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 19 - 16 
Ulster win their final friendly
Ulster's won their final pre-season friendly against Leeds at Ravenhill in a closely fought match.
In their best performance so far out of the pre-season friendlies, Ulster started wel, opening the scoring with a try by DArren CAve, converted by Nial O'Connor.
Ulster's 2nd came after a run by fullback Adam D'Arcy, who passed for Tommy Seymour on the wing to score. It was unconverted.
Leeds got 2 penalties before half-time to make the score 12-6 at the break.
In the 2nd half, Ulster proved very strong, and dominated territorially. Attacking the Leeds line, and going through lots of phases, Ulster scored their 3rd try of the night by lock Pedrie Wannenburg which was again converted by O'Connor.
Leeds however wer not finished, and finished strongly scoring 2 tries by Warren Fury and James Tinknell, both unconverted.
Match Reaction
 24 - 0
Ulster's young team no match for Quins experience
Brian McLaughlin's decision to blood his young players may have been forced onto him to a certain extent, what with the Irish squad players being unavailable, and BJ missing in S Africe, but the grit that his young team showed bodes well for the future. Plenty of positives to take from this young team particularly amongst the backs with a number of Academy players included in the starting line-up .
Although disappointed with the result, most of the play was in Ulster's half, we broke out more in the second, and the aim of the game was always for BMcL to have a look at the squad. Several names stuck out; with David McIlwaine having a good outing at full-back and Craig Gilroy making an impression
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16 - 24
Bath not as friendly as Ulster
Ulster's first pre-season friendly against Bath at Ravenhill ends as a loss.
Despite an early breakaway try by Mark McCrea to put the home side ahead in the 19th minute, Ian Humphreys missed a couple of early Ulster penalties.
The lack of points and sustained pressure from a tidy Bath pack, allowed tries from Ross Batty and Matt Banahan coupled with Sam Vesty's conversions increased Bath's lead to 14-7 by half-time.
In the second period, Olly Barkley and Jack Cuthbert added further tries for Bath before new signing Pedrie Wannenburg's took a quick tap penalty to surprise the Bath defence for a late reply.
Ulster: 15 - Jamie Smith; 14 - Mark McCrea; 13 - Darren Cave; 12 - Ian Whitten; 11 - Tommy Seymour; 10 - Ian Humphreys; 9 - Paul Marshall; 1 - Bryan Young; 2 - Nigel Brady; 3 - Declan Fitzpatrick; 4 - Tim Barker; 5 - Johann Muller (Captain); 6 - Pedrie Wannenburg; 7 - Willie Faloon; 8 - Robbie Diack
Replacements: 16 - Andi Kyriacou; 17 - Paddy McAllister; 18 - Adam Macklin; 19 - Neil McComb; 20 - TJ Anderson; 21 - Ian Porter; 22 - Niall O'Connor; 23 - Nevin Spence
Match Thread
2010 - 11 Magners League Fixtures confirmed!
The first 12 Magners League Fixtures have been confirmed.
In September, Ulster's first match will be at home against the Ospreys on Fri 3rd with a 19:05 KO. New Italian team Aironi are next on the list away at the Stadio Zaffanella on Saturday 11th, giving travelling supporters plenty of time to get there, again with an evening KO.
Ulsters games are spread over Fridays, Saturdays and a Sunday, with the New Year day game against Munster on Jan 1st.
See the full list of games
Ulster's fixtures have been announced in the Heineken cup.
The fixtures for the heineken Cup including Ulster's have been announced today. Supporters are excited by the prospect of the good away visits on offer, but the 1st game is at home against new Italian team Aironi, followed by an away game in Biarritz.
Fri 8th October, 19.30, Ulster v Aironi (Ravenhill)
Sun 17th October, 16.00, Biarritz v Ulster (Parc des Sports Aguilera)
Sat 11th December, 13.35, Ulster v Bath (Ravenhill)
Sat 18th December, 13.35, Bath v Ulster (The Rec)
14/15/16 January, Ulster v Biarritz*
21/22/23 January, Aironi v Ulster*
*The dates and kick off times for Rounds 5 & 6 will be confirmed after the conclusion of Round 4
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Ulster's friendlies confirmed
Ulster's much talked about pre-season friendlies have been confirmed. 3 matches within 13 days take place between the 13th and 26th of August. The first game is at home against Bath at Ravenhill on Friday 13th August with a 7.30pm kick off. They then
travel to The Stoop to challenge Harlequins on Saturday 21st August at 2.30pm, before taking on Leeds Carnegie at Ravenhill on Thursday 26th August, kick off 7.30pm.
In a change from the norm supporters coming to the home friendlies will be able to take advantage of a food village with plenty of pre-match entertainment for all.
Tickets for Ulster v Bath and Ulster v Leeds will be available to purchase from 9am on Friday 23rd July priced at £15 (adults) and £10 (under 16s) for the Main Stand and £12 (adults) and £6 (under 16s) for the Promenade and Terrace. Pre-season friendlies are included in the 10/11 Season Ticket.
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Ulster have been drawn in Pool 4 in the Heineken cup.
Ulster have been drawn against BIARRITZ, BATH and italian new boys AIRONI in Group 4 of this years Heineken Cup.
Biarritz have been drawn as first seeds, and Bath will surely be out for revenge following last years defeats.
Most fans consider this a good group, with the best chance in years of getting through to the Quarter Finals. Equally though the anticipation of a few good away trips to famous Stadia across England, France and Italy should be good for morale.
This year's group of death looks like Pool 3, with Munster , Ospreys , London Irish & Toulon against each other, although Leinster won't have an easy ride up against Clermont , Saracens & Racing Metro in Pool 2.
All the groups are below:
Pool 1: Cardiff , Northampton , Edinburgh , Castres
Pool 2: Leinster , Clermont , Saracens , Racing Metro
Pool 3: Munster , Ospreys , London Irish , Toulon
Pool 4: Biarritz , Bath , Ulster , Aironi
Pool 5: Leicester , Scarlets , Perpignan , Treviso
Pool 6: Toulouse , Wasps , Glasgow , Dragons
The dates for each fixture have yet to be finalised but provisional dates for the tournament are below:
2010
Round 1 – 7/8/9/10 October
Round 2 – 14/15/16/17 October
Round 3 – 9/10/11/12 December
Round 4 – 16/17/18/19 December
2011
Round 5 – 13/14/15/16 January
Round 6 – 20/21/22/23 January
Quarter-finals – 8/9/10 April
Semi-finals – 29/30 April 1 May
Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup finals – 20/21/22 May
Forum Thread
41 - 10 
Ulster run riot over a season-worn Connacht
Ulster secured an 8th place finish to the season, as they once agin beat Connacht, in a six-try victory. The bonus point was secured, and tries by Simon Danielli and Ian Humphreys helped Ulster lead 12-10 at the break. Connacht got one back when Ronan Loughney took his chance.
Rory Best was carried off with an ankle injury which turned out to be ligament and muscle damage, which should heal quickly and in time for the Irish games this summer.
Andi Kyriacou, on for Best, Ian Whitten, Dan Tuohy and Jamie Smith added second-half tries as Connacht looked tired after their battle last week against Toulon..
The fans said GoodBye to Issac Boss and Timoci Nagusa who were given a rousing send-off by the Ulster faithful as they were introduced in the second half for last appearances in the White jersey. ollowing the match all the players wlaked around Ravenhill, and thanked the fans for their dedication throughout a difficult season.
Match Thread
V
Ulster team named for Connacht
Brian McLaughlin has named his starting XV, ahead of Ulster's final Magners League match, against Connacht, at Ravenhill.
There are 2 changes to the starting XV who beat Edinburgh last weekend. Chris Henry replaces Stephen Ferris (injured) as blind-side flanker, and in the backs, Ian Humphreys starts at out-half, with Niall O’Connor moved to the bench.
Ulster Coach Brian McLaughlin said: “We will be looking for a win first and foremost, that is the most important thing for us. We want to build on our performance against Edinburgh and achieve back to back wins to end the season on a high.
“We have all talked about our disappointment this season, mainly that after the Bath game, we didn’t kick-on and achieve what we are capable of. But, we did have a smashing performance last weekend and want a strong positive win at Ravenhill, on Friday, to end the season for both ourselves and our supporters.
“Connacht are coming here full of confidence and its Michael’s last game, so they will also be chasing the win. It will be a really tough game of rugby, and an exciting finale.”
In this final game, we can say "Cherrio" to Issac Boss, Ed O'Donoghue and timoci Nagusa, as they depart for other teams.
Ulster:
(15-9) Jamie Smith, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Simon Danielli, Ian Humphreys, Paul Marshall
(1-8) Tom Court, Rory Best (Capt), BJ Botha, Ed O’Donoghue, Dan Tuohy, Chris Henry, Willie Faloon, Robbie Diack
Replacements:
(16-22) Andi Kyriacou, Bryan Young, Ryan Caldwell, TJ Anderson, Isaac Boss, Niall O’Connor, Timoci Nagusa
Connacht:
G Duffy; B Tuohy, N Ta'auso, A Wynne, F Carr; I Keatley, F Murphy; R Loughney, S Cronin, J Hagan; M McCarthy, B Upton; J Muldoon (capt), M McComish, G Naoupu. Replacements: A Flavin, R Morris, A Browne, J O'Connor, C O'Loughlin, M Nikora, T Nathan.
Ref: Romain Poite (France)
Assistants: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Television match official: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Assessor: Jack Young (Ireland)
Forum Thread
 25 - 37
Ulster secure Euro-spot with emphatic away win
Ulster fought hard for this one. they knew that to stay in the Heineken Cup meant being the 3rd irish qualified team rather than Connaght. it brought the best, and occasionally the worst out in them.
A 5 try stormer gained us the bonus point required, although both teams made it difficult for themselves. Ulster played an inspired game, scoring a couple of lucky trys while down to fourteen men.
Ian Humphreys started the 2nd half and immediately staked his claim for starting 10. A flash of brilliance, and he put DAnielli through for the try.This was Ulster at their best.
Match Thread
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Johann Muller was unveiled to the press at Ulster Rugby today, and says he is looking forward to the coming season, and a chance to start playing again after breaking his arm while playing for the Natal Sharks. He hopes to be fully fit before the first pre-season outing against Bath at Ravenhill.
Also there was finally some confirmation that Ruan Piennar has signed, although exact details of his release date are not yet confirmed.
In the article on UR.com, it mentions that Johann will be joining fellow Saffer team mates;
"he joins fellow South Africans BJ Botha and Robbie Diack in the Ulster Squad. And with Pedrie Wannenburg due to arrive in Belfast within the week and Ruan Piennar signed, though exact details of his release date not confirmed, Muller will form part of quite a contingent of South Africans in the Ulster Squad this season."
A good sign that almost all the team plans of Ulster are sliding into place for next season.
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Ulster Rugby have announced the signing of South African International Pedrie Wannenburg on a two year deal.
Wannenburg is 29 years old and stands at 6ft 5in and 18 ½ Stone, is a big, versatile, back-row forward, who has played in the second-row, at number 8 and wing forward. Wannenburg made his debut for the Blue Bulls in 2001 against the Golden Lions, stepping up to Super 12 level in 2002.
Wannenburg made his Springbok Test debut against France in November 2002 and has accumulated 20 Springbok caps to date.
Commenting on his move to Ulster, Wannenburg said:
“It was not an easy decision after almost a decade with the team and the Bulls family.
“But it is also a good time to move on. The Heineken Cup will be a new challenge and I am looking forward to that. I have heard many good things about Ulster and I am keen to contribute to them, as I still have a lot to offer”.
He will join other Springbok signings Johann Muller, with whom he went to school, Ruan Pienaar and of course BJ Botha at Ulster.
This signing completes Ulster’s impressive quota of non-irish qualified players for the coming season.
Commenting from Ulster Rugby, Director of Rugby Operations, David Humphreys said:
"Ulster Rugby is looking forward to welcoming Pedrie, another world class South African forward, to Belfast adding the final piece to the Ulster squad for the 2010-11 season.
"A lot has been spoken about the potential of this current Ulster squad and we are committed to signing the highest quality players who, like Pedrie, through their winning mentality have the ability to improve our performances on the pitch and take Ulster Rugby back to the highest level. I have no doubt Pedrie will be an enormous asset to Ulster. Ulster Rugby would like to thank the Blue Bulls for affording Pedrie the opportunity to continue his rugby career with Ulster.”
Ulster Rugby have also ended speculation and confirmed that Xavier Rush is not joining the club next season. Rush who had originally signed a two-year deal in February to play for Ulster recently changed his mind and reneged on the deal wanting to remain in Cardiff.
Match Thread
SS Moores unveil New shirts
New Ulster team shirts have been revealed on the SS Moores website. There are new designs for the Home, Away, European Cup, and Training kit although the prices are still a mouth smacking 55 quid for an adult poly cotton or kohilo shirt while the replica 'plaing' jersey weighs in at £80. The home design is the traditional white, with red hand and a new 'slash' across the front. The away shirt is a "Munster" red (no slash) and the European Cup strip is the sky blue used on the 'limited edition' Supporters polo shirts from last season's Edinburgh game.
Have a look here
Supporters Blog
Follow the trials and salubriations of one fans efforts to follow the team through Thick 'n Thin, as he catches the Big Yellow Bus all the way to Galway... or...erm... not... as the case may be.
Read on...
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