The 2009–10 Ulster Rugby season was

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

's 16th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their first under director of rugby David Humphreys and head coach Brian McLaughlin. Following the departure of previous head coach Matt Williams, Ulster put a new management structure in place. David Humphreys was director of rugby, with overall responsibility for the senior team, the Ulster 'A' team (renamed the Ulster Ravens), the Ulster under-20s and the academy; and Brian McLaughlin was head coach, assisted by forwards coaches Jeremy Davidson and

Peter Sharp Peter Sharp (born 16 July 1954) is an Australian professional rugby league coach. He was most recently the interim coach of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League. Coaching career Sharp has been the head coach of the Nort ...

, and backs coach

Neil Doak Neil George Doak (born 21 June 1972) is a Northern Irish former cricketer and rugby union player. He currently works as a rugby union coach, and has served as attack and backs coach with English club side Worcester Warriors, and Georgia during t ...

. However, Ulster couldn't afford to retain Sharp, and he left in September 2009. Chief Executive Michael Reid announced he was stepping down in September 2009 after twelve years in the job. Shane Logan was appointed as his replacement in early 2010. They finished second in their

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 ...

pool, failing to qualify for the knockout stage, and 8th in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

. Chris Henry was Ulster's Player of the Year.

Andrew Trimble Andrew Trimble (born 20 October 1984) is a former Irish rugby union player who played for Ulster and represented Ireland at international level. Club career He attended Coleraine Academical Institution, where he competed in the Ulster Schools ...

won the

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 ...

award for Try of the Year.

Staff

Squad

Senior squad

Players in (Season 2009/2010)

* Ali Birch from

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

* Tamaiti Horua from

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competition in 2017. ...

Andi Kyriacou Andi Kyriacou (born 4 January 1983) is an English-born, Irish-qualified former rugby union player and current coach. Kyriacou played as a Hooker (rugby union), hooker for Sale Sharks, Leeds Tykes, Leeds Carnegie, Saracens F.C., Saracens, Munste ...

from

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

Dan Tuohy Dan Tuohy (born 18 June 1985) is an English-born Ireland international rugby union player, currently playing for Vannes after leaving Stade Français. He plays as a lock. He also captained the Barbarians in their 2016 tour against the Czech ...

from

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

Promoted from academy

* Willie Faloon *

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 ...

Players Out (Season 2009/2010)

* Jarleth Carey ''released''"Province-by-province guide", ''Irish Independent'', 3 September 2009 * Kieron Dawson ''retired'' *

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 ...

Rugby Viadana Rugby Viadana 1970 is an Italian rugby union club based in Viadana (province of Mantua, Lombardy). The club was established in 1970, and has since won the Italian championship in 2002, and the Coppa Italia three times. They also compete in Europ ...

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 ...

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

* Neil Hanna ''released'' *

Seamus Mallon Seamus Frederick Mallon (; 17 August 1936 – 24 January 2020) was an Irish politician who served as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2001 and Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 1979 to 2 ...

''released'' * Paul McKenzie to

Filo Paulo Teofilo Aloisio Mikaele Paulo (born 6 November 1987) is a New Zealand-born Samoan rugby union player. He specialises as a lock forward. He plays for Manawatu Turbos in the NPC. Career Paulo had a brief stint with Ulster in 2009, for whom he ...

to North Harbour * Stuart Philpott ''released'' * Dan Roach ''released'' *

Paul Steinmetz Paul Christopher Steinmetz (born 26 January 1977 in Paraparaumu, New Zealand) is a retired professional rugby union footballer. He made one appearance for the All Blacks in 2002. Playing career Provincial Rugby Steinmetz made his debut for Wel ...

''retired''

Academy squad

Players in

Luke Marshall Luke Marshall (born 3 March 1991) is an Irish rugby union player, who plays centre for Ulster, and has 11 caps for Ireland, the last coming in 2017. While in the Ulster academy, he played in an exhibition match between an Ulster-Leinster team ag ...

Niall Annett Niall Annett (born 7 May 1991) is an Irish professional rugby union player for Bath, having previously played for Worcester Warriors and Ulster Rugby. His favoured position is hooker. In the 2011 junior Rugby Championships, Annett captained the ...

* Michael Allen * John Burns * Sean Dougall * Paul Pritchard *

Neil McComb Neil McComb is a former professional rugby union player for Ulster Rugby. His favoured position is lock. His last appearance for Ulster was in the 2014-15 season. In 2002, he captained Campbell College to a 12–10 victory over Methodist College ...

* James McKinney * Conor Gaston * Michael Heaney

Players out

* Paul Karayiannis * Stephen Douglas * David McGregor * David Drake

Heineken Cup

Pool 4

Celtic League

Ulster Ravens

British and Irish Cup

Pool C

Semi-final

Home attendance

Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 20 May 2010. Winners were:Richard Mulligan, "Henry hat-trick caps super year", ''News Letter'', 21 May 2010 *Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: Chris Henry *Rugby Writers Player of the Year: Chris Henry *Supporters Club Player of the Year: Chris Henry *Ulster Player of the Year:

*Young Ulster Player of the Year: Jamie Smith *Youth Player of the Year: Jonathan Murphy,

Banbridge RFC Banbridge RFC (Banbridge Rugby Football Club) is a rugby union club based in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, in the province of Ulster. It currently plays in Division 1B of the Energia All-Ireland League after gaining promotion in 201 ...

*Schools Player of the Year: Charlie Simpson,

Ballymena Academy Ballymena Academy is a mixed gender grammar school in the market town of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1828 as a small provincial school for children in the town and surrounding agricultural hinterland. Admissi ...

*Academy Player of the Year:

Nevin Spence Nevin Spence (26 April 199015 September 2012) was a Northern Ireland-born Irish rugby union player for Ulster in the Pro12. He played as a Centre, but could also play Wing. He was educated firstly at Dromore High School, where he was introduced ...

*Club of the Year: Ballymoney RFC *Dorrington B. Faulker Award: Hal Burnison,

Malone RFC Malone RFC (Malone Rugby Football Club) 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 ...

*Club Player of the Year: Mark Robinson,

Queen's University RFC Queen's University Belfast Rugby Football Club is the rugby union team of Queen's University Belfast, currently playing in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League. Founded in 1869, it is the most successful and oldest continuous rugby union clu ...

*Special Merit Award: Joe Eagleson, Honorary Secretary of the

IRFU The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

Ulster Branch

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster 2009-10 2009–10 in Irish rugby union 2009–10 Celtic League by team 2009–10 Heineken Cup by team