| Teamname: | 2011–12 Ulster Rugby season |
| Capacity: | 12,500 |
| Coach: | David Humphreys (Director of Rugby) Brian McLaughlin (Head Coach) |
| Top Scorer: | Ian Humphreys (168) |
| Most Tries: | Andrew Trimble (6) Craig Gilroy (6) |
| League: | Heineken Cup (finalists) Pro12 (6th) |
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The 2011–12 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 18th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their third under head coach Brian McLaughlin. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the inaugural Pro12, successor competition to the Celtic League.
They finished sixth in the Pro12, and qualified for next season's Champions Cup as the third highest placed Irish team. Scrum-half Ruan Pienaar, lock Dan Tuohy and prop BJ Botha made the Pro12 Dream Team. They finished second in their pool in the Heineken Cup, beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, and lost to Leinster in the final. Out-half Ian Humphreys was Ulster's top scorer with 168 points. Wings Andrew Trimble and Craig Gilroy were joint top try scorers with six each. Flanker Chris Henry was Player of the Year. Craig Gilroy won the IRUPA Try of the Year award.[1]
Brian McLaughlin, who was coaching Ulster while on sabbatical from his regular job as a teacher at Royal Belfast Academical Institution, stood to lose his teaching position and pension if he extended his contract with Ulster any further, and as head coach risked losing his job at any time. Director of rugby David Humphreys decided to offer him the security of a full-time position coaching the academy, and to replace him as head coach with Mark Anscombe.[2]
| Position | Name[3] | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer | Shane Logan |  Ireland | |
| Director of Rugby | David Humphreys | Ireland | |
| Head coach | Brian McLaughlin | Ireland | |
| Assistant coach (backs) | Neil Doak | Ireland | |
| Defence coach | Jonny Bell | Ireland | |
| Head of strength and conditioning | Jonny Davis | Ireland | |
| Team doctor | David Irwin | Ireland | |
| Team physiotherapist | Gareth Robinson | Ireland | |
| Physiotherapist | Alan McAldin | Ireland | |
| Performance analyst | Alex McCloy | Ireland | |
| Team manager | David Millar | Ireland | |
| Team administration co-ordinator | Sarah Sherry | Ireland | |
| Resource Manager | Mick Ennis |  Australia |
John Afoa from Auckland Blues[4] Jared Payne from Auckland Blues[6]
Paul Emerick to Wasps
Cavalieri| 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. 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. |
| Position[12] | Name | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Performance Manager | Gary Longwell | Ireland | |
| Elite Player Development Officer | Jonny Bell | Ireland | |
| Elite Player Development Officer | Niall Malone | Ireland | |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Chris Shiells | Ireland | |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Kevin Geary | Ireland |
See main article: 2011–12 Heineken Cup.
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clermont Auvergne [5] | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 5 | +21 | 215 | 69 | +146 | 2 | 2 | 20 | |
| Ulster [8] | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 158 | 87 | +71 | 3 | 1 | 20 | |
| Leicester Tigers | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 123 | 117 | +6 | 1 | 0 | 17 | |
| Aironi | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 38 | −34 | 51 | 274 | −223 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
See main article: 2012 Heineken Cup Final.
See main article: 2011–12 Pro12.
2011–2012 Dream Team[13]
| Pos | Player | Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SH | 9 | Ulster | ||
| LL | 4 | Ulster | ||
| TP | 3 | Ulster |
| Domestic League | European Cup | Total | ||||||||||
| League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 Pro12 | 11 | 8,258 | 11,379 | 6,296 | 2011–12 Heineken Cup | 3 | 9,593 | 11,900 | 7,494 | 119,620 | 8,544 | |
See main article: 2011–12 British and Irish Cup.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TB | LB | Pts< | -- | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TB | LB | Pts--> |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Ravens | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 60 | 55 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 18 | ||||||||||||
| Nottingham | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 79 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 17 | ||||||||||||
| Leeds Carnegie | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 61 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||||||||||||
| Swansea | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 64 | 106 | -42 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
See main article: IRFU Women's Interprovincial Series.
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | BP | Pts | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 8 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 55 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 56 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 54 | 3 | 3 |
The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Culloden Hotel on 10 May 2012.[16] Winners were:[17]