The 2013–14 season was Ulster's 20th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their second under head coach Mark Anscombe. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Pro12.
They finished fourth in the Pro12, qualifying for the semi-finals and next season's Champions Cup. They lost the semi-final to Leinster. Ulster and Connacht jointly won the Fair Play Award, and wing Andrew Trimble and lock Johann Muller made the Pro12 Dream Team. They topped their pool in the Champions Cup, qualifying for the quarter-final, which they lost to Saracens, after Jared Payne saw an early red card. Out-half Paddy Jackson was leading scorer with 239 points. Andrew Trimble, wing Tommy Bowe and centre Luke Marshall were joint leading try scorers with six each. Andrew Trimble was Ulster's Player of the Year, and IRUPA Players' Player of the Year.Richard Mulligan, "Trimble voted Ireland 'player of the year' by his peers", News Letter, 8 May 2014
Johann Muller, flanker Stephen Ferris and utility back Paddy Wallace retired at the end of the season. Props John Afoa moved to Gloucester, and Tom Court to London Irish. David Humphreys left as director of rugby to take up the same post at Gloucester. A few weeks later, head coach Mark Anscombe resigned. Les Kiss took over as director of rugby, and Neil Doak as head coach.
Staff Position Name Nationality Director of Rugby David Humphreys Head Coach Mark Anscombe Team Manager David Millar Backs Coach Neil Doak Defence Coach Jonny Bell Head of Strength & Conditioning Jonny Davis Strength & Conditioning Coach Kevin Geary Head of Physiotherapy Gareth Robinson Physiotherapist Alan McAldin
Squad Senior squad
Players in (Season 2013/2014) David McIlwaine from Bristol Bears James McKinney from Rotherham TitansDavid Kelly, "Fortunes in hands of foreign legion", Irish Independent, 5 August 2013 Ian Porter returning from sabbatical
Promoted from academy Ricky Andrew Chris Farrell Stuart Olding
Players out (Season 2013/2014) Ali Birch to Rotherham Titans Nigel Brady to Stade Aurillacois Niall O'Connor to Jersey Reds Adam D'Arcy to Bristol Bears Neil Walsh (released)Paul Fennessey, "'We were about to hike up a volcano in Chile... I got an email saying Ulster Rugby want you over'", The 42, 23 September 2018, via Internet Archive
Ulster Rugby squadAppearances and scoring stats from ItsRugby.co.ukProps Tom Court (27 apps, 16 starts, 5 pts) John Afoa (15 apps, 14 starts, 10 pts) Callum Black (23 apps, 12 starts) Ricky Lutton (15 apps, 8 starts) Declan Fitzpatrick (13 apps, 6 starts) Andrew Warwick (6 apps, 3 starts) Adam Macklin (5 apps) Kyle McCall (2 apps) Bronson Ross* (1 app) Paddy McAllister (no apps)
Hookers
Rob Herring (26 apps, 20 starts) Rory Best (9 apps, 9 starts, 5 pts) Niall Annett (13 apps, 1 start)
Locks Johann Muller (c) (23 apps, 23 starts) Dan Tuohy (21 aps, 17 starts, 15 pts) Lewis Stevenson (17 apps, 7 starts) Neil McComb (8 apps, 2 starts)Back row Roger Wilson (24 apps, 22 starts, 5 pts) Robbie Diack (26 apps, 20 starts, 20 pts) Chris Henry (17 apps, 16 starts) Nick Williams (19 apps, 15 starts) Sean Doyle* (20 apps, 13 starts, 10 pts) Iain Henderson (19 apps, 10 starts) Mike McComish (12 apps, 3 starts) Stephen Ferris (4 apps, 2 starts) Conor Joyce (2 apps)
Scrum-halves Ruan Pienaar (17 apps, 15 starts, 127 pts) Paul Marshall (22 apps, 13 starts, 15 pts) Michael Heaney (11 apps, 3 starts, 5 pts) Ian Porter (3 apps, 2 starts) David Shanahan (2 apps)
Fly-halves Paddy Jackson (24 apps, 24 starts, 242 pts) James McKinney (10 aps, 4 starts, 37 pts)Centres
Darren Cave (27 apps, 24 starts, 25 pts) Luke Marshall (26 apps, 24 starts, 30 pts) Stuart McCloskey (4 apps, 2 starts) Chris Farrell (2 apps, 2 starts) Stuart Olding (4 apps, 1 start) Paddy Wallace (1 app, 1 start)
Wings Andrew Trimble (20 apps, 20 starts, 30 pts) Craig Gilroy (21 apps, 17 starts, 20 pts) Tommy Bowe (13 apps, 13 starts, 30 pts) Michael Allen (16 apps, 10 starts, 15 pts) David McIlwaine (9 apps, 4 starts) Chris Cochrane (no apps)
Fullbacks Jared Payne (24 apps, 23 starts, 20 pts) Ricky Andrew (9 apps, 7 starts) Rory Scholes (4 apps, 3 starts) Peter Nelson (3 apps) (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.
Academy squad
Players in Stuart McCloskey from Dungannon RFCGerry Thornley, "Stuart McCloskey eager to add to his sole Ireland cap", The Irish Times, 28 October 2018 Andrew Warwick from Ballymena R.F.C.Jonathan Bradley, "Andy Warwick set to earn 100th Ulster cap and he's done it the hard way", Belfast Telegraph, 26 September 2018 David Shanahan from Belvedere CollegeCiaran Donaghy, "Shanahan making good progress to maintain his position on radar", Belfast Newsletter, 25 September 2014 John Andrew from Ballymena Academy Bronson Ross from Coventry R.F.C. John Donnan
Players out Conor Carey Neil Faloon Sean O'Connell
Position"Academy Coaches", Ulster Rugby, archived 7 August 2014 Name Nationality Elite Performance Development Manager Allen Clarke Representative Team Performance Manager Michael Black Academy Schools Coach Brian McLaughlin Strength & Conditioning Coach David Drake Strength & Conditioning Coach Amy Davis Sub-Academy Fitness Coach Matthew Maguire Physiotherapist David Minion
Ulster Rugby Academy squad"Hughes Insurance Ulster Academy Squad 2014-15", Ulster Rugby, archived 21 October 2015Props
Jake Caulfield (2) Kyle McCall (4) Andrew Warwick (1) Bronson Ross (1)
Hookers
John Andrew (1) Jonny Murphy (3)
Locks John Donnan (1) Alan O'Connor (2) James Simpson (3)Back row Conor Joyce (3)
Scrum-halves David Shanahan (1)
Fly-halves noneCentres Stuart McCloskey (1)
Wings none
Fullbacks Rory Scholes (2) Peter Nelson (3) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Ulster Rugby website.
Season record Competition Played Won Drawn Lost PF PA PD TF TA 2013-14 Heineken Cup 7 6 0 1 194 79 115 17 6 2013-14 Pro12 23 15 0 8 479 332 147 45 27 Total 30 21 0 9 673 411 262 62 33
Heineken Cup
Pool 5 TeamPWDLPFPADiffTFTATBLBPts Ulster (1) 6 6 0 0 179 62 +117 17 4 2 0 26 Leicester Tigers (7) 6 4 0 2 159 112 +47 16 9 3 2 21 Montpellier 6 2 0 4 121 124 −3 14 11 2 1 11 Benetton Treviso 6 0 0 6 41 202 −161 2 25 0 0 0 Source : www.ercrugby.comPoints breakdown:*4 points for a win*2 points for a draw*1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less*1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match
Quarter-final
Pro12
Semi-final
End-of-season awards Ulster and Connacht jointly won the Fair Play award. Wing Andrew Trimble and lock Johann Muller were named in the Pro12 Dream Team.
Home attendance Domestic LeagueEuropean CupTotal League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest Total Attendance Average Attendance2013–14 Pro121113,34816,95010,6932013–14 Heineken Cup414,464 16,85312,977204,67813,645
Friendlies
Ulster Women 2013-14 Women's Interprovincial Series
Team P W D L PF PA BP Pts 1 3 3 0 0 98 13 0 12 2 3 2 0 1 58 45 1 9 3 3 0 1 2 14 56 2 4 4 3 0 1 2 17 73 2 4
Ulster Rugby Awards The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Europa Hotel, Belfast, on 5 May 2014. Winners were:Richard Mulligan, "Trimble celebrates hat-trick", News Letter, 5 May 2014
Bank of Ireland Ulster Player of the Year: Andrew Trimble Heineken Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: Johann Muller BT Young Player of the Year: Paddy Jackson Rugby Writers Player of the Year: Andrew Trimble Ulster Rugby Supporters Club Player of the Year: Andrew Trimble Abbey Insurance Academy Player of the Year: Stuart McCloskey Ulster Carpets Youth Player of the Year: Adam McBurney Danske Bank Ulster Schools Player of the Year: Jacob Stockdale, Wallace High
References