| Teamname: | 2002–03 Ulster Rugby season |
| Ground: | Ravenhill Stadium |
| Capacity: | 12,500 |
| Chief Executive: | Michael Reid |
| Coach: | Alan Solomons |
| Captain: | Andy Ward |
| Appearances: | Neil Doak (15) |
| Top Scorer: | David Humphreys (128) |
| Most Tries: | Neil Doak (3) Tyrone Howe (3) Neil McMillan (3) |
| League: | Heineken Cup (3rd in pool) Celtic League (semi-finalists) |
| Prevseason: | 2001–02 |
| Nextseason: | 2003–04 |
The 2002–03 season was Ulster Rugby's eighth under professionalism, and their second under head coach Alan Solomons. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League. No IRFU Interprovincial Championship was held this season.
In the Celtic League, they finished third in Pool A, qualifying for the playoffs. They beat Glasgow in the quarter-finals, but lost to Munster in the semi-finals. In the Heineken Cup, they finished third in Pool 6, missing out on the knockout stage. Bryn Cunningham was Ulster's Player of the Year. Flanker Neil McMillan won the IRUPA Young Player of the Year award.[1]
| Position | Name | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive | Michael Reid |  Ireland | |
| Director of Rugby | Alan Solomons | ||
| Team manager | John McComish | Ireland | |
| Forwards coach | Adrian Kennedy | Ireland | |
| Backs coach | Mark McCall | Ireland | |
| Assistant conditioning coach | John McCloskey | Ireland | |
| Physiotherapist | Gareth Robinson | Ireland | |
| Director of Elite Player Development | Allen Clarke | Ireland |
David Allen (retired due to injury)[4] Mark Crick (work permit expired)[6]
Leopoldo de Chazal (released) Brad Free (emigrated)| Ulster Rugby squad[10] | ||
|---|---|---|
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: 2002–03 Heineken Cup.
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton Saints | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 172 | 110 | 62 | 8 | |
 Biarritz Olympique | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 138 | 73 | 65 | 8 | |
| Ulster | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 116 | 106 | 10 | 8 | |
| Cardiff | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 26 | -20 | 78 | 215 | -137 | 0 |
See main article: 2002–03 Celtic League.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Munster | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 227 | 129 | +98 | 25 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 28 | |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 231 | 145 | +86 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 27 | |
| 3 | Ulster | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 173 | 111 | +62 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 22 | |
| 4 | Neath | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 153 | 121 | +32 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| 5 | Llanelli | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 191 | 168 | +23 | 23 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 17 | |
| 6 | Swansea | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 177 | 212 | −35 | 18 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 16 | |
| 7 | Ebbw Vale | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 140 | 226 | −86 | 16 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 8 | Caerphilly | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 144 | 324 | −180 | 17 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
| ||||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 | ||||||||||||||
| Domestic League | European Cup | Total | |||||||||
| League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 Celtic League | 4 | 8,375 | 10,500 | 6,000 | 2002–03 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,717 | 12,500 | 11,000 | 68,650 | 9,807 |
The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Ramada Hotel on 15 May 2003. Winners were:[11]
