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PRESIDENT’S REPORT
BOBBY STEWART
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
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
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
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