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 Mark McCall (born 29 November 1967 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland) is an Irish former rugby union player and current Director of Rugby (DoR) at Saracens. While DoR for Saracens the team has won the English Premiership Rugby competition ...

. They competed in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

and the Celtic League Steve Williams joined as assistant coach at the beginning of the season."Ulster Rugby Introduce New Recruits"
Irish Rugby, 2 July 2007 After a poor run of results, Mark McCall resigned as head coach in November 2007. Steve Williams took over on an interim basis, and Matt Williams was appointed as McCall's permanent replacement in December. Ulster finished bottom of their pool in the Heineken Cup, and second from bottom in the Celtic League. Tommy Bowe was Ulster's Player of the Year, and

IRUPA The Rugby Players Ireland is the representative body for professional rugby players in Ireland. Founded in October 2001, its aims are to promote and protect the welfare of professional rugby players in Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer is Sim ...

Players' Player of the Year. David Humphreys, who retired at the end of the season, was inducted into the IRUPA Hall of Fame.

Squad

Senior squad

Players in (Season 2007/2008)

* Neil Hanna from

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

* Jarlath Carey from

* Seamus Mallon from Northampton Saints *

Carlo Del Fava Carlo Antonio Del Fava (born 1 July 1981) is a South African-born Italian former rugby union player. His preferred position was Lock. After hanging his boots up he then decided to take up coaching. Del Fava was born in Mthatha, South Africa to ...

from

Bourgoin Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of th ...

Simon Danielli Simon Charles Jonathan Danielli (born 8 September 1979 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former rugby union footballer who played on the wing for Ulster and Scotland. Early life Danielli who is of Italian descent, was educated at Cheltenham College ...

from

Border Reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

* David Pollock from Ulster Academy *

Darren Cave Darren Cave (born 5 April 1987) is a retired professional rugby union player who played centre for Ulster in the Pro14 and European Rugby Champions Cup. A real attacking talent, Cave was another young player who has come up through the Ulster Ac ...

from Ulster Academy *

Rob Dewey Rob Dewey (born 19 October 1983) is a Scottish former rugby union player and played for the Glasgow Warriors. Despite having only come onto the professional rugby scene in the 2005–06 season, a lethal combination of pace and power gave him a na ...

from Edinburgh * Kieran Hallet from

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...

* Grant Webb from Toyota Verblitz

Players Out (Season 2007/2008)

* Andy Maxwell to Edinburgh * Kevin Maggs to

Bristol Rugby Bristol Bears (officially Bristol Rugby Club or Bristol Rugby) are a professional rugby union club based in Bristol, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded as Bristol Football Club in 18 ...

* Paul Shields to Northampton Saints * Scott Young to

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster, England. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the RFU Championship. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to ...

* Lewis Stevenson to Exeter Chiefs *

John Andress John Andress (born 20 January 1984) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played as a prop. During his career, Andress played for English sides Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins and Worcester Warriors and Scottish side Edinburgh. He returned to Ir ...

to Exeter Chiefs

Academy squad

Heineken Cup

Pool 2

Celtic League

Home attendance

Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 15 May 2008 at the La Mon House Hotel outside Belfast. Winners were:Richard Mulligan, "Humphreys steals the limelight while Monaghan boy Bowe bows out in style", ''News Letter'', 16 May 2008 *Guinness Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: David Humphreys *Bank of Ireland Ulster Player of the Year: Tommy Bowe *Vodafone Young Ulster Player of the Year: Niall O'Connor *Kukri Sportswear Club of the Year: City of Armagh RFC *First Trust Club Player of the Year: Ian Porter, QUB *Ken Goodall Award for Outstanding Player at the Sports Institute:

Ian Whitten Ian Whitten (born 5 June 1987) is an Irish rugby union player for Exeter in Premiership Rugby. He was capped by Ireland on their 2009 tour to North America when he lined out against Canada on 23 May 2009. He plays as a centre. Ulster A former ...

, QUB *Special Merit Award: Latimer Adair, Ballynahinch RFC *Calor Gas Youth Player of the Year: James Simpson, Ballynahinch RFC *Northern Bank Schools Player of the Year: Jonathan Shiells, Coleraine Academical Institution

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster 2007-08 2007–08 in Irish rugby union 2007–08 Celtic League by team 2007–08 Heineken Cup by team