Teamname: | 1999–2000 Ulster Rugby season |
Capacity: | 12,500 |
Coach: | Harry Williams |
Appearances: | Gary Longwell, Eric Miller, Simon Mason (12 each) |
Top Scorer: | Simon Mason (145) |
Most Tries: | Tyrone Howe (4) Spencer Bromley (4) |
League: | Heineken Cup (4th in pool) IRFU Interprovincial Championship (2nd) |
Nextseason: | 2000–01 |
The 1999–2000 season was Ulster Rugby's fifth season under professionalism, and Harry Williams's second season as head coach. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the IRFU Interprovincial Championship.
Ahead of the new season, Williams signed Paddy Johns, Simon Best, Niall Malone, Tyrone Howe, Spencer Bromley and Riaz Fredericks to full-time contracts. Mark McCall retired as a player, and was appointed assistant coach.[1]
In the Heineken Cup, Ulster finished bottom of their pool. They came second in the Interprovincial Championship, qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup. Tony McWhirter was Ulster's Player of the Year.
Plans for a Celtic League, featuring the Irish provinces alongside teams from Scotland and Wales, were mooted. This would give the provinces a 12-game league schedule, alongside six Interpros and at least six Heineken Cup matches, and mean contracted players would no longer be available for their All-Ireland League clubs, but play exclusively for their provinces. This plan would not materialise for another few seasons.[2]
Ulster Rugby squad | ||
---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks | Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves | Centres
Wings
Fullbacks |
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. |
See main article: 1999–2000 Heineken Cup.
Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Llanelli | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 152 | 86 | 66 | 10 | |
Wasps | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 163 | 99 | 64 | 10 | |
Bourgoin | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 140 | 162 | -22 | 4 | |
Ulster | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 20 | -16 | 71 | 179 | -108 | 0 |
See main article: IRFU Interprovincial Championship.
Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | BP | Pts | Status | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 242 | 103 | 5 | 29 | Champions; qualified for 2000–01 Heineken Cup | ||||||||||||
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 186 | 129 | 3 | 15 | Qualified for 2000–01 Heineken Cup | ||||||||||||
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 145 | 137 | 2 | 10 | Qualified for 2000–01 Heineken Cup | ||||||||||||
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 85 | 289 | 1 | 1 | Qualified for 2000–01 European Challenge Cup |
Domestic League | European Cup | Total | |||||||||
League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | – | – | – | – | 1999–00 Heineken Cup | 3 | 8,667 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 26,000 | 8,667 |
The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 18 May 2000 at the La Mon House Hotel. Winners were:[8]