Ulster Rugby Annual Report 2015 - 2016

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT BOBBY STEWART

My year as President started with a bang. I was elected President on a Thursday and on Friday I was attending my first official function at the Ballynahinch Gala Ball to mark their 60th Anniversary and so the benchmark for the year was set

supporters from the residents of Oyonnax who went out of their way to make us feel special. Secondly, the tragic events that enfolded in Paris on the eve of the proposed game. The team was disappointed that they did not get a run out with our World Cup players back in the team before they had to play Saracens the following week. All were agreed, however, that the correct decision was taken. The back to back wins against Toulouse are something that I will always treasure. Unfortunately Saracens, who went on to win the Cup, were just too strong in the long run. The World Cup was undoubtedly the highlight of the early season with some breath taking encounters. Who will ever forget Japan’s defeat of South Africa? Once again Ireland flattered to deceive and failed to get past the Quarter-Finals. I was fortunate to be the guest of the IRFU for the Six Nations games and the World Cup warm up games against Wales and Scotland. After a shaky start to the Six Nations Championship Ireland managed to steady the ship and finished a creditable third. The Ulster Branch and all its committees are manned by volunteers who give up their time freely and make a great contribution to sustaining and developing our game. I am extremely grateful to all those people for their effort and commitment. In particular I want to thank the Honorary Secretary John McKibbin, Honorary Treasurer Michael Boyd and Competitions Honorary Secretary Denis Gardiner for all the hard work that they have put in over the season. I have already mentioned John McKibbin as Honorary Secretary but I also wish to thank him and Graffin Parke for the great support and commitment that they have given me as Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents respectively. Chief Executive Shane Logan and his staff are to be congratulated and thanked for their efforts and

It has been a busy, exciting, fulfilling and rewarding year with many highlights some of which I will detail later. Kingspan Stadium is now well established as one of the best Rugby grounds in Europe and the team facilities at the back off, and below, the Family Stand at the Aquinas end are second to none and are the envy of every visiting team. The final part of the Stadium to be opened was the Nevin Spence Centre and this was carried out by the Minister for Culture Arts and Leisure Carál Ní Chuilín. This was a day of mixed emotion for most people attending. Pride in the educational and heritage facility that Ulster Rugby had provided but tinged with sorrow and sympathy for the Spence family who were represented by Nevin’s mother Nessie and his sisters Emma and Laura. Following the opening of the Nevin Spence Centre, official tours of the Stadium began and they have been a great success and I want to thank Ruth Harper and her staff for the tremendous work that they are carrying out and the service they are providing. The professional game is something that we can all be proud about. We lost Jonny Bell as the Defence Coach at the end of last season but we welcomed Australian Joe Barakat to Kingspan Stadium as our new Defence Coach and he has assimilated into the community very well. After the World Cup we were able to welcome Les Kiss as our Director of Rugby and I would like to wish them both a long and successful career at Kingspan Stadium. The team has had a bit of a mixed season but a strong finish in the PRO12 saw Ulster secure a play-off berth against Leinster in Dublin. Unfortunately the team came up short on the day and lost by 30-18. In Europe, our trip to Oyonnax for what should have been the opening game in the European Cup campaign was memorable for two reasons. Firstly was the welcome received by both the Team and the travelling

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