Hounds of Ulster

[WOLF]

The Hounds of Ulster were officially formed on the 11th January 2003 when a group of friends with a common love of Ulster Rugby got together for a weekend to watch Ulster play Cardiff in the Heineken Cup at the old Cardiff Arms Park. The match resulted in a famous away victory with Ulster beating Cardiff 33 – 21. Some of the Hounds became so excited with the result that they charged the pitched and emphatically hugged some of the Ulster players to their shock!

The Hounds original consisted of a group of Northern Irish students from Bangor, Belfast and Coleraine who played rugby together at Napier University, Edinburgh with further members made up of friends and family also with an unhealthy obsession for Ulster Rugby.

Following the first successful gathering it was collectively decided to get together at least once a year to travel to an away match to support Ulster in the Heineken Cup and Celtic League. This resulted in many "joyous" occasions spent together during trips to Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Scottish Borders, Leicester, Gloucester, Northampton, London, Cardiff, Toulouse, and not forgetting Treviso (as much as we've tried) to name but a few!

The Hounds have been present at many famous Ulster victories including the Celtic Cup Final against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in 2003 and The Celtic League victory against The Ospreys at Liberty Stadium in 2006. Prior to the formation of the Hounds many of the members also saw Ulster famously lift the Heineken Cup at Lansdowne Road in January ’99. More recently the Hounds attended the famous Heineken Cup quarter final victory against Munster at Thomond Park, the semi-final against Edinburgh and the final against Leinster.

Undoubtedly the most famous Hounds Trip was in January 2006 when around 25 Hounds toured to Treviso for the Heineken Cup group match. Hounds polo shirts were worn with each shirt having a letter on the back to spell out ‘STAND UP FOR THE ULSTERMEN’. Unfortunately some of the Hounds went A.W.O.L and they only managed to spell ‘STND UP FOR THE ULTERMEN’! Spirits were very high that weekend with the Hounds singing and dancing non-stop for 80 minutes during the game. Some Ulster players even commented afterwards that they couldn’t believe the sights and sounds coming from the stands. Coach at the time Mark McCall went on to say that it was the best atmosphere at an Ulster match since ’99!

It has been stated that the Hounds have slipped by the way side over recent years with reduced touring numbers due to deaths (well near deaths), births and marriages. Fortunately we now have an opportunity to redeem ourselves as the Heineken Cup match against Glasgow at Ravenhill on the 11th January 2013 marks exactly ten years to the day since the first gathering, and it will be the first official gathering of the Hounds at Ravenhill!

To mark this momentous occasion and to relive some of the special tour moments they’ve shared together, a pack of 20 Hounds are meeting at The Errigle Inn on Friday before attending the match, and will be providing a very vocal support for the Ulstermen, including singing a version of our unofficial anthem “Livin’ On A Prayer’!

Special polo shirts will be worn, so if you see a Hound on Friday please say hello and have a bit of craic.

Cheers and SUFTUM,

[Thelaw]

Pretty sure you lot were in our hotel in Trevisto and a fair few bottles of whiskey were had

[hound]

Nice one mate.
Law we were in the same hotel as the team.

[BR]

On behalf of the Stout Boys, I would like to extend fraternal greetings and congratulations to our esteemed colleagues, the Hounds of Ulster on their anniversary.

That Treviso trip stands out in my mind as one where the hounds were at their best, but we've shared bars / songs and suffered on busses / flights together on a number of occassions over those years.

Here's to the next ten!

SUFTHoU

[Rooster]

Nice one mate.
Law we were in the same hotel as the team.

I'm impressed you remember where you stayed Hound
The bouncy in the bendy bus plus in the stadium was epic that day.

[Kofi Annan]

The Hounds of Ulster were officially formed on the 11th January 2003 when a group of friends with a common love of Ulster Rugby got together for a weekend to watch Ulster play Cardiff in the Heineken Cup at the old Cardiff Arms Park. The match resulted in a famous away victory with Ulster beating Cardiff 33 – 21. Some of the Hounds became so excited with the result that they charged the pitched and emphatically hugged some of the Ulster players to their shock!

The Hounds original consisted of a group of Northern Irish students from Bangor, Belfast and Coleraine who played rugby together at Napier University, Edinburgh with further members made up of friends and family also with an unhealthy obsession for Ulster Rugby.

Following the first successful gathering it was collectively decided to get together at least once a year to travel to an away match to support Ulster in the Heineken Cup and Celtic League. This resulted in many "joyous" occasions spent together during trips to Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Scottish Borders, Leicester, Gloucester, Northampton, London, Cardiff, Toulouse, and not forgetting Treviso (as much as we've tried) to name but a few!

The Hounds have been present at many famous Ulster victories including the Celtic Cup Final against Edinburgh at Murrayfield in 2003 and The Celtic League victory against The Ospreys at Liberty Stadium in 2006. Prior to the formation of the Hounds many of the members also saw Ulster famously lift the Heineken Cup at Lansdowne Road in January ’99. More recently the Hounds attended the famous Heineken Cup quarter final victory against Munster at Thomond Park, the semi-final against Edinburgh and the final against Leinster.

Undoubtedly the most famous Hounds Trip was in January 2006 when around 25 Hounds toured to Treviso for the Heineken Cup group match. Hounds polo shirts were worn with each shirt having a letter on the back to spell out ‘STAND UP FOR THE ULSTERMEN’. Unfortunately some of the Hounds went A.W.O.L and they only managed to spell ‘STND UP FOR THE ULTERMEN’! Spirits were very high that weekend with the Hounds singing and dancing non-stop for 80 minutes during the game. Some Ulster players even commented afterwards that they couldn’t believe the sights and sounds coming from the stands. Coach at the time Mark McCall went on to say that it was the best atmosphere at an Ulster match since ’99!

It has been stated that the Hounds have slipped by the way side over recent years with reduced touring numbers due to deaths (well near deaths), births and marriages. Fortunately we now have an opportunity to redeem ourselves as the Heineken Cup match against Glasgow at Ravenhill on the 11th January 2013 marks exactly ten years to the day since the first gathering, and it will be the first official gathering of the Hounds at Ravenhill!

To mark this momentous occasion and to relive some of the special tour moments they’ve shared together, a pack of 20 Hounds are meeting at The Errigle Inn on Friday before attending the match, and will be providing a very vocal support for the Ulstermen, including singing a version of our unofficial anthem “Livin’ On A Prayer’!

Special polo shirts will be worn, so if you see a Hound on Friday please say hello and have a bit of craic.

Cheers and SUFTUM,

Nothing like self promotion , spoke to some in Treviso , feck me sideways some boring gits.

[Thelaw]

Nice one mate.
Law we were in the same hotel as the team.

I'm impressed you remember where you stayed Hound
The bouncy in the bendy bus plus in the stadium was epic that day.

Lol i'd almost forgotten the bouncy on the bus - poor driver had no idea wtf was going on. I do remember one over lubricated gent falling down the steps at the stadium

[BR]

Nice one mate.
Law we were in the same hotel as the team.

I'm impressed you remember where you stayed Hound
The bouncy in the bendy bus plus in the stadium was epic that day.

Lol i'd almost forgotten the bouncy on the bus - poor driver had no idea wtf was going on. I do remember one over lubricated gent falling down the steps at the stadium

That was Sparky

[Rooster]

Nice one mate.
Law we were in the same hotel as the team.

I'm impressed you remember where you stayed Hound
The bouncy in the bendy bus plus in the stadium was epic that day.

Lol i'd almost forgotten the bouncy on the bus - poor driver had no idea wtf was going on. I do remember one over lubricated gent falling down the steps at the stadium

He lived

[WOLF]

Nothing like self promotion , spoke to some in Treviso , feck me sideways some boring gits.

Thanks for the kind words Kofi! Great to see such harmony amongst fellow Ulster fans!

[Kofi Annan]

Nothing like self promotion , spoke to some in Treviso , feck me sideways some boring gits.

Thanks for the kind words Kofi! Great to see such harmony amongst fellow Ulster fans!

My pleasure, remind me again the point of the post

[Ithryn]

Think I have bumped into you lads in the past, fair play to you, looks great craic.

[Kofi Annan]

Laurie was my dog
And he loved to bite
He wasn't very clever
And not at all bright.
He didn't like my friend
A mad poet called Fred
One day Laurie bit him
On the back of his head.
Fred wasn't at all pleased
And bit my dog back
So Laurie retaliated
And went on the attack.
They wrestled on the floor
And Fred got bit a lot
So to get my dog off him
I hit the mutt with a flowerpot.
But Laurie was very tough
And the pot bounced off his head
Then poor old Fred stopped moving
In fact he was now Dead.
I didn't know what to do
The poet didn't deserve to die
Looking down at Laurie
I asked this crazy dog Why?
But he just didn't care
And kept chewing at Fred
This loony dog was eating him
The he swallowed dead Fred's head.
Poor Fred was now all gone
But this must have been his fate
To lose his life to a psycho dog
The poet Laurie ate.

[WOLF]

My pleasure, remind me again the point of the post

Information or self promotion as you would call it!

I could ask what is the point of the poem you have posted, but I'm not really interested, so don't bother!

[Kofi Annan]

My pleasure, remind me again the point of the post

Information or self promotion as you would call it!

I could ask what is the point of the poem you have posted, but I'm not really interested, so don't bother!

Why, it's about my dog Laurie, good to see the tax payers money to educate you in the University of Grass market was not wasted.go the dogs of er war,