Ulster Rugby vs Barbarians

www.

ULSTERRUGBY

.com

IRFU

ULSTER BRANCH

2016/17

OFFICERS

John McKibbin

President

Graffin Parke

Senior Vice President

Stephen Elliott

Junior Vice President

Denis Gardiner

Honorary Secretary

Michael Boyd

Honorary Treasurer

Greg Irwin

Competitions Secretary

EXECUTIVE TEAM

Shane Logan

Chief Executive

Chris Webster

Domestic Rugby Manager

Audrey Robinson

Financial Controller

Fiona Hampton

Head of Sales & Marketing

Les Kiss

Director of Rugby

Kingspan Stadium,

134 Mount Merrion Avenue

Belfast, BT6 0FT

T +44 (0)28 9049 3222

ulsterrugby.com

This is the first time Ulster has played the Barbarians. There was a

match in 1957 but that was against an Ulster Invitation XV so a piece of

history is being made tonight. It is also the second time the Barbarians

have been at Kingspan Stadium this season, having played Fiji here

back in November. The Barbarians' great reputation for playing

entertaining rugby is unequalled and with no competition pressures on

the Ulster team tonight, we should be in for a great game.

Three weeks ago, the Ulster team put in a tremendous performance

to defeat our old rivals Leinster and give Ulster greats Ruan Pienaar

and Roger Wilson a fitting send-off. Apart from Ruan and Roger, we

also say good-bye to a number of players who will not be with us next

season. Angus Lloyd, Dan Tuohy and Sam Windsor left us during the

current season, as did assistant coach Joe Barakat. To them and to

Franco van der Merwe, Ricky Lutton, Stevie Mulholland, John Donnan,

Conor Joyce, Mark Best, Lorcan Dow, Johnny Murphy and Callum

Patterson we offer our thanks and appreciation for all their efforts, and

wish them well in the future.

Two other great Ulstermen are also leaving at the end of the season

- Neil Doak and Allen Clarke. These two stalwarts have made very

significant contributions to Ulster Rugby, both as players and more

lately as coaches. They deserve our thanks for all their efforts over so

many years and they have our best wishes for the future.

Congratulations go to the Ulster Junior team who won the inter-

provincial title with three wins out of three against the other provinces

over the past month – a great achievement.

At the recent 2017 Northern Ireland Tourism Awards, the award for

‘Best Event or Festival Experience’ went to Ulster Rugby for its staging

of the memorable European Champions Cup tie against Clermont

Auvergne last December at Kingspan Stadium. We beat off stiff

competition from the likes of the Belfast Christmas Market and the

Balmoral Show. Our congratulations go to Event Co-ordinator Anita

Bayne and the Ulster Rugby staff who were involved for this great

achievement.

Finally, I want to thank our fans for the tremendous support they have

given the team throughout the season. I know it has been a slightly

disappointing season in that we did not make the knockout stages of

the European Champions Cup or the Guinness PRO12 play-offs but the

support the team has received during the season has been superb. So,

once more, let us get behind the Ulster team tonight and, again, a big

thank you to all our supporters.

Stand Up For The Ulster Men!

John McKibbin

President IRFU (Ulster Branch)

It gives me great pleasure as President of the IRFU

Ulster Branch to welcome everyone to Kingspan

Stadium for this unique match between Ulster and the

Barbarians. In particular, I extend a warm welcome to

the Barbarian’s President Micky Steele-Bodger and to

their players and officials.

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME