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Another area which the Development Committee has
been heavily involved with is the Sub Regional Funding
Strategy which is run by DCAL. This strategy aims to
support investment for enhancing and developing
clubhouses and sports’ grounds. The recent Political
and Budget difficulties at Stormont has delayed this
scheme. However, in the interim, the Development
Committee has maintained regular contact with DCAL
to ensure that Ulster Rugby has all the necessary
arrangements in place to make full use of the funding
from this scheme when it becomes available.
The Ulster Branch is again indebted to the continuing
commitment and hard work of the Development
Committee whose members are Cecil Watson (chair),
Joe Eagleson, Michael Boyd, David Workman and Tony
Reynolds.
THE PROFESSIONAL GAME
The 2015/16 Season has been defined by fine margins.
The personnel changes introduced for this season
are now firmly embedded and everyone within Ulster
Rugby can see the improvements both on and off the
pitch. Of particular note we would like to congratulate
Rory Best on the huge honour of being named Ireland
Captain, a fantastic achievement, and also a first cap
against England in the Six Nations for rising star, Stuart
McCloskey.
Missing out by a solitary point on progression from
the group stages in the Champions Cup was a bitter
pill to swallow. However, in a group with the current
powerhouse of Europe, Saracens, French giants,
Toulouse and the unknown quantity in Oyonnax, it
was always going to be a tough assignment. The
back-to-back wins against Toulouse was one of the
highlights of the season, producing some scintillating
rugby and confirming Ulster as a force within Europe.
Unfortunately, Saracens, both home and away, proved
too strong and it was not a surprise when they defeated
Racing Metro in the Final of this year’s European
Champions Cup while leading the English Premiership,
illustrating the sheer quality and strength in depth they
have built on over the last 3 to 5 years.
The Pro12 League has been a highly competitive entity
this season with 8 sides still being in contention for a
top 4 playoffs spot before the final couple of games.
Ulster produced four excellent performances in the last
four games, beating Connacht and Leinster at home
and securing bonus point victories away to Zebre and
Ospreys to finish in fourth place. This meant a play-off
game against Leinster at RDS. However, Ulster have
rued a couple of missed opportunities at home against
the Scarlets and Munster which could have secured a
home playoff. It should also be noted that Ulster have
the second highest tries scored and are second best
in points differential showing that the core elements of
attack and defence have largely been very successful.
Confidence was high going into the play-off against
Leinster but, as has happened against Leinster in recent
play-offs, the side came up just short on the day.
While never wanting to make excuses, Ulster suffered
a 25-28% injury rate throughout the season, with a high
percentage of that to some of our key players. The flip
side was that many players had to step up to the mark
and having performed excellently have given us greater
depth of experience at Pro12 level for next season.
A concerted effort, as part of an over-arching rugby
plan, was to continue to raise the level of performance
and results of the Ulster ‘A’ team. While missing out
on group qualification in the B&I Cup, there have been
significant improvements that we aim to build on for
next season which will help to ensure that the “A” team
compete in the latter stages of the competition. With a
greater appreciation throughout the Ulster organisation
on the importance of these fixtures, there is now a
greater buy-in to strive for improved results. This is
culminating on better identification of fringe players
being able to step up to the Senior team and a stronger
overall squad.
Off the pitch, there have been some staff changes. The
medical team loses a character and squad favourite
in Alan McCaldin as Assistant Physio. He made a very
tough and emotional decision to spend more time
at home and help run the family business. He will be
missed. Alan’s replacement, Chris McNichol, highly
accomplished, will start officially at the beginning of
next season. The medical department will be furthered
strengthened with Michael Webb, as Medical Director,
moving to 3 full days per week with the squad. The
added benefits are numerous in terms of efficiency and
service provision. Finally, Kyle Alexander moves from
part-time to become our full time masseur post his
Olympics duties in Rio this summer with Team GB.
Next season will see the addition of World Class players
Charles Piutau (nominated for European Player of the
Year 2015/16 with Wasps) and Marcell Coetzee (Sharks).
We also have some highly promising Irish Qualified
additions in the form of Rodney Ah You, as tight head
prop possessing huge potential at only 26; Kieran
Treadwell, a man mountain from London Harlequins and
standout England U20 lock; and Brett Herron, a highly
talented out-half from Bath, again with huge potential.
The future is exciting!
Ulster also says goodbye to a number of familiar faces.
Nick Williams, a real fans favourite and hugely popular
squad member, will depart for Cardiff. Ian Humphreys
will retire from the game at the end of the season and
Rory Scholes and Sam Arnold head to Edinburgh and
Munster respectively. Ulster Rugby wishes them well in
their new environments. Lewis Stevenson, who departed
for an opportunity with Exeter mid-season, Ruairdhri
Murphy, Bronson Ross, Frank Taggart, Paul Rowley and
Paul Jackson all finish their stints with Ulster. We wish
them all well with their futures in whatever field that may
be and thank them for their contribution to Ulster Rugby.
The Hughes Insurance Academy continues to strive
for excellence in everything they do. The alignment
with the Senior Squad is becoming increasingly strong
from a succession planning point of view. With the
players being integrated yet further into full Senior
squad sessions, the Academy players are making
faster progress. Alex Codling, after only one season,
moves on from an EPDO role for personal reasons and
will head back to England taking up the post of Head
Coach at Ealing in the Championship. His contribution
to the development of our forwards was excellent and
again, we wish him well with Ealing. His replacement
will come with yet further experience in the form of
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