| Teamname: | 2014–15 Ulster Rugby season |
| Capacity: | 12,500 |
| Coach: | Les Kiss (Director of Rugby) Neil Doak (Head Coach) |
| Top Scorer: | Ruan Pienaar (121) |
| Most Tries: | Craig Gilroy (12) |
| League: | Heineken Cup (3rd in Pool 3) Pro12 (semi-finals) |
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| Prevseason: | 2013–14 |
| Nextseason: | 2015–16 |
The 2014–15 season was Ulster's 21st season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their first under Director of Rugby Les Kiss and head coach Neil Doak. They completed in the European Rugby Champions Cup and the Pro12.
New signings for this season included out-half Ian Humphreys, returning from his spell at London Irish, lock Franco van der Merwe, flanker Sean Reidy and fullback Louis Ludik. Rory Best was reinstated as captain, following the retirement of Johann Muller at the end of the previous season.[1] [2]
In June 2014, David Humphreys left his post as the province's Director of Rugby, joining English Premiership side Gloucester.[3] Later that month, head coach Mark Anscombe also left the province "with immediate effect". assistant coach Les Kiss filled the role of Director of Rugby on an interim basis.[4] In October 2014, Kiss returned to his position with the Ireland team, with Neil Doak taking the role of head coach. Kiss would return to his role with Ulster on a full-time basis following the 2015 World Cup.[5] Bryn Cunningham was appointed the new team manager, responsible for recruiting players and negotiating contracts.[6] Defence coach Jonny Bell left at the end of the season to become assistant coach at Gloucester, replaced by Joe Barakat.[7]
Ulster entered the season with their home stadium, Ravenhill, redeveloped, with the stadium's capacity having been increased to 18,196, and renamed the Kingspan Stadium after its sponsor.[8]
The Heineken Cup was reorganised as the European Rugby Champions Cup. Rather than three Irish provinces qualifying as of right, the top team from each country in the Pro12, and the top three in the league table other than those four qualified.[9] Ulster qualified by league position, and finished third in their pool.
Ulster finished fourth in the Pro12, qualifying for the semi-finals and next season's Champions Cup. They lost the semi-final to Glasgow Warriors. Ulster led the league in scrums.[10] Franco van der Merwe and wing Craig Gilroy made the Pro12 Dream Team, and Gilroy's try against Scarlets was named Try of the Year.
Scrum-half Ruan Pienaar was Ulster's top scorer in all competitions with 121 points. Craig Gilroy was top try scorer with twelve, and was named Ulster's Player of the Year.
Ulster's second team, the Ulster Ravens, competed in the British and Irish Cup, finishing third in their pool.
Prop Declan Fitzpatrick retired at the end of the season.
| Position | Name | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director of Rugby | Les Kiss |  Australia | |
| Head Coach | Neil Doak |  Ireland | |
| Forwards Coach | Allen Clarke | Ireland | |
| Defence Coach | Jonny Bell | Ireland | |
| Team Manager | Bryn Cunningham | Ireland | |
| Head of Strength & Conditioning | Jonny Davis | Ireland | |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Kevin Geary | Ireland | |
| Head of Physiotherapy | Gareth Robinson | Ireland | |
| Physiotherapist | Alan McAldin | Ireland |
Tim Boys from Southland[11]
Agen[13] Brumbies Sean Reidy from Counties Manukau
Zebre Counties Manukau[14] John Afoa to Gloucester Sean Doyle to Brumbies Grenoble[16] Aurillac| Ulster Rugby squad[18] | ||
|---|---|---|
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.[19] [20] |
| Position[22] | Name | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Performance Development Manager | Allen Clarke | Ireland | |
| Representative Team Performance Manager | Michael Black | Ireland | |
| Academy Schools Coach | Brian McLaughlin | Ireland | |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | David Drake | Ireland | |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Amy Davis | Ireland | |
| Sub-Academy Fitness Coach | Matthew Maguire | Ireland | |
| Physiotherapist | David Minion | Ireland |
| Ulster Rugby Academy squad[23] | ||
|---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks
| Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
| Centres
Back three
|
| (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. |
The following players, other than players from the senior squad and academy, appeared for the Ulster Ravens this season.
See main article: 2014–15 European Rugby Champions Cup.
See main article: 2014–15 Pro12.
Wing Craig Gilroy and lock Franco van der Merwe made the Pro12 Dream Team.[24]
| Domestic League | European Cup | Total | ||||||||||
| League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 Pro12 | 11 | 16,037 | 17,139 | 13,501 | 2014–15 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 16,179 | 16,931 | 15,659 | 224,946 | 16,068 | |
See main article: 2014–15 British and Irish Cup.
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 204 | 104 | 100 | 4 | 1 | 25 | |||||
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 208 | 110 | 98 | 4 | 0 | 24 | ||||
| Ulster Ravens | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 121 | 162 | –41 | 1 | 3 | 8 | ||||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 89 | 246 | –157 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |||||
| Source : BBC Updated: 13 December 2014 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 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 21 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 54 | 29 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 88 | 3 | 3 |
The Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Culloden Estate and Spa, Holywood. Winners were:[25]