| Club: | Ulster Rugby |
| Season: | 2016–17 |
| Manager: | Neil Doak |
| Mgrtitle: | Head Coach |
| Chairman: | Les Kiss |
| Chrtitle: | Director of Rugby |
| Captain: | Andrew Trimble Rob Herring |
| League: | Pro12 |
| League Result: | 5th |
| Cup1: | European Rugby Champions Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | 4th in Pool 5 |
| Points Scorer: | Paddy Jackson (162) |
| Try Scorer: | Charles Piutau (9) Jacob Stockdale (9) |
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| Prevseason: | 2015–16 |
| Nextseason: | 2017–18 |
The 2016–17 season was Ulster's 23rd season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and the third under Director of Rugby Les Kiss and head coach Neil Doak. They completed in the European Rugby Champions Cup and the final season of the Pro12 before it became the Pro14 with the addition of two teams from South Africa.
Ulster announced in August 2016 that Rory Best would vacate the captaincy of the province. The captain was replaced in his role by Andrew Trimble, the team's record try-scorer, and Rob Herring, who took on the role in Best's absence the previous season.[1] [2] Scrum-half Ruan Pienaar was going into his last season with Ulster, after the IRFU blocked him from extending his contract.[3]
New arrivals were South African number 8 Marcell Coetzee from the Sharks, fullback Charles Piutau from Wasps, prop Rodney Ah You from Connacht, lock Kieran Treadwell from Harlequins, out-half Brett Herron from Bath, scrum-half Angus Lloyd from Trinity, and prop Anton Peikrishvili from Brive. Back row forward Nick Williams left for Cardiff Blues, centre Sammy Arnold for Munster, wing Rory Scholes for Edinburgh, and lock Dan Tuohy for Bristol. Out-half Ian Humphreys retired, and Willie Faloon, Paul Jackson, Ruaidhri Murphy, Bronson Ross, Paul Rowley, Frank Taggart and Sam Windsor were released. Academy players who made their debuts this season included flanker Nick Timoney and wing Rob Lyttle.
Assistant coach Joe Barakat left in December to join Western Force.[4] In early 2017 it was revealed that head coach Neil Doak and assistant coach Allen Clarke would not have their contracts renewed at the end of the season. Doak's replacement would be Jono Gibbes,[5] with Clarke to be succeeded by Dwayne Peel.[6]
In the Pro12, Ulster finished fifth, qualifying for next season's Champions Cup but missing out on the playoffs. Flanker Sean Reidy led the league in tackles with 263.[7] Ulster led the league in discipline and scrums.[8] At the end of the season, Charles Piutau was named Players' Player of the Season, and he and scrum-half Ruan Pienaar made the Pro12 Dream Team. Pienaar's try against Glasgow Warriors was named Try of the Season. They finished bottom of Pool 5 in the Champions Cup, winning two and losing four. Out-half Paddy Jackson was leading scorer with 162 points, with Ruan Pienaar contributing 100 points. Charles Piutau and wing Jacob Stockdale were joint leading try scorers with nine each. Sean Reidy was leading tackler with 329.[9]
At the end of the season, Ruan Pienaar departed for Montpellier, and flanker Roger Wilson retired with a record 221 appearances. Charles Piutau was Ulster's Player of the Season.
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Chief executive officer | Shane Logan | |
| Director of Rugby | Les Kiss |  Australia |
| Head coach | Neil Doak |  Ireland |
| Operation Director | Bryn Cunningham | Ireland |
| Assistant coach | Allen Clarke | Ireland |
| Assistant coach | Joe Barakat | Australia |
| Head of Strength & Conditioning | Jonny Davis | Ireland |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Kevin Geary | Ireland |
Charles Piutau from Wasps[10]
Anton Peikrishvili from 
CA Brive[15] Nick Williams to Cardiff Blues[19] Anton Peikrishvili to Cardiff Blues[24] Sam Windsor released [26]| Ulster Rugby squad[27] | ||
|---|---|---|
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.[28] [29] |
| Position[33] | Name | Nationality | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Kieran Campbell | Ireland | |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Matthew Maguire | Ireland | |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Matthew Godfrey | Ireland | |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Amy Davis | Ireland | |
| Representative Team Performance Manager | Michael Black | Ireland | |
| Talent Development Officer | Jonny Gillespie | Ireland | |
| Elite Player Development Officer/Head Coach Ulster 'A' | Alex Codling | Ireland | |
| Elite Player Development Officer | James Topping | Ireland | |
| Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach | David Drake | Ireland |
| Ulster Rugby Academy squad[34] | ||
|---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks
| Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
| Centres
Wings
Fullbacks
|
| (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 Ulster 'A' this season.
See main article: 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup.
See main article: 2016–17 Pro12.
Charles Piutau was named Players' Player of the Season,[35] and the left winger on the Pro12 Dream Team.[36]
| Domestic League | European Cup | Total | ||||||||||
| League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 Pro12 | 11 | 15,961 | 17,676 | 13,663 | 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 16,028 | 16,843 | 14,924 | 223,658 | 15,976 | |
See main article: 2016–17 British and Irish Cup.
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jersey Reds | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 181 | 94 | 87 | 3 | 0 | 23 | ||||
| Ulster A | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 153 | 124 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 20 | ||||
| London Scottish | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 134 | 157 | −23 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||||
| Cardiff Blues Premiership Select | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 104 | 197 | −93 | 0 | 3 | 7 | ||||
| Source: Updated: 10 March 2017 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 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 20 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 29 | 1 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 32 | 0 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 101 | 0 | 0 |
The Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School, Belfast, on 6 May 2017. Winners were:[37]
Roger Wilson was given a special award for retiring as the province's most capped player, with 221 appearances. Honours caps were awarded for appearance milestones to Tommy Bowe (150), Chris Henry (150), Luke Marshall (100) and Rob Herring (100).
The Danske Bank Schools Player of the Year was won by Michael Lowry of RBAI, beating nominees James Hume (RBAI) and Stewart Moore (Ballymena Academy).