2002–03 Ulster Rugby season

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2002–03 Ulster Rugby season
Ground(s)Ravenhill Stadium (Capacity: 12,500)
Coach(es)Alan Solomons
Captain(s)Andy Ward
Most appearancesNeil Doak (15)
Top scorerDavid Humphreys (128)
Most triesNeil Doak (3)
Tyrone Howe (3)
Neil McMillan (3)
League(s)Heineken Cup (3rd in pool)
Celtic League (semi-finalists)
← 2001–02 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]

Staff[]

Position Name Nationality
Chief Executive Michael Reid  Ireland
Director of Rugby Alan Solomons  South Africa
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

Pre-season[]

Squad[]

Ulster Rugby squad[9]

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

  • Ireland Jonathan Bell (10 apps, 10 starts, 5 pts)
  • Australia Ryan Constable (10 apps, 8 starts)
  • South Africa Shane Stewart (10 apps, 8 starts, 5 pts)
  • Australia Adam Larkin (10 apps, 6 starts)
  • Ireland Jan Cunningham (3 apps, 1 start, 5 pts)

Wings

  • Ireland James Topping (12 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts)
  • Ireland Tyrone Howe (8 apps, 8 starts, 15 pts)
  • Ireland Scott Young (8 apps, 5 starts, 5 pts)
  • Ireland Sheldon Coulter (8 apps, 5 starts)

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.[10]

2002–03 Heineken Cup[]

Main article: 2002–03 Heineken Cup

Pool 6[]

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
England Northampton Saints 6 4 0 2 21 10 11 172 110 62 8
France Biarritz Olympique 6 4 0 2 14 5 9 138 73 65 8
Ireland Ulster 6 4 0 2 8 8 0 116 106 10 8
Wales Cardiff 6 0 0 6 6 26 −20 78 215 −137 0
13 October 2002
16:30
Northampton Saints England 32 – 9 Ireland Ulster
Try: Dawson, Leslie
Con: Grayson (2)
Pen: Grayson (5)
 Report[11] Pen: Humphreys (2), Doak
Franklin's Gardens
Attendance: 9,481
Referee: A. Lambardi
Ulster lineup


18 October 2002
19:05
Ulster Ireland 25 – 6 Wales Cardiff
Try:
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys (5)
Drop: Humphreys
 Report[12][13] Pen: Harris (2)
Ravenhill
Attendance: 11,000
Ulster lineup


6 December 2002
19:15
Ulster Ireland 13 – 9 France Biarritz
Try: Topping
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys (2)
 Report[14][15] Pen: Yachvili (2)
Drop: Peyrelongue
Ravenhill
Attendance: 11,650
Referee: Chris White
Ulster lineup


14 December 2002
15:00
Biarritz France 25 – 20 Ireland Ulster
Try: , Couzinet, Cassin
Con: Yachvili (2)
Pen: Yachvili (2)
 Report[16][17] Try: , Ward
Con: Doak (2)
Pen: Doak (2)
Parc des Sports Aquil
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: D. Pearson
Ulster lineup


11 January 2003
14:45
Cardiff Wales 21 – 33 Ireland Ulster
Try: Walne, Allen
Con: Robinson
Pen: Robinson (3)
 Report[18][19] Try: McMillan (2), penalty try
Con: Humphreys (3)
Pen: Humphreys (2)
Drop: B. Cunningham
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 4,000
Referee: R. Goodcliffe
Ulster lineup


17 January 2003
19:05
Ulster Ireland 16 – 13 England Northampton Saints
Try: McMillan
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Doak
Drop: Humphreys (2)
 Report[20][21] Try: Cohen
Con: Grayson
Pen: Grayson (2)
Ravenhill
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: Joel Dume
Ulster lineup

2002-03 Celtic League[]

Main article: 2002–03 Celtic League

Pool A[]

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA Try bonus Losing bonus Pts
1 Ireland Munster 7 6 0 1 227 129 +98 25 12 4 0 28
2 Scotland Edinburgh 7 6 0 1 231 145 +86 24 13 2 1 27
3 Ireland Ulster 7 5 0 2 173 111 +62 15 9 1 1 22
4 Wales Neath 7 4 0 3 153 121 +32 15 12 1 1 18
5 Wales Llanelli 7 3 0 4 191 168 +23 23 16 3 2 17
6 Wales Swansea 7 3 0 4 177 212 −35 18 22 3 1 16
7 Wales Ebbw Vale 7 1 0 6 140 226 −86 16 27 1 0 5
8 Wales Caerphilly 7 0 0 7 144 324 −180 17 42 2 1 3

Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows:

  • 4 points for a win
  • 2 points for a draw
  • 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) (Try bonus)
  • 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) (Losing bonus)
Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage.
Source: RaboDirect PRO12
30 August 2002
19:15
Ebbw Vale Wales 0 – 19 Ireland Ulster
Report[22] Try: Wallace
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys (4)
Eugene Cross Park
Referee: Dave Pearson
Ulster lineup


6 September 2002
19:30
Ulster Ireland 18 – 19 Scotland Edinburgh
Pen: Wallace (6)
 Report[23] Try: Laney
Con: Laney
Pen: Laney (3)
Drop: Hodge
Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,500
Ulster lineup


14 September 2002
14:30
Swansea Wales 38 – 10 Ireland Ulster
Try: K. Morgan, Robinson, Gibbs, Payne
Con: A. Thomas (3)
Pen: A. Thomas (4)
 Report[24] Try: Howe
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys
St Helen's
Attendance: 2,500
Ulster lineup


20 September 2002
19:30
Ulster Ireland 17 – 13 Wales Neath
Try: B. Cunningham, Howe
Con: Doak (2)
Pen: Doak
 Report[25] Try: S. Williams
Con: Jarvis
Pen: Jarvis (2)
Ravenhill
Attendance: 9,500
Ulster lineup


27 September 2002
19:35
Ulster Ireland 26 – 17 Ireland Munster
Try: Doak (2)
Con: Doak (2)
Pen: Doak (2)
 Report[26] Try: Lawler
Pen: Staunton (2)
Drop: Staunton, Holland
Ravenhill
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: P. Adams
Ulster lineup


5 October 2002
14:30
Caerphilly Wales 15 – 67 Ireland Ulster
Try: (2)
Con:
Pen:
Report[27][28] Try: Neil Best (2), Howe, Brosnihan, , , Bell, Sexton
Con: Humphreys (6)
Pen: Humphreys (5)
Virginia Park
Attendance: 750
Ulster lineup


25 October 2002
19:35
Ulster Ireland 16 – 9 Wales Llanelli
Try: Doak
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys
Drop: Humphreys
 Report[29] Pen: Jones (3)
Ravenhill
Attendance: 10,500
Referee: John Hogg
Ulster lineup

Quarter final[]

30 November 2002
14:45
Glasgow Scotland 17 – 20 Ireland Ulster
Pen: Hayes (4)
 Report[30] Try: Shields, Ward
Con: Humphreys (2)
Pen: Humphreys (2)
Hughenden
Attendance: 5,346
Ulster lineup

Semi-final[]

3 January 2003
19:35
Munster Ireland 42 – 10 Ireland Ulster
Try: Hayes, Quinlan, Kelly, Mullins, Galwey
Con: O'Gara (3), Keane
Pen: O'Gara (3)
 Report[31] Try: Humphreys
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys
Thomond Park
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: H. Watkins
Ulster lineup

Ulster Rugby Awards[]

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Ramada Hotel on 15 May 2003. Winners were:[32]

References[]

  1. ^ Kieran Rooney, "Players' Player is Malcolm O'Kelly", Irish Independent, 9 May 2003
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i "Kempson finally signs", BBC Sport, 25 January 2002
  3. ^ "Spence in Ulster call", BBC Sport, 22 September 2002
  4. ^ "Former Bok retires from rugby", Irish Examiner, 6 September 2002
  5. ^ Brendan Fanning, "New twist for Crick", Irish Independent, 3 March 2002
  6. ^ Tony Ward, "Haslett signs for London Irish", Irish Independent, 19 December 2002
  7. ^ "Paddy Johns Retires as Ulster Name New Squad", Irish Rugby, 26 January 2002
  8. ^ "Brennan joins Toulouse", BBC Sport, 31 May 2002
  9. ^ "Ulster's 2002/3 squad", BBC Sport, 2 July 2002
  10. ^ "Ulster's 2002/3 squad", BBC Sport, 2 July 2002
  11. ^ "Grayson kicks Saints to eighth home win in a row", The Guardian, 14 October 2002
  12. ^ "Ulster too good for Cardiff", BBC Sport, 18 October 2002
  13. ^ Gavin Mairs, "Ulster need a cutting edge", Belfast Telegraph, 19 October 2002
  14. ^ "Topping try keeps Ulster hopes alive", Irish Independent, 7 December 2002
  15. ^ "Ulster upset French champions", BBC Sport, 6 December 2002
  16. ^ Micheal McGeary, "Ulster run out of luck", Sunday Life, 15 December 2002
  17. ^ "Biarritz edge out Ulster", BBC Sport, 14 December 2002
  18. ^ "Ulster edge past Cardiff", BBC Sport, 11 January 2003
  19. ^ Micheal McGeary, "Ulster have it all to do", Sunday Life, 12 January 2002
  20. ^ "Ulster win keeps slim hopes alive", BBC Sport, 17 January 2003
  21. ^ "Victory just not enough for Ulster", Irish Independent, 18 January 2003
  22. ^ "Scrappy victory for Ulster", BBC Sport, 30 August 2002
  23. ^ Gavin Mairs "Last gasp agony for jaded Ulster", Belfast Telegraph, 7 September 2002
  24. ^ "Swansea's blistering pace exposes Ulster's deficiencies", Irish Independent, 15 September 2002
  25. ^ "Ulster edge out Neath", BBC Sport, 20 September 2002
  26. ^ "Doak one-man show just too much for Munster", Irish Independent, 28 September 2002
  27. ^ Mark McAuley, "Over and rout... Ulster whip the Welsh boyos", Sunday Life", 6 October 2002
  28. ^ "Ulster hammer Caerphilly", BBC Sport, 5 October 2002
  29. ^ "Ulster sneak past Llanelli", BBC Sport, 25 October 2002
  30. ^ "Ulster hang on for victory", BBC Sport, 30 November 2002
  31. ^ "Fitzpatrick sees red as Munster waltz into final", Irish Independent, 4 January 2003
  32. ^ Gavin Mairs, "Clarke lands Ulster rugby's personality of the year title", Belfast Telegraph, 16 May 2003
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