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.
New signings included centre/fullback Will Addison from Sale Sharks, out-half Billy Burns from Gloucester, prop Marty Moore from Wasps, and flanker Jordi Murphy from Leinster. Academy players making their debuts included Eric O'Sullivan, centre James Hume, wing Robert Baloucoune and fullback Michael Lowry. They competed in the Pro14, making the semi-finals, and the European Rugby Champions Cup, making the quarter-finals. Stuart McCloskey was named Player of the Year
Will Addison made his debut for Ireland, with Jacob Stockdale, Jordi Murphy, Iain Henderson, Rory Best, John Cooney, Stuart McCloskey and Rob Herring also winning caps.
Ulster 'A' competed in the Celtic Cup, finishing third in the Ireland conference, and the Cara Cup. Ulster Women competed in the IRFU Women's Interprovincial Series, finishing fourth.
Events Personnel changes After the resignation of Jono Gibbes, Dan McFarland was announced as Ulster's new head coach on 30 April 2018. Initially he was to serve his notice as Scotland's forwards coach and join Ulster in January 2019, with Simon Easterby to act as interim head coach until then.Simon Easterby to provide interim coaching support at Ulster, Irish Examiner, 3 July 2018 But in August, an agreement was reached with Scotland for McFarland to join Ulster before the new season."Scotland coach Dan McFarland released early to take Ulster job", The Scotsman, 19 August 2018 Jared Payne, who retired as a player at the end of last season, became the new defence coach.John Flack, "Jared Payne appointed Ulster defence coach", Irish News, 29 May 2018 Banbridge head coach Dan Soper joined as skills coach."Banbridge coach Daniel Soper 'excited' to join Ulster backroom staff", Irish Independent, 4 June 2018 Shane Logan stepped down as Chief Executive in September 2018,"ULSTER: Search starts for new rugby CEO as Shane Logan confirms exit", News Letter, 9 June 2018 with Jonny Petrie appointed as his successor."Jonny Petrie appointed as Ulster Rugby CEO", Ulster Rugby, 30 October 2018
There were significant changes to the playing squad."The changing of the guard" , The Front Row Union, 4 May 2018 Aside from Jared Payne, wings Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble, scrum-half Paul Marshall, and loose forwards Peter Browne, Jean Deysel and Chris Henry also retired. Also departing were fullback Charles Piutau to Bristol Bears, props Callum Black to Worcester Warriors, Rodney Ah You to Newcastle Falcons and Wiehahn Herbst to the Bulls, out-half Brett Herron to Jersey Reds, and centre Callum Patterson to the Cornish Pirates. Scrum-half Aaron Cairns, flanker Robbie Diack and prop Schalk van der Merwe were released. Out-half Paddy Jackson and centre Stuart Olding, whose contracts were terminated in the fallout from their trial and acquittal for rape,"Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding's contracts revoked", BBC News, 14 April 2018 signed for Perpignan and Brive respectively. Rory Best remained captain.
Ulster were in need of an experienced out-half after the end of Christian Lealiifano's loan period"Christian Lealiifano Dashes Hopes Of A Contract Extension With Ulster" , Pundit Arena, 22 November 2017 and Jackson's departure. In June they attempted to sign South African out-half Elton Jantjies, but were blocked by the IRFU, who insisted they needed to sign an Irish-qualified player."IRFU block Ulster move for South Africa fly-half Elton Jantjies", BBC Sport, 22 May 2018 Leinster's Joey Carbery and Ross Byrne were talked about,"IRFU want either Carbery or Byrne to move to Ulster", RTÉ Sport, 22 April 2018 but Carbery opted to sign for MunsterJonathan Bradley, "Joey Carbery: Why I said no to Ulster and signed for Munster instead", Belfast Telegraph, 1 June 2018 and Byrne stayed at Leinster.Murray Kinsella, "Leinster's Ross Byrne has earned his shot with Ireland in Australia", The42, 4 June 2018 On 18 July, Billy Burns, who qualified for Ireland through his Irish grandfather, was signed from Gloucester.Gerry Thornley, "Sibling rivalry driving younger Ulster Burns to aim for next level", The Irish Times, 20 January 2020
Other new arrivals were prop Marty Moore, signed from Wasps; flanker Jordi Murphy, from Leinster; utility back Will Addison, from Sale Sharks; wing Henry Speight, from the Brumbies; and, in a short-term loan deal, lock Ian Nagle, from Leinster. Academy players who made their debut for the senior team this season were prop Eric O'Sullivan, wings Robert Baloucoune"Ulster 36 Dragons 18", Ulster Rugby, 26 October 2018 and Angus Kernohan,"Ulster Promote Bright Prospect Kernohan To Academy Deal", Irish Rugby, 5 September 2018 centre James Hume, fullback Michael Lowry"Academy duo make senior debuts!", Ulster Rugby, 3 October 2018 and flanker Marcus Rea. Former academy prop Tommy O'Hagan also made his senior debut.Adam McKendry, "Ulster take nothing from Galway as they fall to defeat at Connacht", Belfast Telegraph, 28 December 2018
Seven players joined the academy this season: back row forward Matthew Agnew, from Malone RFC; out-half Bruce Houston, centre Stewart Moore, and back-rower Azur Allison, from Ballymena Academy; back rower David McCann, from RBAI; outside back Iwan Hughes, from Bristol Bears;Gareth Fullerton, "Ulster Rugby Academy names 19-man squad for new season", Belfast Live, 25 July 2018 and wing Angus Kernohan, from Ballymena Academy."Kernohan awarded academy spot", Ulster Rugby, 5 September 2018, archived 2 April 2019
Sponsorship Ulster renewed their sponsorship deal with construction materials firm Kingspan, who would continue as Ulster's jersey sponsor until 1923. Their stadium naming deal would continue until 2024."Kingspan and Ulster Rugby extend partnership", Ulster Rugby, 31 October 2018
Season In the Pro14, Ulster finished second in Conference B, qualifying for the playoffs and next season's Champions Cup. They defeated Connacht in the quarter-final, but lost to Glasgow Warriors in the semi-final. Ulster led the league in defence.URC Team Statistics, retrieved 28 May 2022 Scrum-half John Cooney and centre Stuart McCloskey made the Pro14 Dream Team. They finished second in Pool 4 of the Champions Cup, making the quarter-finals, where they lost to Leinster. Wing Jacob Stockdale was named on the longlist for EPCR European Player of the Year."EPCR European Player of the Year award 2019 – nominees announced" , European Professional Club Rugby, 24 January 2019
John Cooney was leading scorer with 142 points. Hooker Rob Herring was leading try scorer with eight. Flanker Nick Timoney was leading tackler with 303, just ahead of number eight Marcell Coetzee with 301."Ulster Men: Who did what 2018-19", The Front Row Union, 18 July 2019 Stuart McCloskey was Ulster's Player of the Year. Captain and hooker Rory Best and centre Darren Cave retired at the end of the season.
Staff Position Name Nationality Chief executive officer Jonny Petrie Operations Director Bryn Cunningham Head Coach Dan McFarland Assistant Coach Dwayne Peel Defence Coach Jared Payne Scrum Coach Aaron Dundon Skills Coach Dan Soper Strength & Conditioning Coach Kevin Geary
Squad
Senior squad Players In Will Addison from Sale Sharks Alan Bennie from Lansdowne Billy Burns from Gloucester Caleb Montgomery from Banbridge Marty Moore from Wasps Jordi Murphy from Leinster Ian Nagle from Leinster (loan deal) Henry Speight from Brumbies (short-term deal) Alexander Thompson from Terenure
Promoted from academy Angus Curtis Greg Jones Adam McBurney Tom O'Toole Johnny Stewart Nick Timoney
Players Out Rodney Ah You to Newcastle Falcons Callum Black to Worcester Warriors Tommy Bowe retired Peter Browne retired Aaron Cairns to Ballynahinch Jean Deysel retired Robbie Diack released Brett Herron to Jersey Reds Chris Henry retired Paddy Jackson to Perpignan Paul Marshall retired Stuart Olding to Brive Callum Patterson to Cornish Pirates Jared Payne retired Charles Piutau to Bristol Bears Andrew Trimble retired Schalk van der Merwe released
Ulster Rugby squadAppearances and scoring stats from ItsRugby.co.ukProps
Eric O'Sullivan (26 apps, 18 starts) Andrew Warwick (25 apps, 11 starts) Marty Moore (20 apps, 19 starts, 10 pts) Ross Kane (16 apps, 6 starts) Tom O'Toole (18 apps, 3 starts) Wiehahn Herbst* (7 apps, 2 starts) Kyle McCall (3 apps, 1 start) Tommy O'Hagan (2 apps) Schalk van der Merwe (no apps)
Hookers
Rob Herring (22 apps, 14 starts, 40 pts) Rory Best (c) (13 apps, 11 starts) Adam McBurney (10 apps, 3 starts, 5 pts) John Andrew (13 apps, 2 starts, 5 pts)
Locks Kieran Treadwell (28 apps, 22 starts, 10 pts) Alan O'Connor (25 apps, 18 starts, 10 pts) Iain Henderson (15 apps, 15 starts, 10 pts) Ian Nagle (11 apps) Matthew Dalton (2 apps, 1 start) Alex Thompson (no apps)Back row Marcell Coetzee (23 apps, 23 starts, 25 pts) Nick Timoney (27 apps, 20 starts, 10 pts) Jordi Murphy (18 apps, 18 starts, 15 pts) Sean Reidy (25 apps, 16 starts, 5 pts) Clive Ross (10 apps, 4 starts) Greg Jones (7 apps, 2 starts) Matty Rea (9 apps, 5 starts) Marcus Rea (1 app, 5 pts) Chris Henry (1 app) Caleb Montgomery (1 app)
Scrum-halves John Cooney (21 apps, 19 starts, 142 pts) David Shanahan (21 apps, 11 starts, 35 pts) Johnny Stewart (8 apps, 10 pts) Alan Bennie (no apps)
Fly-halves Billy Burns* (24 apps, 24 starts, 49 pts) Johnny McPhillips (11 apps, 4 starts, 15 pts) Angus Curtis* (4 apps, 2 starts, 5 pts)Centres Stuart McCloskey (26 apps, 25 starts, 20 pts) Darren Cave (19 apps, 13 starts, 5 pts) Will Addison (11 apps, 11 starts, 23 pts) James Hume (11 apps, 5 starts) Luke Marshall (5 apps, 4 starts, 5 pts)
Wings Robert Baloucoune (14 apps, 13 starts, 30 pts) Henry Speight (12 apps, 12 starts, 15 pts) Jacob Stockdale (12 apps, 11 starts, 35 pts) Angus Kernohan (18 apps, 7 starts, 10 pts) Rob Lyttle (9 apps, 7 starts, 27 pts) Craig Gilroy (6 apps, 6 starts, 5 pts) David Busby (1 app, 1 start) Jack Owens (1 app)
Fullbacks Louis Ludik* (14 apps, 14 starts, 10 pts) Michael Lowry (16 apps, 12 starts, 10 pts) Peter Nelson (13 apps, 8 starts, 9 pts) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. Italics denotes academy players who appeared in the senior team. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Ulster Rugby website.
Internationally capped players in bold Players qualified to play for on dual nationality or residency grounds* Irish Provinces are currently limited to four non-Irish eligible (NIE) players and one non-Irish qualified player (NIQ or "Project Player").
Academy squad
Players in Stewart Moore from Ballymena Academy David McCann from RBAI Angus Kernohan from Ballymena Academy. Bruce Houston from Ballymena Academy Azur Allison from Ballymena Academy Matthew Agnew from Malone RFC Iwan Hughes, from Bristol Bears
Players out Peter Cooper Alexander Clarke John McCusker Rory Butler
Position"Academy Management", Ulster Rugby, archived 16 September 2018 Name Nationality Head Coach Kieran Campbell Strength & Conditioning Coach David Drake Strength & Conditioning Coach Willie Anderson Elite Professional Development Officer James Topping Provincial Talent Coach Michael Black Talent Development Officer Jonny Gillespie Strength & Conditioning Coach Amy Davis Strength & Conditioning Coach Matthew Godfrey Performance Analyst Simon McLeod Lead Nutritionist Stephanie Ingram
Ulster Rugby Academy squad"Academy Squad", Ulster Rugby, archived 21 September 2018Props
Eric O'Sullivan (2)
Hookers Zack McCall (3)
Locks Matthew Dalton (2) Jack Regan (2)Back row Matthew Agnew (1) Azur Allison (1) Joe Dunleavy (2) Aaron Hall (3) David McCann (1) Marcus Rea (3)
Scrum-halves Graham Curtis* (2)
Fly-halves Bruce Houston (1) (1 app)