2016–17 Ulster Rugby season explained

Club:Ulster Rugby
Season:2016–17
Manager:Neil Doak
Mgrtitle:Head Coach
Chairman:Les Kiss
Chrtitle:Director of Rugby
Captain:Andrew Trimble
Rob Herring
League:Pro12
League Result:5th
Cup1:European Rugby Champions Cup
Cup1 Result:4th in Pool 5
Points Scorer:Paddy Jackson (162)
Try Scorer:Charles Piutau (9)
Jacob Stockdale (9)
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Prevseason:2015–16
Nextseason:2017–18

The 2016–17 season was Ulster's 23rd season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and the third under Director of Rugby Les Kiss and head coach Neil Doak. They completed in the European Rugby Champions Cup and the final season of the Pro12 before it became the Pro14 with the addition of two teams from South Africa.

Ulster announced in August 2016 that Rory Best would vacate the captaincy of the province. The captain was replaced in his role by Andrew Trimble, the team's record try-scorer, and Rob Herring, who took on the role in Best's absence the previous season.[1] [2] Scrum-half Ruan Pienaar was going into his last season with Ulster, after the IRFU blocked him from extending his contract.[3]

New arrivals were South African number 8 Marcell Coetzee from the Sharks, fullback Charles Piutau from Wasps, prop Rodney Ah You from Connacht, lock Kieran Treadwell from Harlequins, out-half Brett Herron from Bath, scrum-half Angus Lloyd from Trinity, and prop Anton Peikrishvili from Brive. Back row forward Nick Williams left for Cardiff Blues, centre Sammy Arnold for Munster, wing Rory Scholes for Edinburgh, and lock Dan Tuohy for Bristol. Out-half Ian Humphreys retired, and Willie Faloon, Paul Jackson, Ruaidhri Murphy, Bronson Ross, Paul Rowley, Frank Taggart and Sam Windsor were released. Academy players who made their debuts this season included flanker Nick Timoney and wing Rob Lyttle.

Assistant coach Joe Barakat left in December to join Western Force.[4] In early 2017 it was revealed that head coach Neil Doak and assistant coach Allen Clarke would not have their contracts renewed at the end of the season. Doak's replacement would be Jono Gibbes,[5] with Clarke to be succeeded by Dwayne Peel.[6]

In the Pro12, Ulster finished fifth, qualifying for next season's Champions Cup but missing out on the playoffs. Flanker Sean Reidy led the league in tackles with 263.[7] Ulster led the league in discipline and scrums.[8] At the end of the season, Charles Piutau was named Players' Player of the Season, and he and scrum-half Ruan Pienaar made the Pro12 Dream Team. Pienaar's try against Glasgow Warriors was named Try of the Season. They finished bottom of Pool 5 in the Champions Cup, winning two and losing four. Out-half Paddy Jackson was leading scorer with 162 points, with Ruan Pienaar contributing 100 points. Charles Piutau and wing Jacob Stockdale were joint leading try scorers with nine each. Sean Reidy was leading tackler with 329.[9]

At the end of the season, Ruan Pienaar departed for Montpellier, and flanker Roger Wilson retired with a record 221 appearances. Charles Piutau was Ulster's Player of the Season.

Staff

PositionNameNationality
Chief executive officerShane Logan
Director of RugbyLes Kiss Australia
Head coachNeil Doak Ireland
Operation DirectorBryn Cunningham Ireland
Assistant coachAllen Clarke Ireland
Assistant coachJoe Barakat Australia
Head of Strength & ConditioningJonny Davis Ireland
Strength & conditioning coachKevin Geary Ireland

Squad

Senior squad

Players In

Promoted from academy

Players Out

Ulster Rugby squad[27]
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.[28] [29]

Academy squad

Players in

Players out

Position[33] NameNationality
Head coachKieran Campbell Ireland
Strength & conditioning coachMatthew Maguire Ireland
Strength & conditioning coachMatthew Godfrey Ireland
Strength & conditioning coachAmy Davis Ireland
Representative Team Performance ManagerMichael Black Ireland
Talent Development OfficerJonny Gillespie Ireland
Elite Player Development Officer/Head Coach Ulster 'A'Alex Codling Ireland
Elite Player Development OfficerJames Topping Ireland
Lead Strength & Conditioning CoachDavid Drake Ireland
Ulster Rugby Academy squad[34]
Props
  • Peter Cooper (2)
  • Ross Kane (2)
  • Michael Lagan (3)
  • Tommy O'Hagan (1)
  • Craig Trenier (3)

Hookers

Locks

  • Alex Thompson (3)
Back row

Scrum-halves

  • Aaron Cairns (1)
  • Johnny Stewart (1)

Fly-halves

  • Andy McGrath (2)
Centres
  • Rory Butler (1)

Wings

Fullbacks

(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.

Ulster 'A'

The following players, other than players from the senior squad and academy, appeared for Ulster 'A' this season.

European Rugby Champions Cup

See main article: 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup.

Pro12

See main article: 2016–17 Pro12.

End of season awards

Charles Piutau was named Players' Player of the Season,[35] and the left winger on the Pro12 Dream Team.[36]

Home attendance

Domestic LeagueEuropean CupTotal
LeagueFixturesAverage AttendanceHighestLowestLeagueFixturesAverage AttendanceHighestLowestTotal AttendanceAverage Attendance
2016–17 Pro121115,96117,67613,6632016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup316,028 16,84314,924223,65815,976

Ulster A

British and Irish Cup

See main article: 2016–17 British and Irish Cup.

Pool 1

TeamPWDLPFPAPDTBLBPts
Jersey Reds6 5 0 1 181 94 87 3 0 23
Ulster A6 4 0 2 153 124 29 2 2 20
London Scottish6 2 0 4 134 157 −23 2 2 12
Cardiff Blues Premiership Select6 1 0 5 104 197 −93 0 3 7
Source: Updated: 10 March 2017
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

Quarter-finals

Ulster Women

2016-17 Women's Interprovincial Series

See main article: IRFU Women's Interprovincial Series.

TeamPWDLPFPABPPts
1320 1722019
2320 1552919
33201403208
430031510100

Ulster Rugby Awards

The Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School, Belfast, on 6 May 2017. Winners were:[37]

Roger Wilson was given a special award for retiring as the province's most capped player, with 221 appearances. Honours caps were awarded for appearance milestones to Tommy Bowe (150), Chris Henry (150), Luke Marshall (100) and Rob Herring (100).

The Danske Bank Schools Player of the Year was won by Michael Lowry of RBAI, beating nominees James Hume (RBAI) and Stewart Moore (Ballymena Academy).

Season reviews

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rob Herring and Andrew Trimble to share Ulster captaincy . . 17 August 2016 . 7 September 2016.
  2. Web site: Rob Herring named as Ulster captain during World Cup . . 7 September 2016.
  3. Tom Hamilton, "IRFU rules force Springboks star Ruan Pienaar to leave Ulster", ESPN, 31 August 2016
  4. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/rugby/ulster-rugby/ulster-rugby-assistant-coach-joe-barakat-to-leave-in-december-35068071.html "Ulster Rugby assistant coach Joe Barakat to leave in December"
  5. Jonathan Bradley, "All Black Jono Gibbes joins Ulster in coaching role", Belfast Telegraph, 13 February 2017
  6. Jonathan Bradley, "Doak plans to end 23 years at Kingspan with a flourish", Belfast Telegraph, 5 April 2017
  7. https://www.unitedrugby.com/statistics/players URC Player Statistics
  8. https://www.unitedrugby.com/statistics URC Team Statistics
  9. https://www.thefrontrowunion.com/2017/05/ulster-rugby-who-did-what-2016-2017/ "Ulster Rugby: Who did what 2016 – 2017"
  10. News: All-Black utility back Charles Piutau confirm move to Ulster. BBC Sport. 1 April 2015.
  11. News: Connacht and Ireland tighthead prop Rodney Ah You to join Ulster. BBC Sport. 18 January 2016.
  12. News: Ulster have signed Irish-qualified England Under-20 lock Kieran Treadwell. BBC Sport. 22 January 2016.
  13. News: Springboks back row Marcell Coetzee agrees Ulster move. Sky Sports. 11 February 2016.
  14. News: Bath fly-half Brett Herron signs professionally for Ulster. BBC Sport. 6 April 2016.
  15. News: Ulster sign Georgia prop Anton Peikrishvili from CA Brive. Sky Sports. 1 September 2016.
  16. Adam McKendry, "Ulster Rugby squad 2016/17", Belfast Live, 24 November 2016
  17. Jonathan Bradley, "Clarke sure starlets can help to prop up Ulster", Belfast Telegraph, 6 September 2016
  18. https://ulster.rugby/content/exciting-young-flyhalves-sign-ulster-contracts "Exciting young flyhalves sign Ulster contracts"
  19. News: Nick Williams: Cardiff Blues sign Ulster number eight. BBC Sport. 23 December 2015.
  20. News: Munster sign Ulster prospect centre Sam Arnold. Independent.ie. 4 February 2016.
  21. News: Edinburgh sign Ulster winger Rory Scholes. BBC Sport. 2 March 2016.
  22. News: Ulster fly-half Ian Humphreys announces retirement at end of season. BBC Sport. 8 March 2016.
  23. News: Bristol sign Ireland and Ulster lock Dan Tuohy. Bristol Post. 6 December 2016.
  24. https://www.epcrugby.com/2016/11/02/blues-bolster-front-row-ranks/ "Blues bolster front-row ranks"
  25. News: Ulster sign Dubling Trinity scrum-half Angus Lloyd. Ulster Rugby. 20 July 2016.
  26. News: Ulster release fly-half Windsor and call up Patterson. Belfast Live. 15 December 2016.
  27. Appearances and scoring stats from ItsRugby.co.uk
  28. Web site: Ulster First Team . Ulster Rugby . 31 August 2018 . 28 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170828141949/http://ulsterrugby.com/team/index.php . dead .
  29. News: Squad confirmed for 2019/20 season. Ulster Rugby. 24 June 2019. 24 June 2019. 24 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190624153409/https://www.ulsterrugby.com/2019/06/squad-confirmed-for-2019-20-season/. dead.
  30. Web site: Not all rules are made to be broken . . 4 September 2016 . 26 January 2018 . Ireland's set-up demands a maximum of five NIEs - one of whom is a project player.
  31. Jonathan Bradley, "Eight prospects will be aiming to flourish after joining Academy", Belfast Telegraph, 6 September 2016
  32. Ronnie Ingram, "Hinch provide seven for Ulster Academy's test against Leinster", Belfast Telegraph, 2 September 2016
  33. https://web.archive.org/web/20161216030634/http://www.ulsterrugby.com/team/academy-management.php "Academy Management"
  34. https://web.archive.org/web/20161216031105/http://www.ulsterrugby.com/team/academy-squad.php#.WFNbZnEkXWk "Hughes Insurance Academy Squad"
  35. Web site: Charles Piutau voted Guinness PRO12 Player of the Season. 7 May 2017. skysports.com. 8 May 2017.
  36. Web site: PRO12 Dream Team revealed. Planet Rugby. 7 May 2016.
  37. https://www.irishrugby.ie/2017/05/07/departing-duo-receive-ulster-rugby-awards/ "Departing Duo Receive Ulster Rugby Awards"