The 2018–19 season was

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

's 25th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's first season as head coach. Rory Best was captain. They competed in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

, making the semi-finals, and the European Rugby Champions Cup, making the quarter-finals.

Events

Personnel changes

After the resignation of Jono Gibbes, Dan McFarland was announced as Ulster's new head coach on 30 April 2018. Initially he was to serve his notice as

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

's forwards coach and join Ulster in January 2019, with Simon Easterby to act as interim head coach until then. But in August, an agreement was reached with Scotland for McFarland to join Ulster before the new season. Jared Payne, who retired as a player at the end of last season, became the new defence coach.

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

head coach Dan Soper joined as skills coach. Shane Logan stepped down as Chief Executive in September 2018, with Jonny Petrie appointed as his successor. There were significant changes to the playing squad. Aside from Jared Payne, wings Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble, scrum-half Paul Marshall, and loose forwards Peter Browne, Jean Deysel and Chris Henry also retired. Also departing were fullback Charles Piutau to

Bristol Bears 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 ...

, props Callum Black to

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...

, Rodney Ah You to

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

and Wiehahn Herbst to the Bulls, out-half Brett Herron to

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds was a rugby union club based in Jersey, Channel Islands. On 28th September 2023, the club ceased trading and shortly thereafter went into liquidation following the withdrawal of financial support from a key investor. Until seaso ...

, and centre Callum Patterson to the

Cornish Pirates The Cornish Pirates () are a professional rugby union team who play in the RFU Championship, Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. The Cornish Pirates team are the 'First XV' o ...

. Scrum-half Aaron Cairns, flanker Robbie Diack and prop Schalk van der Merwe were released. Out-half Paddy Jackson and centre

Stuart Olding Stuart Olding (born 11 March 1993) is a rugby union rugby player from Northern Ireland. He plays at centre and fullback. Olding played for Ulster from 2011 until 2018. In 2017 Olding was charged with rape, and in 2018 he was tried and acquitted. ...

, whose contracts were terminated in the fallout from their trial and acquittal for rape, signed for

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

and Brive respectively. Rory Best remained captain. Ulster were in need of an experienced out-half after the end of Christian Lealiifano's loan period and Jackson's departure. In June they attempted to sign South African out-half Elton Jantjies, but were blocked by the IRFU, who insisted they needed to sign an Irish-qualified player.

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

's Joey Carbery and Ross Byrne were talked about, but Carbery opted to sign for

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

and Byrne stayed at Leinster. On 18 July, Billy Burns, who qualified for Ireland through his Irish grandfather, was signed from

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

.Gerry Thornley
"Sibling rivalry driving younger Ulster Burns to aim for next level"
''The Irish Times'', 20 January 2020 Other new arrivals were prop Marty Moore, signed 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. Th ...

; flanker Jordi Murphy, from

; utility back Will Addison, from

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

; wing Henry Speight, from the

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

; and, in a short-term loan deal, lock Ian Nagle, from

. Academy players who made their debut for the senior team this season were prop Eric O'Sullivan, wings Robert Baloucoune and Angus Kernohan, centre

James Hume James Hume may refer to: * James Hume (architect) (1798–1868), architect in Sydney, Australia * James Hume (cricketer) (1858–1909), Scottish-born New Zealand cricketer * James Hume (magistrate) (1808–1862), British magistrate and political co ...

, fullback Michael Lowry and flanker Marcus Rea. Former academy prop Tommy O'Hagan also made his senior debut. Seven players joined the academy this season: back row forward Matthew Agnew, from Malone RFC; out-half Bruce Houston, centre Stewart Moore, and back-rower Azur Allison, from

Ballymena Academy Ballymena Academy is a mixed gender, voluntary Grammar schools in the United Kingdom, 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 tow ...

; back rower David McCann, from RBAI; outside back Iwan Hughes, from

;Gareth Fullerton
"Ulster Rugby Academy names 19-man squad for new season"
Belfast Live, 25 July 2018 and wing Angus Kernohan, from

."Kernohan awarded academy spot"
Ulster Rugby, 5 September 2018, archived 2 April 2019

Sponsorship

Ulster renewed their sponsorship deal with construction materials firm Kingspan, who would continue as Ulster's jersey sponsor until 1923. Their stadium naming deal would continue until 2024.

Season

In the Pro14, Ulster finished second in Conference B, qualifying for the playoffs and next season's Champions Cup. They defeated

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

in the quarter-final, but lost to

Glasgow Warriors The 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 beca ...

in the semi-final. Ulster led the league in defence. Scrum-half John Cooney and centre Stuart McCloskey made the Pro14 Dream Team. They finished second in Pool 4 of the Champions Cup, making the quarter-finals, where they lost to

. Wing Jacob Stockdale was named on the longlist for EPCR European Player of the Year. John Cooney was leading scorer with 142 points. Hooker Rob Herring was leading try scorer with eight. Flanker Nick Timoney was leading tackler with 303, just ahead of number eight Marcell Coetzee with 301. Stuart McCloskey was Ulster's Player of the Year. Captain and hooker Rory Best and centre Darren Cave retired at the end of the season.

Staff

Squad

Senior squad

Players In

* Will Addison from

* Alan Bennie from Lansdowne * Billy Burns from

* Caleb Montgomery from

* Marty Moore from

* Jordi Murphy from

* Ian Nagle from

''(loan deal)'' * Henry Speight from

''(short-term deal)'' * Alexander Thompson from

Terenure Terenure (), originally called ''Roundtown'', is a middle class suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It is located in the city's D6 and D6W postal districts. The population of all electoral divisions labelled as Terenure was 17,972 as of the 2022 ce ...

Promoted from academy

* Angus Curtis * Greg Jones * Adam McBurney * Tom O'Toole * Johnny Stewart * Nick Timoney

Players Out

* Rodney Ah You to

* Callum Black to

* Tommy Bowe ''retired'' * Peter Browne ''retired'' * Aaron Cairns to Ballynahinch * Jean Deysel ''retired'' * Robbie Diack ''released'' * Brett Herron to

* Chris Henry ''retired'' * Paddy Jackson to

* Paul Marshall ''retired'' *

to Brive * Callum Patterson to

* Jared Payne ''retired'' * Charles Piutau to

* Andrew Trimble ''retired'' * Schalk van der Merwe ''released'' * Internationally capped players in bold * Players qualified to play for on dual nationality or residency grounds* * Irish Provinces are currently limited to four non-Irish eligible (NIE) players and one non-Irish qualified player (NIQ or "Project Player").

Academy squad

Players in

* Stewart Moore from

* David McCann from RBAI * Angus Kernohan from

. * Bruce Houston from

* Azur Allison from

* Matthew Agnew from Malone RFC * Iwan Hughes, from

Players out

* Peter Cooper * Alexander Clarke * John McCusker * Rory Butler

Season record

European Rugby Champions Cup

Pool 4

Quarter-final

Pro14

Quarter-final

Semi-final

End of season awards

Inside centre Stuart McCloskey and scrum-half John Cooney were named the Pro14 Dream Team.

Home attendance

Friendlies

Ulster 'A'

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

Celtic Cup

Cara Cup

Ulster Women

2018-19 Women's Interprovincial Series

Ulster Rugby Awards

The Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Belfast, on 9 May 2019. Winners were:Darren Fullerton
"2019 Ulster Rugby Awards: Retiring captain Rory Best is named Heineken Personality of the Year"
Belfast Live, 9 May 2019 *Player of the Year: Stuart McCloskey *Personality of the Year: Rory Best *Young Player of the Year: Eric O'Sullivan *Rugby Writers Player of the Year: Marcell Coetzee *Supporters Club Player of the Year: Stuart McCloskey *Academy Player of the Year: Michael Lowry *Ulster A Player of the Year: Aaron Sexton *Women's Player of the Year: Claire McLaughlin, Old Belvedere R.F.C. *Youth Player of the Year: Matthew Sands, City of Armagh RFC *Boys' Schools Player of the Year: Tom Stewart, Belfast Royal Academy *Girls' Schools Player of the Year: Zara Flack,

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 forme ...

*Real Rugby Heroes Award (adult category): Victor Kearney, Donegal Town RFC *Real Rugby Heroes Award (youth category): Heather Thornton, Rainey Old Boys R.F.C. *Dorrington B. Faulkner Award: Barney McGonigle *Club Player of the Year: Ross Adair, Ballynahinch RFC *Referee of the Year: Peter Martin *Club of the Year: Queen's University RFC *U18 Girls Player of the Year: Kelly McCormill, Cooke RFC

Season reviews

"Ulster’s progression in 2019"
The Front Row Union, 8 May 2019
"Making an impact at Ulster Rugby"
The Front Row Union, 23 May 2019
Ulster Men: Who did what 2018-19
The From Row Union, 18 July 2019
"Dan McFarland: Season Review"
Ulster Rugby, 6 June 2019
"Ulster continue to make strides"
United Rugby, 12 June 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster 2018-19 2018–19 in Irish rugby union 2018–19 Pro14 by team 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup by team