Ulster Rugby v Cardiff Blues

PRESIDENT'S WELCOME

After a three week gap we are back at Kingspan Stadium looking forward to our fourth game of the 2019/20 Guinness PRO14 Championship. I was fortunate to join the squad during the very enjoyable trip to South Africa and it was great to catch up with an Ulster Rugby legend in Ruan Pienaar after the Cheetahs game. It was very clear from his contribution on the field that the Cheetahs will be a formidable outfit this season. Dan and the guys came back with a well earned six points from the trip and thankfully limited injuries. We wish Michael Lowry a speedy recovery after his ankle surgery and look forward to seeing him back playing in Ulster jersey in the near future. The Rugby World Cup is now well into the knock-out stages and I wish Wales and England both the best in their respective semi- final games this weekend. Unfortunately, it was a disappointing tournament for Ireland and the Irish supporters, but it was great to see the ovation Rory Best got from the crowd and both sets of players on his final professional appearance. I wish him a very long and fruitful retirement. It was also pleasing to see that Jordi Murphy and Rob Herring both got belated call ups to join the squad in Japan. I am sure you all, like myself, are looking forward to see our Ulster contingent of Iain, Jacob, Jordi and Rob back in the white jersey in the forthcoming weeks. I would also like to acknowledge the contribution that Joe Schmidt has made to Irish Rugby during his tenure as national coach and wish him all the best in whatever is his next venture. On the domestic front, the club league and cup competitions are well under way as well as the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup, which kicked off last week. I wish all the teams and players every success in their respective competitions. It was fantastic to see the Ulster A team make it through to the final of this season’s Celtic Cup. Well done to the playing squad and management group, under the leadership of Kieran Campbell and Willie Anderson. It was great to see so many of our Development and Academy players making huge contributions and this only bears well for the future of Ulster Rugby. To the travelling Cardiff Blues Officers, management team and playing squad – I hope you have an enjoyable, but not successful, visit to Belfast. To the Ulster supporters – let’s get behind the team and generate our unique match night atmosphere at Kingspan Stadium, and hopefully cheer the Ulster men on to another important win. SUFTUM! Gary Leslie President, IRFU Ulster Branch On behalf of Ulster Rugby, I would like to welcome everyone to Kingspan Stadium for this evening’s Guinness PRO14 fixture versus Cardiff Blues.

IRFU ULSTER BRANCH 2019/20 OFFICERS Gary Leslie President Philip Gregg Senior Vice President Denis Gardiner Junior Vice President & Honorary Secretary Michael Boyd Honorary Treasurer Greg Irwin Competitions Secretary Jonny Petrie Chief Executive Officer

Kingspan Stadium, 134 Mount Merrion Avenue Belfast, BT6 0FT T +44 (0)28 9049 3222 ulsterrugby.com

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