Ulster Rugby v La Rochelle

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

IRFU ULSTER BRANCH 2017/18 OFFICERS Graffin Parke President Stephen Elliott Senior Vice President Gary Leslie 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

I would like to offer a special welcome the President of La Rochelle, Vincent Merling, the club General Manager Pierre Venayre and their partners, shareholders, players, coaches and supporters, who are visiting Belfast this weekend. La Rochelle have been one of the form teams in Europe this season and sit top of Pool 1 on 15 points, while Ulster are second on 13, so today’s game could have a huge bearing on securing a place in the playoff stages for either side. The final pool stage game for Ulster will take place in Coventry next weekend versus Wasps, who are also still in the mix for a quarter-final place, and we look forward to the usual large contingent of Ulster supporters making their voices heard there. At the time of writing, the Ulster A team, sponsored by CD Group, are also preparing for a very important British & Irish Cup test against fellow table-toppers Cornish Pirates on Friday evening, so hopefully they will also advance their playoff ambitions this weekend. On the domestic scene, the competition is now heating up in the Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup, with eight ties down for decision in Round 3 next weekend. As always, we would encourage you to get out and support these young players from your local schools. In the Ulster Bank All Ireland League, the Ulster clubs continue to perform well, with 6 of the Province’s 12 senior clubs currently occupying top four spots. In the Kukri Ulster Championship Ballyclare and Instonians are joint leaders of Division 1, Grosvenor lead Division 2 and Lurgan top Division 3. Finally, we also extend a warm welcome to the players, coaches and supporters from Civil Service RFC, Lisburn RFC, Ballyclare RFC and Finn Valley RFC, who will entertain us in the half-time mini rugby exhibition games – I’m sure they will receive a generous reception from the crowd this afternoon. SUFTUM! Graffin Parke President IRFU (Ulster Branch) As President of the IRFU Ulster Branch, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to Kingspan Stadium for this afternoon’s European Champions Cup Round 5 game against La Rochelle. PRESIDENT’S WELCOME

Director of Rugby Bryn Cunningham Operations Director

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

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