related Research Articles
"Ireland's Call" is a song by Phil Coulter used as a national anthem by some sports competitors representing the island of Ireland, originally and most notably the men's rugby union team. It was commissioned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) for the 1995 World Cup, because a substantial minority around 20% of the IRFU's members are from Northern Ireland and the use of the anthem of the Republic of Ireland was considered inappropriate.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where adult men's Irish rugby union international matches are played. In addition, the Union also owns the Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast, Thomond Park in Limerick and a number of grounds in provincial areas that have been rented to clubs.
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.
Ravenhill Stadium is a rugby stadium located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home of Ulster Rugby. With the opening of a new stand for the 2014 Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens on 5 April 2014, the capacity of the stadium is now 18,196. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union.
The Medallion Shield is an annual rugby union competition involving schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The competition is open to all schools within Ulster, but only schools from within Northern Ireland currently enter, with no entries from schools situated in the three Ulster counties within the Republic of Ireland.
Andrew Trimble is a former Irish rugby union player who played for Ulster and represented Ireland at international level.
Malone RFC is a rugby union club based in Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It is currently in the Division 1B of the All-Ireland League. The club is affiliated with the Ulster Branch, itself part of the Irish Rugby Football Union. It is one of the last remaining Belfast rugby clubs not to have amalgamated and still plays at its original ground. As well as its successful Senior teams, it has a thriving Youth and Mini structure, and was the first Mini rugby team from Ireland to play in the renowned Fundacion Cisneros International rugby tournament in Madrid.
Niall Gareth Malone is a former rugby union player who played out-half for Leicester, Worcester, Ulster and Ireland. Having worked as an elite player development officer with Ulster's academy and as skills coach for Ulster's senior team, he has been Ulster's head video analyst since 2018.
Jared Benjamin Payne is a former rugby union centre who played for Ulster and the Ireland national team. He was a member of the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, but did not play a test match. On his retirement from playing in 2018, he took over as Ulster's defence coach, a position he left at the end of the 2021-22 season. Since 2022 he has been defence coach for Clermont Auvergne.
David Humphreys MBE is a former Irish rugby union player. He played 72 times for Ireland, scoring 560 points, including 6 tries, and at the time of his international retirement was Ireland's most capped out-half. He played his club rugby for London Irish and Ulster, winning the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, the 2004 Celtic Cup and the 2005–06 Celtic League with the latter. Since retiring as a player he has served as director of rugby for Ulster and Gloucester, as a performance consultant with the Georgian Rugby Union, and is currently Director of Performance Operations with the England and Wales Cricket Board. He will succeed David Nucifora as the IRFU Performance Director in 2024.
Thomas "T. J." Anderson is an Irish former rugby union player who played flanker for Ulster, Connacht, and Ealing Trailfinders.
Adam D'Arcy is an Australian former rugby union player who played fullback professionally for Ulster and Bristol.
The IRFU Interprovincial Championship was a rugby union competition between the four provinces of Ireland – Ulster, Leinster, Munster and Connacht – run by the Irish Rugby Football Union. It was run as a distinct competition from 1946–47 to 2000–01, with the 2001–02 fixtures being fulfilled by the match-ups in the newly formed Celtic League. For a time in the 1980s, the IRFU ruled that Irish diaspora players should play for Connacht, in an attempt to strengthen the weakest of the four provinces. The Irish Exiles took part for four years.
Nathan Doak is an Irish rugby union player who plays scrum-half and out-half for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The 2012–13 season was Ulster's 19th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their first under head coach Mark Anscombe, replacing Brian McLaughlin who failed to get his contract re-signed. They competed in the Pro12 and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The 2008–09 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 15th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their only full season under head coach Matt Williams.
The 2007–08 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 14th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their fourth under head coach Mark McCall. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League
The 1995–96 season was Ulster Rugby's first season under professionalism. Brian Bloomfield was in his second season as coach. 35-year-old Malone RFC centre Bill Harbinson, who first played for Ulster in 1986, was captain, in his final season before retirement from the game. They played six representative matches, defeating Griqualand West, New Zealand Federation U23 and New South Wales, and losing to a Côte Basque Select XV, the Combined Services and Edinburgh District.
The 2006–07 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 13th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their third under head coach Mark McCall. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League.
Rab Brady is a former Irish international rugby union player from Northern Ireland
References
- ↑ "Willie Duncan". Wexford People . 6 June 1986.
- ↑ "Terry Is Hat-Trick Star". Belfast News-Letter . 5 February 1984.
- ↑ "Ravenhill's grand stage celebrates 100 years of Ulster magic and memories". Belfast News-Letter. 12 January 2024.