Wikipedia

2009–10 Ulster Rugby season

The 2009–10 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 16th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their first under director of rugby David Humphreys and head coach Brian McLaughlin.

2009–10 Ulster Rugby season
Rory Best vs Ospreys, Ravenhill, 13 April 2020
Ground(s)Ravenhill Stadium (Capacity: 12,500)
Coach(es)David Humphreys (Director of Rugby)
Brian McLaughlin (Head Coach)
Captain(s)Rory Best
Top scorerIan Humphreys (177)
Most triesSimon Danielli (9)
League(s)Heineken Cup (2nd in pool)
Celtic League (8th)
1st kit
2nd kit
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

Following the departure of previous head coach Matt Williams, Ulster put a new management structure in place. David Humphreys was director of rugby, with overall responsibility for the senior team, the Ulster 'A' team (renamed the Ulster Ravens), the Ulster under-20s and the academy; and Brian McLaughlin was head coach, assisted by forwards coaches Jeremy Davidson and Peter Sharp, and backs coach Neil Doak.[1] However, Ulster couldn't afford to retain Sharp, and he left in September 2009.[2]

Chief Executive Michael Reid announced he was stepping down in September 2009 after twelve years in the job.[3] Shane Logan was appointed as his replacement in early 2010.[4]

They finished second in their Heineken Cup pool, failing to qualify for the knockout stage, and 8th in the Celtic League. Chris Henry was Ulster's Player of the Year. Andrew Trimble won the IRUPA award for Try of the Year.[5]

Staff edit

Position Name Nationality
Chief Executive Officer Michael Reid, Shane Logan   Ireland
Director of Rugby David Humphreys   Ireland
Head Coach Brian McLaughlin   Ireland
Forwards Coach Jeremy Davidson   Ireland
Defence Coach Peter Sharp   Australia
Skills Coach Neil Doak   Ireland

Squad edit

Senior squad edit

Ulster Rugby squad[15]

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. Italics denotes academy players who appeared in the senior team.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
Players and their allocated positions from the Ulster Rugby website.

Academy squad edit

Position[16] Name Nationality
High Performance Director Gary Longwell   Ireland
Elite Player Development Officer Jonny Bell   Ireland
Elite Player Development Officer Niall Malone   Ireland
Strength & Conditioning Coach Chris Shiells   Ireland
Strength & Conditioning Coach Kevin Geary   Ireland
Academy squad[10]

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row


Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

  •   James McKinney (1)

Centres


Wings

Fullbacks

Heineken Cup edit

Main article: 2009–10 Heineken Cup

Pool 4 edit

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Stade Français (6) 6 4 0 2 11 7 4 124 95 29 1 1 18
  Ulster 6 4 0 2 11 6 5 127 94 33 0 1 17
  Edinburgh 6 3 0 3 3 10 −7 64 94 −30 0 1 13
  Bath 6 1 0 5 6 8 −2 84 116 −32 0 3 7
9 October 2009 Ulster   26–12   Bath Ravenhill, Belfast  
19:30 Try: Nagusa 13' c
Faloon 52' c
Con: Humphreys (2/2)
Pen: Humphreys (3/4) 10', 56', 78'
Drop: Humphreys 42'
 Report[17] Pen: Davis (4/4) 8', 20', 48', 54'
 Attendance: 10,914
Referee: James Jones (Wales)
Ulster lineup:

1. Tom Court, 2. Andi Kyriacou, 3. BJ Botha,
4. Ed O'Donoghue, 5. Ryan Caldwell,
6. Stephen Ferris, 7. Willie Faloon, 8. Robbie Diack,
9. Iasaac Boss, 10. Ian Humphreys,
11. Andrew Trimble, 12. Paddy Wallace, 13. Darren Cave, 14. Timoci Nagusa,
15. Clinton Schifcofske.
Replacements:
16. Nigel Brady (for Kyriacou 73'), 17. Bryan Young (for Court 55'), 18. Declan Fitzpatrick (for Botha 66'),
19. Neil McComb, 20. Chris Henry (for Diack 61'),
21. Paul Marshall, 22. Ian Whitten, 23. Simon Danielli (for Nagusa 73').

17 October 2009 Edinburgh   17–13   Ulster Murrayfield, Edinburgh  
15:45 Try: Visser 70' m
Pen: Godman (4/6) 2', 21', 67', 80'
 Report[18] Try: Nagusa 22' c
Con: Humphreys (1/1)
Pen: Humphreys (2/3) 29', 45'
 Attendance: 5,747
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
Ulster lineup:

1. Tom Court, 2. Andi Kyriacou, 3. BJ Botha,
4. Ed O'Donoghue, 5. Ryan Caldwell,
6. Stephen Ferris, 7. Willie Faloon, 8. Robbie Diack,
9. Iasaac Boss, 10. Ian Humphreys,
11. Andrew Trimble, 12. Paddy Wallace, 13. Darren Cave, 14. Timoci Nagusa,
15. Clinton Schifcofske.
Replacements:
16. Nigel Brady (for Kyriacou 68'), 17. Bryan Young (for Court 62'), 18. Declan Fitzpatrick (for Botha 68'),
19. Dan Tuohy (for Caldwell 49'), 20. Chris Henry (for Faloon 72'),
21. Paul Marshall (for Boss 79'), 22. Ian Whitten, 23. Simon Danielli (for Nagusa 62').

12 December 2009 Ulster   23–13   Stade Français Ravenhill, Belfast  
13:35 Try: Brady 20' c
Danielli 48' c
Con: Humphreys (2/2)
Pen: Humphreys (3/4) 13', 34', 47'
 Report[19] Try: Arias 74' c
Con: Oelschig (1/1)
Pen: Beauxis (2/3) 18', 28'
 Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)
Ulster lineup:

1. Tom Court, 2. Nigel Brady, 3. Declan Fitzpatrick,
4. Ed O'Donoghue, 5. Dan Tuohy,
6. Stephen Ferris, 7. David Pollock, 8. Chris Henry,
9. Iasaac Boss, 10. Ian Humphreys,
11. Simon Danielli, 12. Ian Whitten, 13. Darren Cave, 14. Andrew Trimble,
15. Clinton Schifcofske.
Replacements:
16. Andi Kyriacou (for Brady 69'), 17. Bryan Young (for D. Fitzpatrick 64'   74'), 18. Justin Fitzpatrick (for Ferris 77'),
19. Ryan Caldwell, 20. Willie Faloon (for Pollock 64'),
21. Paul Marshall, 22. Niall O'Connor (for Humphreys 71'), 23. Jamie Smith (for Cave 76').

20 December 2009 Stade Français   29–16   Ulster Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris[20]  
15:00 Try: Szarzewski 9' c
Kayser 66' c
Con: Beauxis (2/2)
Pen: Beauxis (5/5) 4', 16', 22', 32', 60'
 Report[21] Try: Trimble 69' c
Con: Humphreys (1/1)
Pen: Humphreys (3/3) 2', 14', 37'
 Attendance: 3,700
Referee: Chris White (England)
Ulster lineup:

1. Tom Court, 2. Nigel Brady, 3. BJ Botha,
4. Ed O'Donoghue, 5. Dan Tuohy,
6. Stephen Ferris, 7. Willie Faloon, 8. Chris Henry,
9. Iasaac Boss, 10. Ian Humphreys,
11. Simon Danielli, 12. Paddy Wallace (c), 13. Andrew Trimble, 14. Timoci Nagusa,
15. Clinton Schifcofske.
Replacements:
16. Andi Kyriacou (for Brady 66'), 17. Bryan Young (for Court 66'), 18. Declan Fitzpatrick (for Botha 71'),
19. Ryan Caldwell (for Tuohy 60'), 20. David Pollock (for Faloon 56'),
21. Cillian Willis, 22. Ian Whitten (for Nagusa 50'), 23. Darren Cave.

15 January 2010 Ulster   21–13   Edinburgh Ravenhill, Belfast  
20:00 Try: Cave 28' m
Boss 55' c
Con: Humphreys (1/2)
Pen: Humphreys (2/2) 45', 69'
O'Connor (1/1) 80'
 Report[22] Try: Thompson 61' c
Con: Paterson (1/1)
Pen: Paterson (2/2) 22', 36'
 Attendance: 8,262
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Ulster lineup:

1. Tom Court, 2. Nigel Brady, 3. BJ Botha,
4. Ed O'Donoghue, 5. Dan Tuohy,
6. Stephen Ferris, 7. David Pollock, 8. Chris Henry,
9. Iasaac Boss, 10. Ian Humphreys,
11. Simon Danielli, 12. Paddy Wallace (c), 13. Darren Cave, 14. Andrew Trimble,
15. Jamie Smith.
Replacements:
16. Andi Kyriacou (for Brady 62'), 17. Bryan Young (for Court 62'), 18. Declan Fitzpatrick (for Botha 75'),
19. Ryan Caldwell (for Tuohy 72'), 20. TJ Anderson,
21. Cillian Willis, 22. Niall O'Connor (for Humphreys 72'), 23. Timoci Nagusa.

23 January 2010 Bath   10–28   Ulster Recreation Ground, Bath  
15:45 Try: Banahan 20' c
Con: Little (1/1)
Pen: Little (1/2) 53'
 Report[23] Try: Trimble 42' m
Cave 49' c
Wallace 77' c
Con: O'Connor (2/3)
Pen: O'Connor (3/3) 5', 19', 33'
 Attendance: 10,845
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)
Ulster lineup:

1. Tom Court, 2. Nigel Brady, 3. BJ Botha,
4. Ed O'Donoghue, 5. Dan Tuohy,
6. Stephen Ferris, 7. David Pollock, 8. Chris Henry,
9. Iasaac Boss, 10. Niall O'Connor,
11. Simon Danielli, 12. Paddy Wallace (c), 13. Darren Cave, 14. Andrew Trimble,
15. Jamie Smith.
Replacements:
16. Andi Kyriacou (for Brady 64'), 17. Bryan Young (for Court 74'), 18. Declan Fitzpatrick (for O'Donoghue 66'),
19. Ryan Caldwell (for Tuohy 72'), 20. TJ Anderson (for Ferris 74'),
21. Cillian Willis (for Boss 74'), 22. Ian Humphreys, 23. Timoci Nagusa.

Celtic League edit

Main article: 2009–10 Celtic League
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA Try bonus Losing bonus Pts
1   Leinster 18 13 0 5 359 295 +64 27 29 1 2 55
2   Ospreys 18 11 1 6 384 298 +86 37 26 3 3 52
3   Glasgow Warriors 18 11 2 5 390 321 +69 31 24 2 1 51
4   Munster 18 9 0 9 319 282 +37 33 20 3 6 45
5   Cardiff Blues 18 10 0 8 349 315 +34 33 28 2 2 44
6   Edinburgh 18 8 0 10 385 391 −6 40 40 4 5 41
7   Newport Gwent Dragons 18 8 1 9 333 378 −45 32 37 3 2 39
8   Ulster 18 7 1 10 357 370 −13 39 35 4 2 36
9   Scarlets 18 5 0 13 361 382 −21 35 35 1 8 29
10   Connacht 18 5 1 12 254 459 −205 20 53 0 4 26

Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:

  • 4 points for a win
  • 2 points for a draw
  • 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) (Try bonus)
  • 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) (Losing bonus)
Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places.
Source: RaboDirect PRO12
6 September 2009 Newport Gwent Dragons   23 – 6   Ulster Rodney Parade  
14:05 Try: Bew
Fussell
Young
Con: Tovey
Pen: Arlidge (2)
 Report Pen: Humphreys (2)
 Attendance: 4,561
Referee: Carlo Damasco
12 September 2009 Ospreys   16 – 20   Ulster Liberty Stadium  
18:30 Try: Walker
Jones
Pen: Hook (2)
 Report Try: Tuohy
Danielli (2)
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys
 Attendance: 7,072
Referee: Alan Lewis
18 September 2009 Ulster   13 – 16   Edinburgh Ravenhill  
20:00 Try: Ferris
Schifcofske
Con: Humphreys
 Report Try: Visser
Con: Paterson
Pen: Paterson (2)
Drop: Godman
 Attendance: 8,899
Referee: Nigel Owens
25 September 2009 Connacht   6 – 30   Ulster Sportsgrounds  
20:00 Pen: Keatley (2)
 Report Try: Cave
Botha
Nagusa
Humphreys
Con: Humphreys (2)
Pen: Humphreys (2)
 Attendance: 2,435
Referee: George Clancy
2 October 2009 Ulster   45 – 24   Scarlets Ravenhill  
19:05 Try: Faloon
Trimble (2)
Nagusa
Whitten
Con: Humphreys (4)
Pen: Humphreys (4)
 Report Try: Davies (2)
Con: Jones
Pen: Jones (4)
 Attendance: 8,141
Referee: Peter Allan
24 October 2009 Ulster   16 – 14   Leinster Ravenhill  
18:00 Try: Boss
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys (3)
 Report Try: Berne
Fitzgerald
Con: Berne
Sexton
 Attendance: 11,523
Referee: Andrew Small
31 October 2009 Munster   24 – 10   Ulster Thomond Park  
17:00 Try: De Villiers
Wallace
Earls
Warwick
Con: O'Gara (2)
 Report Try: Humphreys
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys
 Attendance: 23,298
Referee: Alain Rolland
4 December 2009 Ulster   13 – 25   Glasgow Warriors Ravenhill  
20:00 Try: Court
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys (2)
 Report Try: Evans
Con: Parks
Pen: Parks
 Attendance: 8,761
Referee: James Jones
26 December 2009 Leinster   15 – 3   Ulster RDS Arena  
17:30 Try: Kearney
Heaslip
Con: Berne
Pen: Berne
 Report Pen: O'Connor
 Attendance: 18,140
Referee: George Clancy
2 January 2010 Ulster   15 – 10   Munster Ravenhill  
18:00 Try: Danielli (2)
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys
 Report Try: De Villers
Con: Warwick
Pen: Warwick
 Attendance: 11,800
Referee: Dudley Phillips
19 February 2010 Ulster   22 – 22   Newport Gwent Dragons Ravenhill  
19:05 Try: Wallace
Danielli
Pen: Humphreys
 Report Try: Jones
Con: Tovey
Pen: Tovey (4)
Drop: Tovey
 Attendance: 7,909
Referee: Peter Allan
5 March 2010 Scarlets   25 – 8   Ulster Parc y Scarlets  
19:05 Try: Fenby
Knoyle
Priestland
Con: Priestland (2)
Pen: Priestland (2)
 Report Try: Wallace
Pen: Humphreys
 Attendance: 6,266
Referee: Peter Allan
26 March 2010 Cardiff Blues   19 – 9   Ulster Cardiff City Stadium  
19:05 Try: Molitika
Con: Blair
Pen: Blair (4)
 Report Pen: O'Connor (3)
 Attendance: 7,532
Referee: Neil Patterson
3 April 2010 Ulster   24 – 33   Cardiff Blues Ravenhill  
19:30 Try: Ferris
Henry
Con: Humphreys
Pen: O'Connor (4)
 Report Try: Laulala
Rush
Hewitt
Con: Sweeney (2)
Halfpenny
Pen: Halfpenny (4)
 Attendance: 7,334
Referee: Andy Macpherson
13 April 2010 Ulster   27 – 38   Ospreys Ravenhill  
19:30 Try: Danielli
Trimble
Con: O'Connor
Pen: O'Connor (5)
 Report Try: Williams
Hook (2)
Bowe
Con: Biggar (3)
Pen: Biggar (4)
 Attendance: 7,649
Referee: Neil Paterson
16 April 2010 Glasgow Warriors   25 – 18   Ulster Firhill Stadium  
19:05 Try: Morrison
Con: Parks
Pen: Parks (2)
Drop: Parks (4)
 Report Try: Marshall
Smith
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys (2)
 Attendance: 3,766
Referee: Tim Hayes
25 April 2010 Edinburgh   25 – 37   Ulster Murrayfield  
16:05 Try: Visser (2)
Turnbull
Con: Godman (2)
Pen: Godman (2)
 Report Try: Smith
Danielli
Whitten
Humphreys
Ferris
Con: O'Connor
Humphreys (2)
Pen: O'Connor
Humphreys
 Attendance: 3,759
Referee: Nigel Owens
7 May 2010 Ulster   41 – 10   Connacht Ravenhill  
19:30 Try: Danielli
Humphreys
Kyriacou
Whitten
Tuohy
Smith
Con: Humphreys (4)
Pen: Humphreys
 Report Try: Loughney
Con: Keatly
Pen: Keatly
 Attendance: 7,755
Referee: Dudley Phillips

Ulster Ravens edit

British and Irish Cup edit

Main article: 2009–10 British and Irish Cup

Pool C edit

Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TB LB Pts
  Ulster Ravens 5 4 1 0 165 62 103 22 3 0 21
  London Welsh 5 4 0 1 137 78 59 18 3 1 20
  Bedford Blues 5 3 0 2 92 94 -2 11 1 0 13
  Aberavon 5 2 0 3 51 131 -80 4 0 1 9
  Llanelli 5 1 1 3 106 117 -11 11 1 1 8
  Moseley 5 0 0 5 69 138 -69 10 1 0 1
Points breakdown:
*4 points for a win
*2 points for a draw
*1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less
*1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match
20 November 2009 Ulster Ravens   29 – 3   Bedford Blues Ravenhill  
19:30 Try: Seymour
D. Fitzpatrick
Cochrane
Kyriacou
Con: O'Connor (3)
 Report[24] Pen: Davies
 Attendance: 1,132
27 November 2009 Moseley   21 – 32   Ulster Ravens Billesley Common  
19:30 Try: May
Bressington
Penalty try
Con: ? (3)
 Report[25] Try: Seymour
Tuohy
Macklin
McComb
Con: O'Connor (3)
Pen: O'Connor (2)
 Attendance: 750
12 February 2010 Llanelli   21 – 21   Ulster Ravens Parc y Scarlets  
19:15 Try: Thomas
Shingler
Con: Newton
Pen: Newton (3)
 Report[26] Try: Marshall
McCrea
Con: Humphreys
Pen: O'Connor (2)
Humphreys
 Attendance: 500
26 February 2010 Ulster Ravens   21 – 17   London Welsh Ravenhill  
19:30 Try: Marshall
Nagusa
Con: O'Connor
Pen: O'Connor (3)
 Report[27] Try: Starling
Pen: Lewis-Pratt (2)
Ross (2)
 Attendance: 739
12 March 2010 Ulster Ravens   62 – 0   Aberavon Ravenhill  
19:30 Try: Whitten
D. Fitzpatrick
Cunningham
Willis
Seymour (2)
Allen
McCrea
Humphreys
Con: O'Connor (6)
 Report[28] Attendance: 793

Semi-final edit

24 April 2010 Munster A   27 – 3   Ulster Ravens Thomond Park, Limerick  
15:30 Try: Manning (2)
Williams
Archer
Con: Cusack (2/4)
Pen: Cusack (1)
 Report[29] Pen: McKinney (1)
 Attendance: 24,112

Home attendance edit

Domestic League European Cup Total
League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest Total Attendance Average Attendance
2009–10 Celtic League 9 8,863 11,800 7,334 2009–10 Heineken Cup 3 10,509 11,000 8,262 109,947 9,162

Ulster Rugby Awards edit

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 20 May 2010. Winners were:[30]

References edit

  1. ^ "McLaughlin Confirmed As New Ulster Coach", Irish Rugby, 23 June 2009
  2. ^ Brendan Fanning, "McLaughlin bringing fresh ideas to Ulster grind school", Irish Independent, 6 September 2009
  3. ^ "Reid’s Ulster rugby reign was rollercoaster ride", Belfast Telegraph, 4 September 2009
  4. ^ Inquiry into Participation in Sport and Physical Activity in Northern Ireland — Ulster Rugby, Northern Ireland Assembly, 18 March 2010
  5. ^ "Bowe Voted Irish Players' Player Of The Year", Irish Rugby, 12 May 2010, archived 16 May 2010
  6. ^ Niall Crozier, "Birch can rise right to the top", Belfast Telegraph, 16 October 2009
  7. ^ "Ulster sign back row Tamaiti Horua", Belfast Telegraph, 30 March 2009
  8. ^ "Ulster snap up hooker Kyriacou", Evening Herald, 23 April 2009
  9. ^ Richard Mulligan, "New signings given an early opportunity", News Letter, 19 August 2009
  10. ^ a b c Niall Crozier, "It is all academic for Ulster's young hopefuls", Belfast Telegraph, 20 November 2009
  11. ^ a b c d e f g "Province-by-province guide", Irish Independent, 3 September 2009
  12. ^ "Scotland star Rob Dewey agrees switch to Glasgow Warriors", Daily Record, 16 March 2009
  13. ^ "McKenzie moves to Exeter Chiefs", BBC Sport, 5 November 2008
  14. ^ "Complaint over alleged racist slur at New Zealand-born Samoan rugby test lock Filo Paulo", Stuff.co.nz, 9 March 2020
  15. ^ Appearances and scoring stats from ItsRugby.co.uk
  16. ^ "Academy Coaches", Ulster Rugby, archived 7 August 2014
  17. ^ "Ulster overcome Bath", Sky Sports, 9 October 2009
  18. ^ "Edinburgh revive Cup hopes", Sky Sports, 17 October 2009
  19. ^ "Ulster humble French giants", Sky Sports, 12 December 2009
  20. ^ This match was originally scheduled to be held at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, but heavy snowfall forced it to be moved to Paris.
  21. ^ "Match Report", EPCRugby, 20 December 2009, archived 17 April 2010
  22. ^ "Ulster boss Edinburgh", Sky Sports, 15 January 2010
  23. ^ "Ulster clinch historic win", Sky Sports, 23 January 2010
  24. ^ "Ulster Ravens 29 Bedford Blues 3", Belfast Telegraph, 21 November 2009
  25. ^ "Moseley 21-32 Ulster Ravens", BBC Sport, 27 November 2009
  26. ^ "Late Slip-Up For Ulster Ravens In Llanelli", Irish Rugby, 12 February 2010
  27. ^ "Ravens survive Welsh revival", Irish Examiner, 27 February 2010
  28. ^ "Ulster Ravens 62-0 Aberavon", BBC Sport, 12 March 2010
  29. ^ "B&I Cup Final Beckons For Munster", Munster Rugby, 24 April 2010
  30. ^ Richard Mulligan, "Henry hat-trick caps super year", News Letter, 21 May 2010
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