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Magners League

V

Ulster team for Connacht

Matt Williams has named his side to take on Connacht at Ravenhill Friday 11th April.

2 changes mean Justin Fitzpatrick and Carlo Del Fava start with Bryan Young and Ryan Caldwell named on the bench.

Williams said, "Connacht are a very smart team and will play every break down, they are in front of the kicker at every re start and will try to take every inch of advantage. We need the referee to give us a fair go; we need the breakdown and off side laws to be really refereed"

Ulster Rugby Team Sponsor Bank of Ireland recognise the importance of this game and the impact that the 16th man can on the team and will be giving the world famous Ravenhill Roar a boost tomorrow night by handing out over two thousand "Mega Phones" at the gate.


Ulster:B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, M Bartholomeusz; N O'Connor, I Boss; (1-8) J Fitzpatrick, R Best (Capt), T Court, J Harrison, C Del Fava, M McCullough, K Dawson, S Ferris

Replacements: N Brady, B Young, R Caldwell, N Best, P Marshall, R Dewey, M McCrea

Magners League

32 - 7

Ulster defeated 32 - 7 at the Liberty Stadium...

Niall O’Connor missed an early attempt at goal from just inside the Ospreys half in the opening few minutes of this game at the Liberty Stadium, but Ulster started strongly, and enjoyed all the pressure in the opening minutes of the game. Matt Williams’ side will have been disappointed not to have made their dominence in the early stages count after an assault on the Ospreys line, and instead, again the run of play it was the Welsh region that stated the scoreboard ticking over after 13 minutes when James Hook kicked three penalty points. Ospreys 3 – 0 Ulster

Match Report

Magners League

42 - 6

Munster too strong for Ulster

Ulster looked like a team ready to take Munster on in the first half. Despite going in at half-time 2 tries down, the Ulstermen deserved better. However in the 2nd it was all one-way traffic, and Munster's class shone through. Ulster gave easy scores away, and Munster ran through the wide gaps in the defense. It was not all bad news though as Niall O'Conor, Paul Marshall and David pollock made their mark. Ryan Caldwell, and particularly Rory Best tackled hard throughout, also carrying the ball forward despite hard tackling from Munster.

Ulster's lineouts and set-pieces let them down and were directly the cause for a couple of Munster tries. Some poor indiscipline by Tom Court (who had played well until then) meant that he had to spend 10 minutes in the sinbin.

In the centre Paddy Wallace and Andrew Trimble combined to look dangerous, and a possible partnership here may flouish with more time together. Tommy Bowe, Mark McCrea, and Bryn Cunningham also had reasonable games, so all is not lost. Substitute Dewey made a great hit on Howlett towards the end and looks hungry, with only Neil Best and perhaps Justin Harrison needing to do some work to keep their place in the starting lineup for the visit to The Ospreys next week, although Harrison was a last-minute replacement.

Match Report

Magners League

V

Ulster team announced

Matt Williams has named his team to take on Munster in Cork on Saturday evening.
There are 8 changes to the starting fifteen that defeated the Scarlets at Ravenhill in February.
Tommy Bowe, Andrew Trimble and Paddy Wallace return from Ireland duties to start in the backs. Bryn Cunningham returns to full back with Mark Bartholomeusz on the left wing. Paul Marshall starts at scrum half and Rob Dewey returns from injury and is named on the bench.

Justin Fitzpatrick, Rory Best and Tom Court make up the front row. Carlo Del Fava partners Ryan Caldwell in the second row with Justin Harrison on the bench. The back row sees two changes with Neil Best starting and David Pollock alongside Stephen Ferris.

Ulster: B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, M Bartholomeusz, N O'Connor, P Marshall; J Fitzpatrick, R Best (Capt), T Court, R Caldwell, C Del Fava, N Best, D Pollock, S Ferris
Replacements N Brady, B Young, J Harrison, M McCullough, I Boss, R Dewey, M McCrea

Munster: D Hurley; D Howlett, K Lewis, L Mafi, I Dowling; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; M Horan, J Flannery, T Buckley; M O'Driscoll, P O'Connell capt; A Quinlan, N Ronan, A Foley.
Replacements: F Sheahan, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, D Ryan, J Coughlan, P Stringer, P Warwick

Read more

Magners League

20 - 8

Ulster leap ahead

A solid game by Ulster in atrocious weather showed they mean business to the rest of the Magners league with their 2nd win in a row.

Ulster led at half-time 5 - 3, from a try by Issac boss.Scarlets rallied but after a long period, Ulster's possession began to tell, with McCullough and Neil best killing off the Scarlets efforts.

Ulster showed their dominance at a packed fortress Ravenhill, and the crowd reacted well.

Match Report

	Ulster Rugby News
Ryan Caldwell signs a 2 year deal Ulster Rugby has this morning confirmed that Ryan Caldwell has agreed a new two year deal with the club The second row, who was last week named in the I.R.F.U.'s High Performance Select Group, joins captain Rory Best and young Niall O'Connor in committing to the club for the next two seasons as Matt Williams builds his squad for next year. The Ulster Coach, who is currently tying up his affairs in Australia, but who is in daily contact with the Ulster Squad and Management commented; "This is a great boost for Ulster Rugby. Ryan has been earmarked for great things since he was a school-boy and has progressed through the age-grade set-ups to a regular place with Ulster and recognition at Ireland A level. His inclusion in the High Performance Select Group will provide him with further opportunities to improve his skills, and be involved with the national squad and I've no doubt that he will be part of Eddie O'Sullivan's vision going forward."

	Ulster Rugby News
Mark McCrea signs contract Ulster Rugby today confirmed that Mark McCrea has signed a professional contract which will keep him at Ravenhill until June 2009. The 20 year old winger who has been part of the Ulster Rugby Academy for just over a year began training with the senior Ulster team during the summer and has so far earned himself six Ulster Caps including five starts for his province. McCrea has represented Ulster and Irish Schools as well as Ulster U19s. Mark is delighted to have secured his future at Ravenhill, "I am really happy that I have signed a professional contract, this season has been good for me personally but obviously not so good for us as a team" he continued to say "I have learnt a lot in the last 6 months and it is great to be able to turn to Bryn Cunningham, David Humphreys and Paul Steinmetz for advice, they are so easy to talk to and have helped me a lot. My only goal at the minute is to get more Ulster Caps" Ulster Rugby also confirmed this morning that fly half Kieran Hallett has extended his development contract until the end of the current season from ulsterrugby.com

	Ulster Rugby News
Matt Williams for Ulster After much speculation and conjecture, Ulster Rugby has confirmed today that Matt Williams has been appointed as the club's Head Coach on a two and a half year contract. Williams succeeds Mark McCall who resigned from the position in November folowing Ulster's heavy defeat to Gloucester in the Heineken Cup. Williams accepted the job on Sunday morning, having been given the festive period to consider the offer following interview before the Christmas break, and Chief Executive Michael Reid informed the management team and the players immediately at a squad meeting at Newforge ahead of training. Williams is expected to arrive in Belfast for a short visit later this week when it is anticipated that he will meet some players, hold a press conference with local media and watch Ulster in action against Munster in the Magners League at Ravenhill on Friday night, before returning to Australia to tie up some of his affairs. Caretaker Coach Steve Williams will remain in charge of team affairs for Ulster's next three matches - against Munster in the Magners League and the back-to-back Heineken Cup matches against Bourgoin and Gloucester - before Matt Williams arrives permanently in the province at the end of January. After the Heineken Cup match against Gloucester on the 20th January, Ulster do not have another game until they entertain the Dragons at Ravenhill in mid-February, and the natural break in fixtures will provide Williams with an ideal opportunity to settle in. from ulsterrugby.com

Niall O'Connor signs for Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby today confirmed that Niall O'Connor has signed a professional contract which will keep him at Ravenhill until June 2009. The 20 year old fly half who has been part of the Ulster Rugby Academy for just over a year began training with the senior Ulster team during the summer and has so far earned himself six Ulster Caps including four starts for his province. Educated at Limavady Grammar Niall who plays his club rugby for Belfast Harlequins has been on the Ulster Rugby radar for some time now having represented Ulster Schools, Ulster U19 and Ireland U19. Niall was part of the Irish U19 squad that won the 2006 U19 Six Nations Trophy.

Grant Webb joins Ulster Ulster Rugby’s latest signing Grant Webb arrived in the province on Tuesday night and was straight into training on Wednesday with the rest of the Ulster squad. “I had been looking to move into Europe for quite some time so when the opportunity presented itself it was an easy decision, I’ve hit the ground running as I started training the morning after I arrived, everyone has been very welcoming-Paul Steinmez has been showing me around.” Webb will provide much needed cover in the back row following injuries to two of Ulster’s biggest hitters, Roger Wilson and Stephen Ferris who are both expected to return to rugby in 4-6 weeks. The 28 year old has a wide range of experience having played Super 14 and NPC rugby in New Zealand with Otago Highlanders and Hawks Bay. Webb has also represented New Zealand at Sevens level and spent a season in the Japanese league playing for Toyota.

Latest News

Ulster fan awarded libel damages Ulster rugby fan Patrick Bamford, who was attacked by ex-Irish international Trevor Brennan has been awarded damages for libel at the High Court in Belfast. Bamford, 26, sued the Guardian newspaper over its reporting of the incident at the match between Toulouse and Ulster last January. The paper also published an apology which stated that Mr Bamford was an innocent spectator. Mr Bamford's solicitor said his client had been "totally vindicated". "He was a totally innocent victim of an unprovoked assault," he added. Read Opinions here

Magners League

V

Team named for Scarlets

Matt Williams has today named his starting line up to take on the Scarlets on Friday night. Rory Best starts as Captain for his province, Mark Bartholomeusz starts at full back, McCrea and Danielli on the wing, Paddy Wallace starts in the centre alongside Paul Steinmetz, Isaac Boss is in at 9, Niall O’Connor named at fly half. Matt McCullough edges out Neil Best for the number six jersey, Ryan Caldwell and Justin Harrison in at 2nd row, with Tom Court and Bryan Young at prop.

Ulster: M Bartholomeusz; S Danielli, P Steinmetz, P Wallace, McCrea, N O'Connor, I Boss; B Young, R Best (Capt), T Court, J Harrison, R Caldwell, M McCullough, K Dawson, S Ferris
Replacements: N Brady, J Fitzpatrick, C Del Fava, N Best, P Marshall, D Cave, B Cunningham

	Six Nations
V Ireland resurgence continues Tommy Bowe's brace of tries was the pinnacle of a splendid performance by the Irishmen. Despite a strong start by Scotland, Ireland maintained their defence, and against the run of play scored 2 easy tries to push Scotland onto the back foot. The Scots couldn't maintain their epic start, and ireland strode away in the 2nd half with great hand work, and excellent running lines from the backs. At the death, the Irish won comfortably, with the Scots not producing a performance which most thought they had in them. Read more from BBC

Magners League

38 - 13

Ulster Renaissance

New coach Matt Willaims saw his Ulster team cruise to a 6-try victory over a Dragons side, who tried hard to score, but were snuffed out every way they turned.

A rejuvenated Ulster played with an awe-inspiring, They played for the full 9- minutes with an upfront display by the forwards, which provided Man of the Match Niall O'Connor with lots of go-forward ball, enabling him to command the back-line and force opportunities to which the Ulster players responded.

Match Report

Magners League

V

Ulster team to play Dragons

New Ulster Coach Matt Williams has named his first side to take on the Dragons at Ravenhill this Friday.

Stephen Ferris returns from injury, and Ulster welcome back three Internationals from the 6 Nations; Simon Danielli partners Mark McCrea on the wing, Tommy Bowe moves into the centre alongside Paul Steinmetz and Neil Best is back at 6. Niall O’Connor starts at fly-half.

Ulster: M Bartholomeusz; M McCrea, T Bowe, P Steinmetz, S Danielli; N O’Connor, I Boss(Capt); (1-8) B Young, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, R Caldwell, J Harrison, N Best, K Dawson, S Ferris

Replacements:R Best, J Fitzpatrick, C Del Fava, M McCullough, P Marshall, P Wallace, B Cunningham

	Six Nations
V Ireland fightback falls just short Vincent Clerc's first-half hat-trick of tries gave France enough daylight to win at the Stade de France despite Ireland's stirring fightback. Read more from BBC Video Highlights

16 - 11

Same old Ireland... worse result than last time

	Six Nations
V Ireland name team against Italy Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has kept changes to a minimum for Saturday's RBS 6 Nations clash with Italy at Croke Park. Outside of players lost to suspension, injury and retirement, O'Sullivan has remained loyal to the side thumped 30-15 by Argentina in the final pool match of the World Cup. There are 11 survivors from the September rout at Parc des Princes - Ireland's last match. The back row remains intact with in-form Leinster number eight Jamie Heaslip having to settle for a place on the bench. Simon Easterby continues in the number six jersey and will pack down alongside Denis Leamy and openside David Wallace. Ulster hooker Rory Best has been preferred ahead of Bernard Jackman, who is included among the substitutes, while Geordan Murphy and Andrew Trimble start on the wings. Wasps' Eoin Reddan continues at scrum-half with Munster veteran Peter Stringer confined to bench duty once again. Skipper Brian O'Driscoll and prop John Hayes will win their 80th caps at Croke Park on Saturday. Ireland: G Dempsey (Leinster); A Trimble (Ulster), O'Driscoll (Leinster, captain), G D'Arcy (Leinster), G Murphy (Leicester); R O'Gara (Munster), E Reddan (Wasps); M Horan (Munster), R Best (Ulster), J Hayes (Munster), D O'Callaghan (Munster), M O'Kelly (Leinster), S Easterby (Llanelli), D Wallace (Munster), D Leamy (Munster). Replacements: B Jackman (Leinster), T Buckley (Munster), M O'Driscoll (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster), P Stringer (Munster), P Wallace (Ulster), R Kearney (Leinster). Italy: D Bortolussi (Montpellier); K Robertson (Viadana), G Canale (Clermont-Auvergne), M Bergamasco (Stade Francais), P Canavosio (Castres); A Masi (Biarritz), P Travagli (Overmach Parma); A Lo Cicero (Racing-Metro), L Ghiraldini (Calvisano), M Castrogiovanni (Leicester), S Dellape (Biarritz), CA Del Fava (Ulster), J Sole (Viadana), M Bergamasco (Stade Francais), S Parisse (Stade Francais, capt). Replacements: C Festuccia (Racing-Metro), S Perugini (Stade Toulousain), C Nieto (Gloucester), T Reato (Rovigo), A Zanni (Calvisano), A Marcato (Treviso), E Galon (Overmach Parma).   Read more

	Heineken Cup
29 - 21 Clinical Ulster push Gloucester close Despite going down 29-21 Ulster have every right to be proud of a much imrpoved performance where they illustrated a clinical edge that has not been seen to date this season. Things looked ominous early on when Tindall broke a weak challenge from Grant Webb to surge into the '22 and offloading to Quera who scored beside the posts. Not to be overawed by an inauspicious start Ulster roared back into action and a scything fringe break by the much improved Boss saw him dash through the midfield before throwing a delightful 15 metres pass to Bowe who didn't break stride and scored in the corner. Wallace converted in what would prove to be a rare highlight in a disappointing day with the boot for him. Match Report

	Heineken Cup
V Team named for Glaws Skipper Rory Best makes a shock return to Ulster's line-up ahead of Sunday's final Heineken Cup game against Pool 2 favourites Gloucester at Kingsholm. Despite only winning for the third time this season in defeating Bourgoin last week, Williams completely changes his side. The changes look to have the hand of new Head Coach Matt Williams behind it. The fact that so many players have been changed from last week depite playing well, indicates that they will be watched from afar, to see who is willing to play for their future at Ulster. As well as Best, Bryan Young returns at loose-head with Justin Fitzpatrick omitted completely while Justin Harrison replaces Carlo Del Fava at lock. Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble are the only two backs remaining in their positions from last week with Mark Bartholomeusz, Mark McCrea, Paul Steinmetz and half-backs Paddy Wallace and Isaac Boss all recalled. Ulster: M Bartholomeusz; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, M McCrea; P Wallace, I Boss; B Young, R Best, capt, D Fitzpatrick, J Harrison, R Caldwell, M McCullough, N Best, G Webb. Replacements: N Brady, T Court, C Del Fava, N McMillan, K Campbell, N O'Connor, S Mallon. Gloucester: Iain Balshaw; James Simpson-Daniel, Mike Tindall, Anthony Allen, Lesley Vainikolo, Chris Paterson, Rory Lawson, Nick Wood, Olivier Azam, Carlos Nieto, Peter Buxton, Marco Bortolami (capt), Alasdair Strokosch, Akapusi Qera, Gareth Delve. Replacements: Andy Titterrell, Christian Califano, Will James, Luke Narraway, Gareth Cooper, Ryan Lamb, Willie Walker. Read more

Heineken Cup

25 - 24

Psychologically sound

3 trys to 4, and a vital Ulster win to get the wheels back on the wagon. Ulster came out in the 2nd and remained positive. A great win to show Matt Willaims how much the boys in white care and play for the shirt.

This win meant something for the fans to talk about. Ulster can be proud of their performance, A win is something to hold on to, and in our hour of need, we are happy to take it.

Steve Williams can feel pleased with himself. Maybe only a caretaker but he edged them in the right direction at half-time, and the Ulster players responded. Marshall will be the hero of the hour, and did well, surronded by his time-worn experienced teammates, the whole XV played for the red hand.

Match Report

Heineken Cup

V

Ulster team v CSBJ

Caretaker Coach Steve Williams today announced his team to take on Bourgoin at Ravenhill on Friday night He has not made any changes to the side that was named against Munster last week.

David Humphrey's returns to the starting line up with Paul Marshall gaining his second start of the season at scrum half, Isaac Boss is named on the bench. Paddy Wallace and Andrew Trimble make up the centre partnership with Niall O'Connor and Mark McCrea named as cover.

Nigel Brady is named as hooker with Justin Fitzpatrick and Declan Fitzpatrick as props. Captain Carlo Del Fava is joined in the second row by Ryan Caldwell with Matt McCullough named at 6 and new Ulster signing Grant Webb handed his first start at 8 for his new club.

Ulster: (15-9) B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, S Danielli; D Humphreys, P Marshall; (1-8) J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, C Del Fava(Capt), R Caldwell, M McCullough, N Best, G Webb

Replacements: (16-22) B Young, S Philpott, J Harrison, D Pollock, M McCrea, I Boss, N O'Connor

Magners League

V

Ulster v Munster Match Postponed

Ulster’s Magners League match v Munster scheduled to be played at Ravenhill (7.30pm) has been called off due to weather conditions…

With the Munster team already in Belfast having travelled from Cork yesterday it had been hoped that the game would be able to go ahead as planned but both a pitch and a health & safety inspection were taken into account when making the final decision to postpone the match following heavy snow-fall.

The pitch has been under approx 4 inches of snow all day although there was no frost on the ground underneath, however, the safety of the some 12,000 ticket-holders was the main consideration in deciding to re-arrange the fixture.

With supporters travelling from all over the province for the match and treacherous conditions on the roads, not to mention within the ground it was felt that it would be impossible to proceed, moving some 12,000 in and out safely.Unfortunately the decision may have come too late for any Munster supporters travelling from Cork or Limerick.

The match will now be re-scheduled by Celtic Rugby, the body that is responsible for running the Magners League tournament.

Ticket holders are advised to hold on to their tickets, which will be valid for the new date and to ensure that they are not lost as we will be unable to re-issue them.

If the re-arranged date is unsuitable, supporters will be issued with a refund - further details to follow next week and please note, refunds will not be available until advised.

Magners League

V

Ulster team to play Munster

Williams has made several changes to the side that were defeated in Dublin on Boxing Day and has named Italian International Carlo Del Fava as Captain of the side.

David Humphreys returns to the starting line up at fly half with Paul Marshall gaining his second start of the season at scrum half, Isaac Boss is named on the bench. Paddy Wallace and Andrew Trimble make up the centre partnership with Niall O'Connor and Mark McCrea named as cover on the bench.

In the front row Nigel Brady is named as hooker with Justin Fitzpatrick and Declan Fitzpatrick as props. Captain Carlo Del Fava is joined in the second row by Ryan Caldwell with Matt McCullough named at 6 and new Ulster signing Grant Webb handed his first start at 8

Ulster Team: (15-9) B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, S Danielli; D Humphreys, P Marshall; (1-8) J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, C Del Fava(Capt), R Caldwell, M McCullough, N Best, G Webb

Replacements: (16-22) B Young, S Philpott, J Harrison, D Pollock, M McCrea, I Boss, N O'Connor

Happy New Year from The UAFC Fan's forum is back and bigger and better than ever. More features, and functionality, we hope the changes prove to make your experience all the better. If you're not yet registered, then sign up to join in the craic, and get the opportunity to take part in exclusive competitions only available to members. Once again, thanks for all your patience, support and kind words, and all of us who contribute on the UAFC wish you all the best of luck and a Happy New Year - particularly to the boys of Ulster Rugby. The UAFC team

Magners League

29 - 0

Shambolic Ulster left to Rue St. Stephens stuffing.

Tries for Cain Healy and Jamie Heaslip coupled with a perfect return from the boot of Contipomi left Ulster fans to ask, not for the first time this season, what went wrong.

Leinster without stars Whitaker, O’Driscoll and Horgan started well, their pack putting Ulster under severe pressure. To Ulster’s credit they stood the test and despite some tough calls managed to only concede a penalty which Contepomi slotted with ease.

Ulster looked like they might catch a break when Le Roux went of injured and was replaced by Cain Healy. Any hopes of an easier run were to be dashed as the festively plump Justin Fitzpatrick looked like he could have followed Le Roux to the dugout.

Read more

Magners League

V

Ulster team named for Inter-Pro

6 changes in total from the team beaten by the ospreys last week. Paddy Wallace and Isaac Boss return to the starting line up with Niall O’Connor and Kieran Campbell dropping out of the squad entirely.  David Humphreys and Paul Marshall are named as half back cover on the bench.

Justin Fitzpatrick returns to the starting line up as Bryan Young drops to the bench. Kiwi loan Grant Webb is named on the bench, after doing well in training since arriving in the province on Tuesday.

Leinster squad: J Gomez, C Healy, O le Roux, B Blaney, B Jackman, S Knoop, S Wright, L Cullen, C Jowitt, M O'Kelly, K Gleeson, S Jennings, S Keogh, J Heaslip, C Keane, C Willis, G Easterby, F Contepomi, J Sexton, C Warner, G D'Arcy, B O'Driscoll, G Brown, L Fitzgerald, R Kearney, G Dempsey.

Ulster: B Cunningham, T Bowe, A Trimble, R Dewey, S Danielli, P Wallace, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, R Best (cpt), D Fitzpatrick, J Harrison, R Caldwell, N Best, K Dawson, M McCullough.
Replacements: B Young, N Brady, C Del Fava, G Webb, D Pollock, P Marshall, D Humphreys.

Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU)

Heineken Cup

8 - 16

A valiant effort shows Ulster on the mend

Ulster played like they were supposed to. They took the game to the Ospreys, and showed what it means to play for the shirt. Ulster pressureised until the end, and if it wasn't for some indiscipline, they could have made the killer blow and beaten the Ispreys shoring up the ramparts of fortress ravenhill.

The crowd played their part, turning out in numbers (Att: 12,000) and cheering the team on. They could be heard all round the park.

Ulster captain Rory Best led by example and won the Man of the Match award from an idolising Tyrone Howe.

The game definately showed an Ulster side on the mend, and they looked determined to make up for last weeks defeat.

Read more

UAFC News

UAFC technical problems Due to a security breach of the servers with the FASTHOSTS web company, the UAFC messageboard has had it's database passwords changed to prevent unauthorised access to the data held within the database. We apologise for any inconvenience, we have made several changes to allow full functionality back on the messageboard but some minor problems persist. We are doing all we can to remedy the situation. Thank you for your patience and your support. The UAFC team

Heineken Cup V Ulster team announced Acting Ulster coach Steve Williams has reacted to the defeat by the Ospreys by making six changes for Friday's return Heineken Cup match with the Welsh side. Niall O'Connor, Kieran Campbell, Rob Dewey, Kieron Dawson, Ryan Caldwell and Declan Fitzpatrick are in while Paddy Wallace, Isaac Boss, Paul Steinmetz, David Pollock, Carlo Del Fava and Justin Fitzpatrick drop out. Ulster: (15-9) B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, R Dewey, S Danielli; N O’Connor, K Campbell;(1-8) B Young, R Best (Capt), D Fitzpatrick, J Harrison, R Caldwell, N Best, K Dawson, M McCullough Replacements: T Court, M Miles, C Del Fava, D Pollock, I Boss, P Wallace, M McCrea Ospreys: Lee Byrne, Nikki Walker, Mark Taylor, Sonny Parker, Shane Williams, James Hook, Justin Marshall; (8-1) Filo Tiatia (Capt) ,Marty Holah, Jonathan Thomas, Ian Evans, Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Jones, Huw Bennett, Duncan Jones. Replacements: Richard Hibbard, Paul James, Ian Gough, Hale T-Pole, Mike Phillips, Shaun Connor, Andrew Bishop Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland).

Heineken Cup 48 - 17 OSome ospreys blow Ulster away The Ospreys keep in touch with Gloucester with a 6-try blitz of an outgunned Ulster team. Ulster started with a relatively charged opening few minutes only for two consecutively poor kicks from Wallace putting them under severe pressure. The second countered by the impressive Hook led to a score in the corner from Sonny Parker, Hook missed the conversion. From the kick off the Ospreys played at a high tempo and moved the ball out of their ’22 well with Shane Williams jinking past a despairing attempted tackle from the flat-footed Young, Williams made an excellent 60m break only to knock the ball forward and the move fizzled out for the O’s. Read more

Heineken Cup V Ulster team v Ospreys Bryn Cunningham and Justin Harrison return to the starting 15 that will travel to Wales to take on the Ospreys in the Heineken Cup. Paul Steinmetz returns to the starting line up with Rob Dewey named as cover on the bench. Matt McCullough is moved to Number 8, Carlo Del Fava will partner Justin Harrison in the second row Ulster: (15-9) B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, S Danielli; P Wallace, I Boss; (1-8) J Fitzpatrick, R Best (Capt), B Young, J Harrison, C Del Fava, N Best, D Pollock, M McCullough Replacements: (16-22) D Fitzpatrick, M Miles, R Caldwell, K Dawson, K Campbell, N O'Connor, R Dewey

Magners League

14 - 20

Ulster go down at Ravenhill

In what was meant to be a consolidating comeback for the Belfast boys, turned into a whimper, as edinburgh held onto a scrappy game and beat Ulster as they held all the possession.

Match report

Magners League

13 - 30

Ulster show their class (eventually)

A slow start for Ulster and the game looked like a typical performance for the two teams at the bottom of the tabel. however, after half-time,

Ulster came out rejuvenated, and took the game all the way to galway. A final score of 13-30 looks better than it was, but the team can take heart, and it's as good a way as any to prove that they can indeed play the winning way.

Match report

Magners League

V

Ulster team for Connacht announced

Ulster Caretaker Coach Steve Williams has today named his team to travel to Galway for Friday night's game against Connacht at the Sportsground.

Williams has kept the faith with the same 22 that played against Bourgoin on Friday night and despite a bruising battle in France there have been no real injury concerns this week.

Ulster:
(15-9) M Bartholomeusz; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, S Danielli; P Wallace, I Boss; (1-8) J Fitzpatrick, R Best (Capt), B Young, M McCullough, C Del Fava, N Best, K Dawson, R Wilson

Replacements:
(16-22) N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, R Caldwell, D Pollock, K Campbell, N O'Connor, R Dewey

Connacht: G Duffy; A Wynne, D Riordan, M Deane, O Treviranus; T Donnelly, C McPhillips; B Wilkinson, A Flavin, R Morris; M Swift, A Farley (cpt); M McCarthy, J O'Connor, J Muldoon.
Replacements: J Merrigan, R Loughney, A Browne, R Ofisa, C O'Loughlin, A Dunne, D Yapp

Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU). Touch Judges: Peter Fitzgibbon (IRFU), P Roche (IRFU). TMO: David McHugh (IRFU)

Heineken Cup

24 - 17

Ulster fought hard but lost

A 1st half to be proud of, as Ulster score two tries through the brilliance of Paddy Wallace, and the determination of the backs and forwards taking the game to the French.

Unfortunately in the 2nd, Bourgoin dominated the scrum and lineout, providing the base for a fightback that had Ulster reeling. Ulster couldn't maintain their pressure, and Bourgoin took the lead, and didn't look back. Ulster didn't score.

A good effort, the lads played for the shirt, but Ulster's season looks to be over. Time to start rebuilding for 2008.

Match report

Heineken Cup

V

Ulster team for Bourgoin announced

Acting Head Coach Steve Williams has named his team to take on Bourgoin at Stade Pierre Rajon on Friday.

The side sees several changes from the team that lost to Gloucester last Friday night.

Paul Steinmtez is named at inside centre, Simon Danielli replaces Mark McCrea on the left wing. Mark Bartholomeusz replaces Bryn Cunningham at full back, and Matt McCullough returns to partner former Bourgoin player Carlo Del Fava. Kieron Dawson also returns to the startling line up.

Ulster: (15-9) M Bartholomeusz; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Steinmetz, S Danielli; P Wallace, I Boss; (1-8) J Fitzpatrick, R Best (Capt), B Young, M McCullough, C Del Fava, N Best, K Dawson, R Wilson

Replacements: (16-22) N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, R Caldwell, D Pollock, K Campbell, N O’Connor, R Dewey

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