The 2022–23 season was Ulster Rugby's 29th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union. They competed in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

, finishing second in the league table and going out in the quarter-finals, and the

European Rugby Champions 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 ...

going out in the round of 16. It was

Dan McFarland Dan McFarland (born 10 April 1972) is an English rugby union coach and former player. He has been head coach of Ulster Rugby since 2018. He played loosehead prop for Richmond, Stade Français and Connacht, retiring in 2006. He was forwards co ...

's fifth season as head coach. Scrum-half John Cooney was leading scorer with 154 points. Hooker

Tom Stewart Thomas Stewart may refer to: Politicians and nobility * Thomas A. Stewart (politician) (1849–1920), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly * Thomas E. Stewart (1824–1904), U.S. Representative from New York *Thomas Joseph Stewart (1848–1926), ...

was leading try scorer with 17, and won the URC Top Try Scorer and Next-Gen Player of the Season awards.

Events

Personnel changes

Ulster appointed a new defence coach, Jonny Bell, returning to his home province from a spell at Worcester Warriors, in place of the departing

Jared Payne Jared Benjamin Payne (born 13 October 1985) is a retired rugby union centre who played for Ulster and the Ireland national team. He was a member of the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand, but did not play a test match. Since his ...

. New signings include Irish-qualified flanker Sean Reffell, 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 ...

, lock Frank Bradshaw Ryan from French club

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

, out-half

Jake Flannery Jake Flannery (born 7 June 1999) is an Irish rugby union player for United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup, Champions Cup side Ulster Rugby, Ulster. He plays as either a Rugby union positions#Fly-half, fly-half or Rugby unio ...

from

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, former All-Black tighthead prop

Jeffery Toomaga-Allen Jeffery Latu Toomaga-Allen (born 19 November 1990) is a rugby union footballer who plays as a tighthead prop for Samoa, and for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship. He previously played for Wellington Lions in the ITM Cup and the Hurricanes ...

from

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

,"All-Black Toomaga-Allen is coming to Ulster"
Ulster Rugby, 30 May 2022 and fullback Shea O'Brien from City of Armagh RFC, on a development contract. Hooker Declan Moore, who was signed as temporary injury cover from

last season, made his move to Ulster permanent. Academy centre Jude Postlethwaite signed a development contract, to be upgraded to a full senior contract after a year. After the collapse of Worcester Warriors,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

international loosehead prop Rory Sutherland joined until the end of the season. Hooker

Bradley Roberts Bradley Roberts is a rugby union player who plays as a hooker for United Rugby Championship side Dragons RFC. He was called up to play international rugby for Wales in 2021. Roberts was born in Durban, South Africa where he attended Durban Prep ...

, now a Wales international, left for the Dragons, prop

Ross Kane Ross Kane (born 14 October 1994) is a professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland, who plays at tighthead prop for Ealing Trailfinders. A native of Bangor, County Down, he started playing mini-rugby with Donaghadee Rugby Club. At sch ...

and lock David O'Connor left for Ealing Trailfinders, and lock

Mick Kearney Mick Kearney (born 29 March 1991) is an Irish rugby union player, currently playing for Irish side Ulster in the United Rugby Championship. His primary position is lock, though he has also played as a flanker. Career Club Kearney, who is or ...

, prop Jack McGrath and flanker

Sean Reidy Sean Reidy (born 10 May 1989) is a New Zealand-born Irish rugby union player who played flanker for Ulster Rugby from 2014 to 2022, and has two caps for Ireland. Born in Auckland, New Zealand,Brendan Crossan"Century man Sean Reidy ready for Dr ...

were released.Neil Treacy
"McGrath and Reidy among five Ulster departures"
RTÉ Sport, 26 May 2022 Five new players joined the Academy: last season's Ulster Schools Player of the Year, Campbell College lock Joe Hopes; QUB flanker Lorcan McLaughlin; Cambridge House Grammar flanker James McNabney; Coleraine Grammar fullback Rory Telfer; and Wallace High School prop Scott Wilson.

Summer internationals

Seven Ulster players were selected for Ireland's tour to New Zealand: hooker

Rob Herring Rob Herring is an English former professional motocross racer and current film industry stuntman. Herring began his racing career in South Africa after his father emigrated there from the United Kingdom. He returned to the U.K. at the age of 17 a ...

, prop Tom O'Toole, locks

Iain Henderson William Iain Henderson (born 21 February 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays lock for Ulster, Ireland, and the British and Irish Lions. He has been the captain of Ulster since the 2019, and first captained Ireland in 2021 ...

and

Kieran Treadwell Kieran Paul Treadwell (born 6 November 1995) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Ulster. Born in England, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry ground ...

, flanker

Nick Timoney Nick Timoney (born 1 August 1995) is an Irish rugby union player, who plays in the back row for Ulster and Ireland. He is regarded as a "hybrid" player, an athletic forward with the pace of a back.Stuart McCloskey Stuart McCloskey (born 6 August 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays centre for Ulster Rugby, and has six caps for Ireland. He has been Ulster's player of the year twice, and has twice been named on the Pro14 Dream Team. H ...

and James Hume, and fullback

Michael Lowry Michael Lowry (born 13 March 1953) is an Irish Independent politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) since 1987, currently for the Tipperary constituency. He previously served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications from 1 ...

. Treadwell, Herring and O'Toole made test appearances. Hume, Timoney, Lowry and McCloskey appeared in non-test matches against the Māori All Blacks. Henderson injured his knee before the opening match, and Hume injured his groin in the opening match against the Māori All Blacks. James McCormick, Adam McNamee, Reuben Crothers, Josh Hanlon, Charlie Irvine, Lorcan McLaughlin, James McNabney, Reece Malone, Scott Wilson and Joseph Mawhinney all appeared for Ireland U20s in the summer.

Pre-season

Ulster's pre-season campaign opened on 2 September with a home friendly against Exeter Chiefs, which they won 31-12.

Jacob Stockdale Jacob Stockdale (born 3 April 1996) is an Irish professional rugby union player who currently plays for Ulster and for Ireland. He plays on the wing or at fullback. He holds the record for tries scored in a single Six Nations Championship, scori ...

scored a try on his return from injury, and new scrum-half Michael McDonald was named man of the match. A second friendly, away to

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 ...

, arranged for 9 September, was cancelled following the

death of Queen Elizabeth II On 8 September 2022, at 15:10 BST, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, and the longest-reigning British monarch, died of old age at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, at the age of 96. The Queen's death wa ...

the day before.

Emerging Ireland tour

Ten Ulster players were selected for the

Emerging Ireland Emerging Ireland is an Irish rugby union team that represents Ireland in the World Rugby Nations Cup. History 2013 Tbilisi Cup The team was created to offer Tier 1 level opposition for Tier 2 sides in the IRB Tbilisi Cup, held in Tbilisi, Georgia ...

tour to South Africa for the

Toyota Challenge The Toyota Challenge is a rugby union competition hosted in South Africa by the Cheetahs, a team sponsored by Toyota SA. The first tournament took place at the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein between 13 November and 26 November 2021. In 2021, ...

at the end of September: wings

Robert Baloucoune Robert Baloucoune (born 19 August 1997) is an Irish rugby union player who plays on the wing for United Rugby Championship and European Champions Cup side Ulster, and internationally for Ireland Early career Baloucoune was born in Enniskille ...

and

Ethan McIlroy Ethan McIlroy (born 10 August 2000) is an Irish rugby union player who plays wing or fullback for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. He attended Methodist College Belfast, playing fullback in the Meth ...

; centre

Stewart Moore Stewart Moore (born 8 August 1999) is an Irish rugby union player who plays centre for Ulster. Ulster coach Dan McFarland describes him as "a lovely balanced runner who can cause defences problems".Jake Flannery Jake Flannery (born 7 June 1999) is an Irish rugby union player for United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup, Champions Cup side Ulster Rugby, Ulster. He plays as either a Rugby union positions#Fly-half, fly-half or Rugby unio ...

; scrum-halves

Nathan Doak Nathan Doak (born 17 December 2001) is an Irish rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The son of the former Ulster scrum-half and head coach Neil Doak, he wa ...

and Michael McDonald; loosehead prop Callum Reid; hooker

; lock

Cormac Izuchukwu Cormac Izuchukwu (born 28 January 2000) is an Irish rugby union player who plays lock for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship. He was born in London to an Irish mother and Nigerian father. He moved to Offaly when he was 7 where he and his ...

; and flanker

David McCann Dave or David McCann may refer to: * David McCann (cyclist) (born 1973), Irish racing cyclist * Dave McCann (Canadian football) (1889–1959), Canadian Football League player, official, coach, and executive * Dave McCann (sportscaster), evening ...

First block

The team opened the season with a 36-10 home victory over

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

in the URC. Hooker

made his first senior start, scored a try and was named Player of the Match."Ulster produce dominant display to start season with win over Connacht"
United Rugby, 17 September 2022 After a high-scoring away win against Scarlets, in which John Cooney scored 30 points,"Ulster overcome battling Scarlets in Llanelli thriller"
United Rugby, 24 September 2022 Ulster lost at home to

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

in heavy rain."Leinster triumph over Ulster in top-of-the-table clash in Belfast"
United Rugby, 30 September 2022 There followed a 47-17 win over

Ospreys The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, in which Luke Marshall and Sam Carter scored two tries each."Ulster bounce back to cruise past Ospreys"
United Rugby, 8 October 2022 Ulster then became the first northern hemisphere team to win in South Africa this season, beating the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

."Ulster make extra man count in narrow victory over Emirates Lions"
United Rugby, 15 October 2022 Their next match, against the Sharks in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, was postponed after an outbreak of

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

and norovirus meant they were unable to field a team. Ulster narrowly beat

away, with Rory Sutherland making his debut and John Andrew making his 100th appearance for the province, both off the bench, and went into the international break second in the URC table.

Autumn international break

Eight Ulster players were called up to the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

squad for the 2022 end-of-year internationals:

Stuart McCloskey Stuart McCloskey (born 6 August 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays centre for Ulster Rugby, and has six caps for Ireland. He has been Ulster's player of the year twice, and has twice been named on the Pro14 Dream Team. H ...

, Tom O'Toole,

Nick Timoney Nick Timoney (born 1 August 1995) is an Irish rugby union player, who plays in the back row for Ulster and Ireland. He is regarded as a "hybrid" player, an athletic forward with the pace of a back.Kieran Treadwell Kieran Paul Treadwell (born 6 November 1995) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for United Rugby Championship club Ulster. Born in England, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry ground ...

. Two more, James Hume and

Marty Moore Marty Moore (born March 19, 1971) is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for eight seasons for the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns. Moore was the first Mr. Irrelevant ever to play in a Super Bowl (Supe ...

, were selected for the panel for Ireland 'A' to play a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

XV.

Second block

After the international break, Ulster had a comfortable home win over Zebre Parma, with

scoring two tries. They then travelled to

, and led the league leaders at half time, before Leinster fought back to win the game 38-29. This began a three-game losing streak, as Ulster lost their opening two games in the Champions Cup. After poor weather caused travel disruption, they capitulated 39-0 away to

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

. A frozen pitch at Ravenhill meant Ulster's home game against reigning champions

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

had to be relocated to Dublin's Aviva Stadium at the last minute, with the match played behind closed doors. La Rochelle built a 29-0 half-time lead, but Ulster improved enough in the second half to earn two bonus points in a 29-36 defeat. Returning to the URC, Ulster halted their losing streak with a close away win against

, featuring another two-try display from

. After last-minute defeats to

(during which flanker Sean Reffell made a URC record 42 tackles, and tighthead prop

's season was ended by an anterior cruciate ligament injury) and Benetton in the URC and La Rochelle in the Champions Cup, Ulster secured qualification for the last 16 of the Champions Cup with a home win over Sale. They reached the Six Nations break with a bonus point home win against the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...

, sitting at third in the URC table and second in the Irish shield. Academy lock Harry Sheridan made his senior debut in the away defeat to La Rochelle.

Six Nations international break

Five Ulster players were called up to the initial Ireland squad for the

2023 Six Nations Championship The 2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland a ...

: Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale. Tom Stewart was later added to the squad as cover for the injured Ronan Kelleher, Nick Timoney was added to the squad ahead of the fourth match against Scotland, and Kieran Treadwell was called up for the fifth match against England. James McNabney, Rory Telfer and Joe Hopes all featured for Ireland in the U20 Six Nations. During the Six Nations, Ulster played three away games, losing to

, before travelling to

to defeat the Sharks in a fixture rearranged from October, and then defeating

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. This left Ulster in third. Centre Jude Postlethwaite made his senior debut in the away win against Cardiff.

Third block

Ulster finished the URC regular season with three home games. In the first of these three, they defeated the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

, with Tom Stewart scoring a hat-trick. This result made them the first European team in the URC to beat all four South African sides in the same season. The following week they went out of the Champions Cup in the round of 16, losing 30-15 to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium. Back in the URC, they moved into second with a bonus point win against the Dragons 40-21, with Tom Stewart scoring another hat-trick. The following week they secured second place with a home win over

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, earning a home quarter-final against

, which they lost 10-15. Wing

made his 100th appearance for the province, and hooker

equalled the all-time appearance record with 229, alongside

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 ...

and

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 ...

URC awards

was the URC's Top Try Scorer with 16, a record for the competition - beating the 14 scored by

Tim Visser Tim Visser ( born 29 May 1987) is a Dutch rugby union player, who played as a winger for the Scotland national team and for English club Harlequins. Early life Visser was born in De Bilt, Netherlands. He was brought up in Maartensdijk and pla ...

in 2010-11 and the Cheetahs'

Rabz Maxwane Sibahle Ndiphiwe 'Rabz' Maxwane (born 14 August 1995) is a South African rugby union player for the in the Pro14 and the in the Currie Cup. He usually plays on the wing. Rugby career 2013 : Youth rugby Maxwane was born in Queenstown and at ...

in 2018-19, and the Next-Gen Player of the Season award for players under 23 who have fewer than five international caps.

Ulster Rugby Awards

The 2023 Ulster Rugby Awards were announced online on 1 June. Winners were: *Men's player of the year:

*Supporters' club player of the year:

*Rugby writers' player of the year:

*Young men's player of the year:

Stewart Moore Stewart Moore (born 8 August 1999) is an Irish rugby union player who plays centre for Ulster. Ulster coach Dan McFarland describes him as "a lovely balanced runner who can cause defences problems".Cooke RFC Cooke Rugby Football Club, which was founded in 1910, is the oldest junior rugby club in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They currently field 3 Senior Men's teams, the 1st XV playing in Qualifying 1, and a successful Women's team, which competes in the ...

*Young women's player of the year: Sadhbh McGrath,

Cooke RFC Cooke Rugby Football Club, which was founded in 1910, is the oldest junior rugby club in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They currently field 3 Senior Men's teams, the 1st XV playing in Qualifying 1, and a successful Women's team, which competes in the ...

*Club player of the year: George Pringle, Ballynahinch RFC *Referee of the year: Peter Martin *Boys' youth player of the year: Ben Neely, Coleraine RFC *U18 girls' player of the year: Ruby Starrett, Larne RFC *Boys schools' player of the year: Jacob Boyd,

RBAI The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

*Girls schools' player of the year: Scarlett Keys,

Enniskillen Royal Grammar School Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, is an academically selective, co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school. The school opened its doors on 1 September 2016. Two former ...

Future

Signings announced for next season include South African prop Steven Kitshoff, from the

,"Ulster sign South Africa prop Steven Kitshoff on a three-year deal"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 9 November 2022 and flanker

Dave Ewers David Peter Ewers (born 3 November 1990) is a Zimbabwean rugby union player in the Aviva Premiership for the Exeter Chiefs. He previously played for the Cornish Pirates in the Championship on a dual registration. He is capable of playing both ...

, from Exeter Chiefs.Adam Kyriacou
"Dave Ewers: Ulster announce signing of Exeter Chiefs stalwart"
Planet Rugby, 17 January 2023 Flanker

Jordi Murphy Jordi Murphy (born 22 April 1991) is an Irish international rugby player. He plays for provincial and United Rugby Championship side Ulster as a loose forward, and also plays for the Ireland national rugby union team. Early life Murphy was bo ...

announced his retirement at the end of the 2022-23 season. Lock Frank Bradshaw Ryan left for

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

. Wings

Rob Lyttle Rob Lyttle (born 28 January 1997) is an Irish rugby union player who plays wing for Ulster. Born in Donaghcloney, County Down, he played mini rugby at Dromore RFC as a child. He attended Royal Belfast Academical Institution, where he appeared in ...

Jonathan Bradley
"I’m sad to be leaving Ulster at end of the season, admits winger Rob Lyttle"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 11 April 2023 and

Craig Gilroy Craig Gilroy (born 11 March 1991) is an Irish rugby union player who wing for Ulster, and is a former Ireland international. he was Ulster's player of the year in 2014–15, and was named in the Pro12 Dream Team twice. Born in Bangor, County D ...

announced they would leave at the end of the season. Hooker Declan Moore and scrum-half Michael McDonald will move to

on a season-long loan. Five academy players will join the senior squad on development contracts: lock Harry Sheridan, scrum-half Conor McKee, hooker James McCormick, back row forward Reuben Crothers and centre Ben Carson."Ulster secure young prospects to new deals", Ulster Rugby, 12 April 2023
/ref>

Staff

Squad

Senior squad

Players in

* Frank Bradshaw Ryan from

from

* Michael McDonald 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. ...

* Shea O'Brien from City of Armagh * Sean Reffell from

* Rory Sutherland from Worcester Warriors *

from

Promoted from academy

* Jude Postlethwaite

Players out

to Ealing Trailfinders *

''retired'' * Jack McGrath ''retired'' * David O'Connor to Ealing Trailfinders *

''released'' *

to Dragons

Academy squad

Players in

* Joe Hopes from

Regent House The Regent House is the governing body of the University of Cambridge. It consists of most academic and academic-related staff of the University's colleges and departments. It currently has more than 3,000 members. Meetings of the Regent House a ...

* Lorcan McLoughlin from QUB * James McNabney from Cambridge House * Rory Telfer from

Coleraine Grammar School Coleraine Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland that was established in 2015 following the amalgamation of Coleraine Academical Institution and Coleraine High School. The school i ...

* Scott Wilson from Wallace High School.

Players out

* Lewis Finlay to

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also i ...

* Azur Allison * Conor Rankin to

Ulster 'A'

The following players, other than players from the senior squad and academy, appeared for Ulster 'A this season.

2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup

Group stage

Round of 16

2022–23 United Rugby Championship

Quarter-final

Notes

Friendlies

Ulster 'A'

Home attendance

Senior club rugby

All-Ireland League

Ballynahinch Ballynahinch may refer to: Northern Ireland * Ballynahinch, County Armagh, a townland *Ballynahinch, County Down, a town Republic of Ireland *Ballynahinch (barony), in County Galway *Ballynahinch, County Galway, a townland in County Galway * Bally ...

were Ulster's only club in Division 1A, finishing fifth. City of Armagh achieved promotion by finishing first in Division 1B; Banbridge finished 9th and

Malone Malone is an Irish surname. From the Irish "''Mael Eóin''", the name means a servant or a disciple of Saint John. People * Gilla Críst Ua Máel Eóin (died 1127), historian and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, Ó Maoil Eoin * Adrian Malone (1937–2 ...

were tenth, and both were relegated.

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

were promoted after finishing first in Division 2A;

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

were seventh. In Division 2B,

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 ...

were third, Rainey Old Boys sixth, and Belfast Harlequins seventh. And in Division 2C,

Instonians Instonians is a sports club based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that incorporates rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey and cricket sections. There is also a golf society that plays under the Instonians name. Instonians Rugby Football, Cricke ...

finished first and were promoted; Bangor were sixth and Omagh Academicals 7th. Clogher Valley were promoted to the All-Ireland League for the first time after finishing top of the Ulster Rugby Championship and winning playoffs against Leinster's

Bective Rangers Bective Rangers Football Club is a rugby union club in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1881. The Club is affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union and play in Division 1A of the Leinster League. The club plays its games a ...

and Munster's

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

."Photos: Clogher Valley RFC celebrate historic All-Ireland win"
''Belfast Live'', 18 April 2023

Ulster Rugby Premiership Division 1

League table

Ulster Rugby Premiership Division 2

League table

Ulster Senior Cup

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster 2022-23 2022–23 in Irish rugby union 2022–23 United Rugby Championship by team 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup by team