Ulster Rugby vs Leinster

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IRFU
ULSTER BRANCH
Kingspan Stadium,
85 Ravenhill Park,
Belfast, BT6 0DG
T // +44 (0)28 9049 3222
OFFICERS
Bobby Stewart
// President
John McKibbin
// Senior Vice President
Graffin Parke
// Junior Vice President
John McKibbin
// Honorary Secretary
Michael Boyd
// Honorary Treasurer
Denis Gardiner
// Competitions Secretary
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Shane Logan
// Chief Executive
Chris Webster
// Domestic Rugby Manager
Audrey Robinson
// Financial Controller
Fiona Hampton
// Head of Sales & Marketing
PRESIDENT’S
WELCOME
Leinster are Ulster’s oldest rivals and
were the first side to play against Ulster
at Ravenhill when the provincial side
moved here in the 1923/24 season.
I especially welcome the Leinster
President, Robert McDermott, together
with the Leinster Officers, Management,
players and supporters who have made
the journey to Belfast.
It is the start of a new season and I
am sure that the squad will put the
disappointment of the end of last season
behind them and begin afresh.
Over the close season there have been
a few comings and goings and I would
like to pay tribute to Jonny Bell who gave
21 years of service to Ulster both as a
player and more recently as the Defence
Coach.
Jonny has moved to join David
Humphreys at Gloucester and I wish him
every success.
I would also like to thank Declan
Fitzpatrick, Neil McComb, Michael Allen,
Mike McComish, Charlie Butterworth,
Michael Heaney, Dave Ryan, James
Simpson and Ricky Andrew who have
moved on or retired and I wish them all
the best in the future.
Having thanked those who have
departed it is my pleasure to extend
a very warm Ulster welcome to Joe
Barakat as our Assistant Coach. Joe is
an Australian and is a former Waratahs
defence coach and for the last five
seasons has worked in Japan. I wish
him and his family a very happy and
successful time in Ulster.
Also joining Ulster this year are Sam
Windsor, Peter Browne, Paul Rowley and
Willie Faloon. I hope that they too have a
happy and fulfilling time with Ulster.
I would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate both the Ireland Women’s
and Ireland Men’s teams on their historic
double Six Nations Championships
and in particular the Ulster players
who played such vital roles in their
campaigns.
I wish Ireland a very successful World
Cup campaign and look forward to
seeing the Webb Ellis Trophy on Irish
soil.
At this time of the year our clubs are
also preparing for the new season and
I want to wish everyone from the minis
up to senior level every success for the
incoming season. I also want to thank
the countless hard working volunteers
who support this fantastic game in
schools and clubs across Ulster.
This is also a very busy time for
the Ulster Age Grade and Ladies
Provincial teams who compete for their
championships over the next few weeks
and I thank their coaches, managers
and all their support personnel for their
dedication and hard work and I wish
them well in their quest for success.
Finally, enjoy the match; give Leinster a
great Kingspan reception and “Stand up
for the Ulstermen”
Yours in Rugby,
Bobby Stewart // President
IRFU (Ulster Branch)
It is my pleasure as President of the IRFU Ulster Branch to
welcome everyone to Kingspan Stadium this evening for
what I know will be a very exciting game against Leinster
despite both sides missing key players who are on World
Cup duties.