The 2019–20 season was Ulster's 26th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's second season as head coach. Lock Iain Henderson was named captain in place of retired hooker Rory Best. They competed in the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Both competitions were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the later stages being played in August, September and October 2020. In the Pro14, Ulster finished second in Conference A, making the playoffs and qualifying for next season's Champions Cup. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. They finished second in Pool 3 in the Champions Cup, qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Toulouse.
Academy players who made their debuts this season included centre Stewart Moore and wing Ethan McIlroy. Ulster led the league in defence. Scrum-half John Cooney and centre Stuart McCloskey made the Pro14 Dream Team. Cooney and number eight Marcell Coetzee were nominated for European Player of the Year. Cooney was leading scorer with 180 and leading try scorer with ten, and was named Ulster's Player of the Year.
Events Personnel changes New signings were Australian lock Sam Carter, from the Brumbies; Ireland and Lions prop Jack McGrath, from Leinster; New Zealand wing Matt Faddes, from the Highlanders; South African-born, Irish-qualified prop Gareth Milasinovich, from Worcester Warriors; former Ireland U20 out-half Bill Johnston, from Munster; and lock David O'Connor, from Lansdowne, joining his older brother Alan at Ulster on a development contract.
Players leaving included flanker Caleb Montgomery to Worcester Warriors, wing David Busby to the Seattle Seawolves, out-half Johnny McPhillips to Leicester Tigers, and lock Alex Thompson to Jersey Reds. Utility back Peter Nelson and wing Jack Owens were released. Centre Darren Cave retired, and so did hooker Rory Best after captaining Ireland at the 2019 World Cup. Iain Henderson was named Ulster's new captain in Best's place."Iain Henderson appointed Ulster captain as lock predicts 'exciting' season ahead for the province", Belfast Telegraph, 25 July 2019
Six new players joined the academy: wing Aaron Sexton, from Bangor Grammar School; wing Conor Rankin, from Campbell College; hooker Tom Stewart, last seasons' Ulster Schools Player of the Season, from Belfast Royal Academy; Irish-qualified centre Hayden Hyde, from Harlequins academy; prop Callum Reid, from Banbridge RFC;"Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy 2019/20 Squad Announced", Ulster Rugby, 20 June 2019 and wing Ethan McIlroy, who joined in January 2020, from Methodist College Belfast.Gareth Fullerton, "Ulster Rugby Academy squad confirmed for 2020/21 season", Belfast Live, 12 May 2020
Scrum coach Aaron Dundon, strength and conditioning coach Kevin Geary and GPS analyst Chris Hagan left the province's support staff."Ulster confirm departing players as well as scrum coach Dundon", The42, 23 May 2019
Rugby World Cup Three Ulster players were named in the initial Ireland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup: hooker Rory Best, captaining the team for his last tournament before retiring, lock Iain Henderson, and wing Jacob Stockdale. Flanker Jordi Murphy and hooker Rob Herring were later called up to replace the injured Jack Conan and Seán Cronin.
Season With Iain Henderson away with Ireland at the World Cup, Rob Herring was named stand-in captain. When Herring was called up to the World Cup due to injury, the captaincy went to Billy Burns.
The pool stage of the Champions Cup was completed in January 2020, with Ulster finishing second in Pool 3 and qualifying for the quarter-finals.
The 2020 Six Nations Championship began in February 2020. Seven Ulster players, Ian Henderson, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole, Will Addison, Billy Burns, John Cooney and Jacob Stokdale, were called up for Ireland. Robert Baloucoune included in the training squad as a development player."Ireland Squad Announced For Guinness Six Nations", Irish Rugby, 15 January 2020 Stockdale, Henderson, Herring and Cooney appeared in the first three games, before the tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ulster's away game against Benetton in the Pro14, scheduled for 29 February 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later recorded as a 0–0 draw. The rest of the season was suspended on 12 March. The knockout stage of the Champions Cup was also postponed.
The Pro14 season resumed in August, the regular season reduced from 21 games to 15,"Pro14 set to resume in late August as league reduced", RTÉ Sport, 18 June 202 with matches played behind closed doors.Dan Sanson, "Guinness PRO14 season to resume in August behind closed doors", Sky Sports, 18 June 2020
Scrum-half Alby Mathewson and out-half Ian Madigan joined in the summer, and were able to play in these late-season matches, but Ulster were docked a point in the Pro14 table as Madigan played two games before he was properly registered with his new club.Ulster: "Province docked Pro14 point and fined over error in new fly-half's registration", BBC Sport, 25 September 2020 Ulster finished second in Conference A and qualified for the playoffs. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. The knockout stages of the Champions Cup resumed in September, and Ulster went out in the quarter-finals to Toulouse.
The Six Nations resumed in October. The Ireland squad included four Ulster players, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale,"Ireland Squad Named To Complete 2020 Guinness Six Nations Championship", Irish Rugby, 8 October 2020 and Herring and Stockdale both played in the last two matches.
Academy players Stewart Moore, Azur Allison and Ethan McIlroy made their senior debuts this season.Ulster Rugby: Who Did What 2019-20, The Front Row Union, 1 October 2020
Ulster had the highest home attendance in the Pro14, averaging 15,295,Statbunker: home attendance, Pro14 2019-20 and led the league in defence.URC Team Statistics, retrieved 28 May 2022 They were fourth in attendance in the Champions Cup, averaging 17,024.Statbunker: home attendance, European Champions Cup 2019-20
Post-season Inside centre Stuart McCloskey and scrum-half John Cooney were named on the Pro14 Dream Team. Cooney and number 8 Marcell Coetzee made the longlist for EPCR European Player of the Year."EPCR European Player of the Year award 2020 – nominees announced", European Professional Club Rugby, 27 January 2020
At the Ulster Rugby Awards, John Cooney was named Player of the Year. Marcell Coetzee won Personality of the Year, Supporters' Club Player of the Year, and Rugby Writers' Player of the Year. Tom O'Toole was Young Player of the Year.
Staff Position Name Nationality Chief executive officer Jonny Petrie Operations Director Bryn Cunningham Head coach Dan McFarland Attack Coach Dwayne Peel Defence Coach Jared Payne Forwards Coach Roddy Grant Skills Coach Dan Soper
Squad
Senior squad
Players in Sam Carter from Brumbies Matt Faddes from Highlanders Bill Johnston from Munster Ian Madigan from Bristol Bears Alby Mathewson unattached Jack McGrath from Leinster Gareth Milasinovich from Worcester Warriors David O'Connor from Lansdowne
Promoted from academy Robert Baloucoune James Hume Angus Kernohan Michael Lowry Zack McCall Eric O'Sullivan Marcus Rea
Players out Alan Bennie released Rory Best retired David Busby to Seattle Seawolves Darren Cave retired Matthew Dalton released Wiehahn Herbst to Bulls Johnny McPhillips to Leicester Tigers Caleb Montgomery to Worcester Warriors Ian Nagle to Zebre Peter Nelson released Jack Owens released Henry Speight to Brumbies Alex Thompson to Jersey Reds
Ulster Rugby squadJason Henessy, "Ulster Rugby Confirm Their Squad For 2019/20 Season", Rugby Lad, 24 June 2019Appearances and scoring stats from ItsRugby.co.ukProps Eric O'Sullivan (18 apps, 10 starts) Marty Moore (16 apps, 13 starts) Jack McGrath (15 apps, 12 starts) Tom O'Toole (22 apps, 10 starts, 10 pts) Andrew Warwick (3 apps, 1 start) Ross Kane (8 apps) Kyle McCall (8 apps, 1 ) Gareth Milasinovich* (no apps) Tommy O'Hagan (no apps)
Hookers Rob Herring (18 apps, 18 starts, 25 pts, 1 ) Adam McBurney (12 appearances, 4 starts, 5 pts, 1 ) John Andrew (12 apps, 1 start, 5 pts) Zack McCall (no apps)
Locks Alan O'Connor (22 apps, 18 starts, 5 pts) Kieran Treadwell (19 apps, 11 starts) Iain Henderson (c) (9 apps, 9 starts) Sam Carter (12 apps, 7 starts, 5 pts) David O'Connor (7 apps, 1 start) Jack Regan (1 app)Back row Marcell Coetzee (17 apps, 17 starts, 5 pts) Sean Reidy (19 apps, 16 starts, 10 pts) Matty Rea (19 apps, 14 starts, 10 pts) Jordi Murphy (15 apps, 13 starts, 5 pts) Nick Timoney (14 apps, 7 starts, 10 pts) Greg Jones (4 apps, 2 starts, 15pts, 1 ) Clive Ross (2 apps) Marcus Rea (1 app) Azur Allison (1 app)
Scrum-halves John Cooney (20 apps, 18 starts, 180 pts) David Shanahan (15 apps, 4 starts, 10 pts) Alby Mathewson (4 apps, 1 start) Johnny Stewart (2 apps, 5 pts)
Fly-halves Billy Burns* (16 apps, 16 starts, 22 pts) Bill Johnston (11 apps, 5 starts, 39 pts) Angus Curtis* (6 apps, 2 starts) Ian Madigan (4 apps, 1 start, 7 pts)Centres Stuart McCloskey (17 apps, 17 starts, 15 pts) Luke Marshall (16 apps, 16 starts, 15 pts, 1 ) James Hume (10 apps, 9 starts, 10 pts) Will Addison (8 apps, 8 starts, 5 pts) Stewart Moore (2 apps)
Wings Jacob Stockdale (13 apps, 13 starts, 10 pts) Matt Faddes (14 apps, 10 starts, 35 pts, 1 ) Rob Lyttle (10 apps, 10 starts, 15 pts) Craig Gilroy (15 apps, 8 starts, 20 pts, 1 ) Robert Baloucoune (8 apps, 7 starts, 25 pts) Angus Kernohan (3 apps, 1 start, 5 pts)
Fullbacks Louis Ludik* (16 apps, 12 starts) Michael Lowry (7 apps, 3 starts) Ethan McIlroy (1 app) (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 Players in Ethan McIlroy from Methodist College Belfast.Gareth Fullerton, "Ulster Rugby announce contract news for four more players", Irish Mirror, 2 February 2021 Tom Stewart from Belfast Royal Academy Aaron Sexton from Bangor Grammar School Callum Reid from Banbridge RFC; Conor Rankin from Campbell College Hayden Hyde from Harlequins academy
Ulster Rugby Academy squadProps Callum Reid (1)
Hookers Tom Stewart (1)
Locks Matthew Dalton (3) Jack Regan (3) (1 app)Back row Matthew Agnew (2) Azur Allison (2) (1 app) Joe Dunleavy (3) Aaron Hall (4) David McCann (2)
Scrum-halves Graham Curtis* (3)
Fly-halves Bruce Houston (2)Centres Hayden Hyde* (1) Stewart Moore (2) (2 apps)
Wings Iwan Hughes (2) Conor Rankin (1) Aaron Sexton (1)
Fullbacks Ethan McIlroy (1) (1 app) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Ulster Rugby website.
Season record Competition Played Won Drawn Lost PF PA PD TF TA 2019-20 Champions Cup 7 5 0 2 137 143 -6 16 10 2019-20 Pro14 17 9 1 7 412 352 60 54 46 Total 24 14 1 9 549 495 54 70 56
European Rugby Champions Cup
Pool 3
Quarter-final
Pro14
Semi-final
Final
Home attendance Domestic LeagueEuropean CupTotal League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest League Fixtures Average Attendance Highest Lowest Total Attendance Average Attendance2019–20 Pro147‡13,81817,48310,9752019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup317,024 17,92315,466147,79614,780 ‡Match figures include fixtures in which COVID-19 restrictions limited attendance, but exclude fixtures in which no spectators were allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ulster Women