2010–11 Ulster Rugby season

2010–11 Ulster Rugby season
Ground(s)	Ravenhill Stadium (Capacity: 12,500)
Coach(es)	David Humphreys (Director of Rugby); Brian McLaughlin (Head Coach)
Top scorer	Ian Humphreys (155)
Most tries	Craig Gilroy (8)
League(s)	Heineken Cup (quarter-finalists); Celtic League (semi-finalists)
1st kit	2nd kit
← 2009–10	2011–12 →

The 2010–11 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 17th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their second under head coach Brian McLaughlin. This season marked the debuts of two South Africans, scrum-half Ruan Pienaar (replacing Isaac Boss, who had moved to Leinster) and second row forward Johann Muller. Ulster were quarter-finalists in the European Rugby Champions Cup, and semi-finalists in the Celtic League. Ruan Pienaar was Player of the Year. Nevin Spence was IRUPA Young Player of the Year.^[1]

Forwards coach Jeremy Davidson left at the end of the season.^[2]

Staff[]

Position	Name	Nationality
Chief Executive Officer	Shane Logan	Ireland
Director of Rugby	David Humphreys	Ireland
Head Coach	Brian McLaughlin	Ireland
Forwards Coach	Jeremy Davidson	Ireland
Backs Coach	Neil Doak	Ireland

Squad[]

Senior squad[]

Players in (Season 2010/2011)[]

Johann Muller: from Sharks
Tim Barker: from Glasgow Warriors
Ruan Pienaar from Sharks^[3]
Pedrie Wannenburg: from Bulls^[4]
Adam D'Arcy from Manly RFC^[5]
Paul Emerick from Overmach Parma

(Xavier Rush's move canceled at players request)^[6]

Players out (Season 2010/2011)[]

Isaac Boss to Leinster^[7]
Ed O'Donoghue to Leinster^[8]
Timoci Nagusa to Montpellier
Justin Fitzpatrick Retired
Tamaiti Horua Retired due to Injury
Matt McCullough Retired due to Injury
Cillian Willis to Connacht Rugby^[9]
David Pollock Retired due to Injury ^[10]

Ulster Rugby squad^[11]
Props Tom Court (21 apps, 18 starts, 5 pts) BJ Botha (14 apps, 12 starts) Declan Fitzpatrick (15 apps, 11 starts, 5 pts) Bryan Young (19 apps, 10 starts) Paddy McAllister (19 apps, 8 starts) Jerry Cronin (11 apps, 1 start) Adam Macklin (no apps) Hookers Rory Best (17 apps, 15 starts, 10 pts) Andi Kyriacou (17 apps, 12 starts) Nigel Brady (16 apps, 10 starts) Locks Johann Muller (c) (26 apps, 26 starts) Dan Tuohy (20 apps, 15 starts) Tim Barker (9 apps, 3 starts) Ryan Caldwell (6 apps, 3 starts) Neil McComb (5 apps)	Back row Pedrie Wannenburg (29 apps, 26 starts, 25 pts) Chris Henry (29 apps, 22 starts, 5 pts) Robbie Diack* (22 apps, 16 starts, 5 pts) Willie Faloon (23 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Stephen Ferris (9 apps, 8 starts, 10 pts) T. J. Anderson (4 apps, 2 starts, 5 pts) Scrum-halves Ruan Pienaar (23 apps, 23 starts, 138 pts) Paul Marshall (19 apps, 9 starts) Ian Porter (3 apps) Fly-halves Ian Humphreys (20 apps, 19 starts, 159 pts) Niall O'Connor (6 apps, 5 starts, 59 pts) Paddy Jackson (1 app, 1 start)	Centres Nevin Spence (21 apps, 20 starts, 25 pts) Paddy Wallace (21 apps, 19 starts, 30 pts) Darren Cave (12 apps, 10 starts, 20 pts) Ian Whitten (19 apps, 10 starts, 10 pts) Luke Marshall (7 apps, 3 starts, 5 pts) Paul Emerick (2 apps, 2 starts) Wings Simon Danielli (21 apps, 19 starts, 15 pts) Andrew Trimble (18 apps, 17 starts, 30 pts) Craig Gilroy (14 apps, 13 starts, 40 pts) Tommy Seymour (7 apps, 3 starts, 5 pts) Connor Gaston (3 apps, 2 starts) Mark McCrea (2 apps, 2 starts) Fullbacks Adam D'Arcy* (24 apps, 23 starts, 20 pts) Jamie Smith (5 apps, 5 starts)

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. ^* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Ulster Rugby website.

Academy squad[]

Position^[12]	Name	Nationality
High Performance Manager	Gary Longwell	Ireland
Elite Player Development Officer	Jonathan Bell	Ireland
Elite Player Development Officer	Niall Malone	Ireland
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Chris Shiells	Ireland
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Kevin Geary	Ireland

Academy squad
Props Conor Carey (Ballymena) Kyle McCall (Ballynahinch) Hookers Niall Annett (Belfast Harlequins) John Burns (Ballymena)	Locks Iain Henderson (QUB) Back row David McGuigan (QUB) Ali Birch (Dungannon) Dominic Gallagher (Trinity) Stephen Lecky (Glasgow Hawks) Scrum-halves Blane McIlroy (Ballymena) Michael Heaney Fly-halves Paddy Jackson (Dungannon) James McKinney (QUB)	Centres Luke Marshall Wings Chris Cochrane Michael Allen Conor Gaston Fullbacks Ricky Andrew David McIlwaine (QUB)

Heineken Cup[]

Pool 4[]

Team	P	W	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Biarritz (4)	6	4	2	16	9	+7	140	85	+55	4	2	22
Ulster (8)	6	5	1	15	8	+7	145	93	+52	2	0	22
Bath	6	2	4	20	8	+12	147	108	+39	2	4	14
Aironi	6	1	5	4	30	−26	65	211	−146	0	0	4

Biarritz won the tiebreaker over Ulster with a 6–4 advantage in head-to-head competition points.

8 October 2010
19:30

Ulster	30 – 6	Aironi
Try: Trimble 21' m Humphreys 44' m Danielli 60' c Pienaar 67' c Con: Pienaar (0/2) Humphreys (2/2) Pen: Pienaar (2/3) 2', 39'	Report	Pen: Mercier (2/3) 5', 17'

Ravenhill, Belfast
Attendance: 7,777
Referee: Chris White (England)

17 October 2010
16:00

Biarritz Olympique	35 – 15	Ulster
Try: Ngwenya (2) 44' c, 76' m Carizza 60' c Marconnet 66' c Con: Yachvili (3/4) Pen: Yachvili (3/3) 36', 53', 57'	Report	Try: Trimble 67' m Ferris 80' c Con: Pienaar (1/2) Pen: Pienaar (1/2) 12'

Parc des Sports Aguiléra, Biarritz
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

11 December 2010
13:30

Ulster	22 - 18	Bath
Try: Wannenburg 34' c Con: Humphreys (1/1) Pen: Humphreys (5/6) 12', 39', 53', 60', 64'	Report	Try: Cuthbert 7' c Moody 23' m Con: Barkley (1/2) Pen: Barkley (2/2) 2', 43'

Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,247
Referee: Jérôme Garces (France)

18 December 2010
13:30

Bath	22 - 26	Ulster
Try: Carraro 1' m Banahan 69' m Pen: Barkley (4) 8', 14', 24', 67'	Report	Try: D'Arcy 11' c Spence 56' c Con: Humphreys (2/2) Pen: Humphreys (4) 16' 38', 59', 71'

The Recreation Ground
Attendance: 11,900
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France)

15 January 2011
15:30

Ulster	9 – 6	Biarritz Olympique
Pen: Humphreys (3/4) 48', 56', 77'	Report	Pen: Yachvili (2/2) 18', 39'

Ravenhill
Attendance: 10,566
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

22 January 2011
14:30

Aironi	6 – 43	Ulster
Pen: Tebaldi 37' Drop: Marshall 26'	Report	Try: Trimble 23' c Wannenburg (2) 41' c, 46' c Penalty try 57' c Henry 67' c Danielli 78' m Con: Humphreys (5/6) Pen: Humphreys (1/2) 3'

Stadio Luigi Zaffanella
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

Quarter-final[]

10 April 2011
14:00

Northampton Saints	23 – 13	Ulster
Try: Tonga'uiha 2' c Dickson 55' c Con: Myler (2/2) 3', 56' Pen: Myler (3/5) 40', 48', 65'	Report	Try: Trimble 32' c Con: Humphreys (1/1) 33' Pen: Humphreys (2/2) 7', 14'

Stadium:mk, Milton Keynes^[13]
Attendance: 21,309
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Celtic League[]

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Pts
1	Munster	22	19	0	3	496	327	+169	44	22	5	2	83
2	Leinster	22	15	1	6	495	336	+159	50	25	5	3	70
3	Ulster	22	15	1	6	480	418	+62	44	35	3	2	67
4	Ospreys	22	12	1	9	553	418	+135	56	29	6	7	63
5	Scarlets	22	12	1	9	503	453	+50	49	43	5	7	62
6	Cardiff Blues	22	13	1	8	479	392	+87	37	33	3	3	60
7	Newport Gwent Dragons	22	10	1	11	444	462	−18	47	49	3	4	49
8	Edinburgh	22	9	0	13	421	460	−39	39	44	2	5	43
9	Connacht	22	7	1	14	394	459	−65	32	44	3	6	39
10	Benetton Treviso	22	9	0	13	374	502	−128	29	58	0	2	38
11	Glasgow Warriors	22	6	1	15	401	543	−142	33	48	1	6	33
12	Aironi	22	1	0	21	247	517	−270	21	52	0	8	12
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) are play-off places. Correct as of 7 May 2011. Source: RaboDirect PRO12

3 September 2010
19:05

Ulster	27 – 26	Ospreys (1 BP)
Try: Ferris Cave Con: O'Connor Pen: O'Connor (4)	Report	Try: Fussell Biggar Con: Biggar (2) Pen: Biggar (3)

Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: Peter Allan

11 September 2010
19:05

(1 BP) Aironi	15 – 22	Ulster
Pen: Mercier (4) Drop: Mercier	Report	Try: Diack Con: O'Connor Pen: O'Connor (5)

Stadio Luigi Zaffanella
Attendance: 4,453
Referee: Stefano Penne

17 September 2010
20:05

Ulster	29 – 21	Edinburgh
Try: Trimble Whitten Cave Con: O'Connor Pen: O'Connor (3) Drop: O'Connor	Report	Try: Visser Cairns Con: Godman Pen: Paterson (2) Godman

Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,461
Referee: Alan Falzone

25 September 2010
19:30

Connacht	15 – 15	Ulster
Pen: Keatley (5)	Report	Pen: Wallace (4) O'Connor

Sportsground
Attendance: 3,761
Referee: Alain Rolland

1 October 2010
19:05

Ulster	19 – 17	Glasgow Warriors (1 BP)
Try: Pienaar Con: Pienaar Pen: Pienaar (4)	Report	Pen: Weir (4)

Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,822

22 October 2010
19:05

Edinburgh	21 – 16	Ulster (1 BP)
Try: McKenzie Talei Con: Paterson Pen: Paterson (2) Drop: Blair	Report	Try: Whitten Con: Wallace Pen: Wallace (2) Humphreys

Murrayfield
Attendance: 3,195
Referee: James Jones

29 October 2010
19:05

Ulster	6 – 16	Munster
Pen: Pienaar (2)	Report	Try: Dineen Con: Warwick Pen: Warwick (3)

Ravenhill
Attendance: 10,750
Referee: Alan Lewis

21 November 2010
15:45

Cardiff Blues	15 – 37	Ulster
Try: Laulala James Con: Sweeney Pen: Sweeney	Report	Try: Gilroy (2) D'Arcy Faloon Wallace Con: Humphreys (3) Pen: Humphreys (2)

Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 6,202

26 November 2010
19:05

Benetton Treviso	9 – 19	Ulster
Pen: Botes (2)	Report	Try: Gilroy (2) Danielli Con: Humphreys (2)

Stadio di Monigo
Attendance: 3,000

3 December 2010
19:05

Ulster	P – P	Newport Gwent Dragons

Ravenhill

27 December 2010
16:00

Ulster	13 – 30	Leinster
Try: Gilroy Con: O'Connor Pen: O'Connor (2)	Report	Try: O'Brien (2) Horgan Con: Nacewa (3) Pen: Nacewa (3)

Ravenhill
Attendance: 11,426

1 January 2011
19:30

Munster	35 – 10	Ulster
Try: Hurley O'Donnell Murphy Mafi Con: Warwick (3) Pen: Warwick (3)	Report	Try: Anderson Con: Wallace Pen: Wallace

Thomond Park
Attendance: 22,000

7 January 2011
19:05

(1 BP) Ulster	32 – 13	Benetton Treviso
Try: Reidy Cave Scholes Olding Con: Humphreys Olding Pen: Humphreys (2)	Report	Try: Steyn Con: Hayward Pen: Hayward (2)

Ravenhill
Attendance: 6,651
Referee: Leighton Hodges

13 February 2011
17:10

Ospreys	23 – 22	Ulster
Try: Holah Pen: Biggar (6)	Report	Try: Penalty try Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys (2) Pienaar (3)

Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 5,802
Referee: Neil Patterson

18 February 2011
19:05

(1 BP) Scarlets	16 – 18	Ulster
Try: Penalty try Con: Priestland Pen: Priestland (2) Drop: Priestland	Report	Pen: Pienaar (6)

Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 5,463
Referee: Andy Macpherson

25 February 2011
19:05

Ulster	32 – 13	Cardiff Blues
Try: Gilroy Pienaar Trimble Marshall Con: Humphreys (3) Pen: Humphreys (2)	Report	Try: Fish Con: Sweeney Pen: Sweeney (2)

Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,383
Referee: James Jones

4 March 2011
19:05

Ulster	23 – 10	Aironi
Try: Court Gilroy Fitzpatrick Con: Pienaar Pen: Pienaar (2)	Report	Try: James Marshall Con: Bocchino Pen: Bocchino

Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,700

18 March 2010
19:05

Ulster	25 – 23	Newport Gwent Dragons (1 BP)
Try: Spence Seymour Cave Con: Pienaar (2) Pen: Pienaar Drop: Pienaar	Report	Try: Tovey Evans Brew Con: Hughes Pen: Jones Drop: Tovey

Ravenhill
Attendance: 7,661
Referee: James Jones

25 March 2011
20:05

(1 BP) Glasgow Warriors	19 – 22	Ulster
Try: Grant Con: Jackson Pen: Jackson (3) Weir	Report	Try: Pienaar Con: Pienaar Pen: Pienaar (5)

Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 2,715
Referee: David Jones

1 April 2011
19:05

Ulster	20 – 18	Scarlets (1 BP)
Try: Humphreys (2) Con: Pienaar (2) Pen: Pienaar (2)	Report	Try: Davies Shingler Con: Priestland Pen: Jones (2)

Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,646
Referee: Graham Knox

16 April 2011
20:00

Leinster	34 – 26	Ulster
Try: Strauss Fitzgerald Horgan (2) Van der Merwe Con: Sexton (3) Pen: Sexton	Report	Try: Wannenburg Gilroy Con: Pienaar (2) Pen: Humphreys (3) Pienaar

RDS Arena
Attendance: 17,670

22 April 2011
19:05

Ulster	27 – 16	Connacht
Try: Best D'Arcy Cave Con: Humphreys (3) Pen: Humphreys (2)	Report	Try: Cronin Con: Keatley Pen: Keatley (2) Drop: Keatley

Ravenhill
Attendance: 9,239

6 May 2011
19:05

Newport Gwent Dragons	13 – 20	Ulster
Try: Riley Con: Jones Pen: Jones Tovey	Report	Try: Spence (2) Wannenburg Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys

Rodney Parade
Attendance: 5,062

Semi-final[]

13 May 2011
19:05

Leinster	18 – 3	Ulster
Try: McFadden 25' m Fitzgerald 72' c Con: McFadden (1/1) Pen: Sexton (2/3) 5', 40'	Report	Pen: Pienaar (1/1) 62'

RDS Arena
Attendance: 14,476
Referee: George Clancy

Ulster Ravens[]

British and Irish Cup[]

Pool C[]

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TB	LB	Pts
Bedford Blues	5	5	0	0	164	66	98	18	3	0	23
Moseley	5	4	0	1	117	113	4	16	2	0	18
Neath	5	3	0	2	78	76	2	9	0	2	14
London Welsh	5	2	0	3	93	99	-6	14	1	2	11
Ulster Ravens	5	1	0	4	109	128	-19	13	1	2	7
Swansea	5	0	0	5	61	140	-79	7	0	2	2
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

16 October 2010
14:30

Swansea	12 – 32	Ulster Ravens
	Stats

St Helens
Attendance: 1,200

11 December 2010
15:00

Bedford Blues	36 – 22	Ulster Ravens
	Stats

Goldington Road
Attendance: 2,105

14 January 2011
19:00

Ulster Ravens	20 – 25	Neath
	Stats

Instonians RFC
Attendance: 400

22 January 2011
14:00

London Welsh	29 – 11	Ulster Ravens
	Stats

Old Deer Park
Attendance: 785

23 February 2011
14:00

Ulster Ravens	24 – 26	Moseley
	Stats

Ravenhill

Ulster Rugby Awards[]

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 10 May 2011 at the Culloden Hotel, Holywood. Winners were:^[14]

Heineken Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: Johann Muller
Bank of Ireland Ulster Player of the Year: Ruan Pienaar
Ulster Rugby Supporters Club Player of the Year: Johann Muller
Vodafone Young Ulster Player of the Year: Nevin Spence
Phoenix Gas Ulster Academy Player of the Year: Craig Gilroy
Belfast Telegraph Most Improved Ulster Player of the Year: Adam D'Arcy

Season reviews[]

"Review of Ulster's Season", Ulster Rugby, 1 June 2011

References[]

^ "Nacewa scoops IRUPA award", ESPN Scrum, 4 May 2011, archived 8 May 2011
^ "Jeremy Davidson To Leave Ulster", Ulster Rugby, 16 May 2011
^ "Rugby News | Rugby Results, Fixtures & Tables".
^ "Ulster Rugby : Ulster confirm signing of Pedrie Wannenburg". www.ulsterrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.
^ "Rugby News | Rugby Results, Fixtures & Tables".
^ "Ulster Rugby : Ulster confirm signing of Pedrie Wannenburg". www.ulsterrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.
^ "Leinster Rugby : Leinster announce squad for 2010/11..." www.leinsterrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.
^ "Leinster Rugby : Leinster announce squad for 2010/11..." www.leinsterrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.
^ "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union News, Live Rugby Scores, Results & Fixtures". www.planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16.
^ "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union Tournaments | Magners League | Pollock hangs up his boots". www.planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-26.
^ Appearances and scoring stats from ItsRugby.co.uk
^ "Ulster Rugby Academy", Ulster Rugby, archived 23 January 2011
^ Northampton forced to move Ulster tie to Milton Keynes – BBC Sport
^ Niall Crozier, "Boks bag top gongs at awards", Belfast Telegraph, 11 May 2011

[1] "Nacewa scoops IRUPA award", ESPN Scrum, 4 May 2011, archived 8 May 2011

[2] "Jeremy Davidson To Leave Ulster", Ulster Rugby, 16 May 2011

[3] "Rugby News | Rugby Results, Fixtures & Tables".

[4] "Ulster Rugby : Ulster confirm signing of Pedrie Wannenburg". www.ulsterrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.

[5] "Rugby News | Rugby Results, Fixtures & Tables".

[6] "Ulster Rugby : Ulster confirm signing of Pedrie Wannenburg". www.ulsterrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.

[7] "Leinster Rugby : Leinster announce squad for 2010/11..." www.leinsterrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.

[8] "Leinster Rugby : Leinster announce squad for 2010/11..." www.leinsterrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19.

[9] "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union News, Live Rugby Scores, Results & Fixtures". www.planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16.

[10] "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union Tournaments | Magners League | Pollock hangs up his boots". www.planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-26.

[11] Appearances and scoring stats from ItsRugby.co.uk

[12] "Ulster Rugby Academy", Ulster Rugby, archived 23 January 2011

[13] Northampton forced to move Ulster tie to Milton Keynes – BBC Sport

[14] Niall Crozier, "Boks bag top gongs at awards", Belfast Telegraph, 11 May 2011

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]