| Teamname: | 2003–04 Ulster Rugby season |
| Capacity: | 12,500 |
| Top Scorer: | David Humphreys (204) |
| Most Tries: | Tyrone Howe (12) |
| League: | Heineken Cup (3rd in pool) Celtic League (2nd) Celtic Cup (champions) |
| Nextseason: | 2004–05 |
The 2003–04 season was Ulster Rugby's ninth under professionalism, and their third under head coach Alan Solomons. They competed in the Heineken Cup, the Celtic League and the inaugural Celtic Cup.
Ulster introduced a new logo this season, featuring a red hand surrounded by the outline shapes of two crossed rugby balls in red and black, which remains in use. A proposal to rebrand the team the "Ulster Knights" was discussed, but rejected.[1]
The numbers of teams in the Celtic League was reduced from sixteen to twelve in a single league table, with a full home and away schedule increasing each team's fixture list from seven to 22 matches. There would be no playoffs to determine the league's champions, but a knockout competition, the Celtic Cup, was introduced alongside the league.[2] This meant that the Irish provinces could now operate as full-time professional clubs, with provincial players no longer able to play for clubs in the All-Ireland League.[3] Ulster finished second in the table. Tyrone Howe was the league's joint third leading try scorer with nine.[4] In the Heineken Cup, they came third in Pool 1, not qualifying for the knockout stage. They won the Celtic Cup, defeating Edinburgh in the final.
Making their debuts for the province this season were props Bryan Young and Simon Shawe, lock Tim Barker, back row forward Roger Wilson, scrum-half Reece Spee, wing Tommy Bowe and centre Seamus Mallon. New signings were props Ronan McCormack and Rod Moore, locks Rowan Frost and Matt Mustchin, and centre Paul Steinmetz.
James Topping became only the second player, after Gary Longwell, to make 100 appearances for Ulster.[5] Tommy Bowe was named IRUPA Young Player of the Year.[6] Roger Wilson was Ulster's Player of the Year.
Head coach Alan Solomons and forwards coach Adrian Kennedy left at the end of the season to join Northampton Saints.[7] Backs coach Mark McCall was named as the new head coach.[8]
| 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 |
Rowan Frost from Connacht[10]
Rod Moore from Waratahs[11] Matt Mustchin from Canterbury Crusaders Reece Spee from City of Derry[12] Paul Steinmetz from Otago Highlanders[13]
Narbonne[15] Castres[17]
Padova[18]| 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.[19] |
See main article: 2003–04 Heineken Cup.
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stade Français | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 134 | 80 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| Leicester Tigers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 137 | 115 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 15 | |
| Ulster | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 109 | 106 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 67 | 146 | -79 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
See main article: 2003–04 Celtic League.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 597 | 385 | +212 | 57 | 39 | 7 | 3 | 76 | ||
| 2 | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 617 | 363 | +254 | 67 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 72 | ||
| 3 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 590 | 449 | +141 | 59 | 41 | 7 | 1 | 72 | ||
| 4 | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 560 | 451 | +109 | 48 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 65 | ||
| 5 | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 582 | 512 | +70 | 55 | 60 | 5 | 4 | 55 | ||
| 6 | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 570 | 467 | +103 | 73 | 54 | 7 | 3 | 54 | ||
| 7 | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 422 | 456 | -34 | 45 | 49 | 6 | 5 | 51 | ||
| 8 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 523 | 580 | -57 | 51 | 65 | 4 | 5 | 47 | ||
| 9 | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 479 | 550 | -71 | 50 | 59 | 5 | 3 | 44 | ||
| 10 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 454 | 622 | -168 | 52 | 69 | 6 | 2 | 44 | ||
| 11 | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 442 | 614 | -172 | 52 | 61 | 3 | 3 | 32 | ||
| 12 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 363 | 750 | -387 | 42 | 88 | 1 | 5 | 22 | ||
Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:
| ||||||||||||||
| Source: RaboDirect PRO12 | ||||||||||||||
See main article: Celtic Cup (rugby union).
| Domestic League | European Cup | Total | ||||||||||
| League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 Celtic League | 12• | 6,863 | 12,000 | style=align=center | 5,041 | 2003–04 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,489 | 12,300 | 10,243 | 116,819 | 7,788 |
The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Ramada Hotel on 20 May 2004. Winners were:[20]