The 2002–03 season was Ulster Rugby's eighth under professionalism, and their second under head coach Alan Solomons. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League. No IRFU Interprovincial Championship was held this season.
In the Celtic League, they finished third in Pool A, qualifying for the playoffs. They beat Glasgow in the quarter-finals, but lost to Munster in the semi-finals. In the Heineken Cup, they finished third in Pool 6, missing out on the knockout stage. Bryn Cunningham was Ulster's Player of the Year. Flanker Neil McMillan won the IRUPA Young Player of the Year award.Kieran Rooney, "Players' Player is Malcolm O'Kelly", Irish Independent, 9 May 2003
Staff Position Name Nationality Chief Executive Michael Reid Director of Rugby Alan Solomons Team manager John McComish Forwards coach Adrian Kennedy Backs coach Mark McCall Assistant conditioning coach John McCloskey Physiotherapist Gareth Robinson Director of Elite Player Development Allen Clarke
Pre-season
Players in Neil Best from Belfast Harlequins"Kempson finally signs", BBC Sport, 25 January 2002 Nigel Brady from Dungannon Warren Brosnihan from Natal Sharks Robbi Kempson from Western Province David Spence from Queen's University"Spence in Ulster call", BBC Sport, 22 September 2002
Players out David Allen (retired due to injury)"OC in Profile: Dave Allen (OC 1996)", OCA Magazine, 27 October 2022 Robby Brink (retired)"Former Bok retires from rugby", Irish Examiner, 6 September 2002 Mark Crick (work permit expired)Brendan Fanning, "New twist for Crick", Irish Independent, 3 March 2002 Leopoldo de Chazal (released) Brad Free (emigrated) Mike Haslett to London IrishTony Ward, "Haslett signs for London Irish", Irish Independent, 19 December 2002 Paddy Johns (retired)"Paddy Johns Retires as Ulster Name New Squad", Irish Rugby, 26 January 2002 Aidan Kearney to Leinster"Brennan joins Toulouse", BBC Sport, 31 May 2002 Niall Malone (released) Richard Weir (released)
Squad Ulster Rugby squad"Ulster's 2002/3 squad", BBC Sport, 2 July 2002Props Robbi Kempson (14 apps, 14 starts) Justin Fitzpatrick (14 apps, 11 starts) Simon Best (8 apps, 5 starts) Clem Boyd
Hookers Matt Sexton (14 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Paul Shields (8 apps, 1 start, 5 pts)
Locks Jeremy Davidson (11 apps, 11 starts) Gary Longwell (10 apps, 10 starts) Mark Blair (11 apps, 8 starts) Paddy Johns (1 app) Matt McCulloughBack row Neil McMillan (14 apps, 14 starts, 15 pts) Warren Brosnihan (13 apps, 13 starts, 5 pts) Tony McWhirter (14 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Andy Ward (c) (7 apps, 5 starts, 10 pts) Russell Nelson (4 apps, 2 starts) Neil Best (7 apps, 10 pts)
Scrum-halves Neil Doak (15 apps, 15 starts, 48 pts) Kieran Campbell (4 apps) David Spence
Fly-halves David Humphreys (11 apps, 11 starts, 128 pts) Paddy Wallace (3 apps, 2 starts, 23 pts)Centres Jonny Bell (10 apps, 10 starts, 5 pts) Ryan Constable (10 apps, 8 starts) Shane Stewart (10 apps, 8 starts, 5 pts) Adam Larkin (10 apps, 6 starts) Jan Cunningham (3 apps, 1 start, 5 pts)
Wings James Topping (12 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Tyrone Howe (8 apps, 8 starts, 15 pts) Scott Young (8 apps, 5 starts, 5 pts) Sheldon Coulter (8 apps, 5 starts)
Fullbacks
Bryn Cunningham (14 apps, 14 starts, 8 pts) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
Season record Competition Played Won Drawn Lost PF PA PD TF TA 2002-03 Heineken Cup 6 4 0 2 116 106 10 8 8 2002-03 Celtic League 9 6 0 3 203 170 33 18 15 Total 15 10 0 5 319 276 43 26 23
2002–03 Heineken Cup
Pool 6 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts Northampton Saints6402211011172110628 Biarritz Olympique6402145913873658 Ulster6402880116106108 Cardiff6006626−2078215−1370
2002-03 Celtic League
Pool A TeamPldWDLPFPAPDTFTATry bonusLosing bonusPts1 Munster7601227129+98251240282 Edinburgh7601231145+86241321273 Ulster7502173111+6215911224 Neath7403153121+32151211185 Llanelli7304191168+23231632176 Swansea7304177212−35182231167 Ebbw Vale7106140226−8616271058 Caerphilly7007144324−1801742213Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows: 4 points for a win 2 points for a draw 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) (Try bonus) 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) (Losing bonus)Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage.Source: RaboDirect PRO12
Quarter final
Semi-final
Home attendance Domestic LeagueEuropean CupTotal League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest Total Attendance Average Attendance2002–03 Celtic League48,37510,5006,0002002–03 Heineken Cup311,717 12,50011,00068,6509,807
Friendlies
Ulster Rugby Awards
The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Ramada Hotel on 15 May 2003. Winners were:Gavin Mairs, "Clarke lands Ulster rugby's personality of the year title", Belfast Telegraph, 16 May 2003
Ulster Player of the Year: Bryn Cunningham Guinness Rugby Personality of the Year: Allen Clarke Club Ulster Supporters Player of the Year: Robbi Kempson Schools Player of the Year: Andrew Trimble, Coleraine Academical Institution Club Team of the Year: Ballymena R.F.C. Dorrington Faulkner Award: Ivan Coffey Club PRO: John Dickson Youth Player of the Year: Stephen Ferris Coach of the Year: Tom McGaw Club of the Year: Ballynahinch RFC Merit Award: Scott Gardiner, Monaghan Rugby Club
References