# 2004–05 Ulster Rugby season

The 2004–05 season was Ulster Rugby's tenth under professionalism, and their first under head coach Mark McCall. They competed in the Heineken Cup, the Celtic League and the Celtic Cup.
Former head coach Alan Solomons and forwards coach Adrian Kennedy left at the end of the previous season to join Northampton Saints. Backs coach Mark McCall was named as the new head coach, with Allen Clarke as his assistant. Maurice Field replaced Clarke as head of the academy.
In the Celtic League, they finished eighth. Tommy Bowe was the league's second top try scorer with eight. In the Heineken Cup, they finished third in Pool 6, failing to qualify for the knockout stage. They went out of the Celtic Cup in the quarter-finals, losing to Neath-Swansea Ospreys. Neil Best was Ulster's Player of the Year. Kieran Campbell won the IRUPA award for Try of the Year.

## Squad
### Senior squad

| Ulster Rugby squad |
| Props Rod Moore (24 apps, 21 starts) Simon Best (20 apps, 19 starts, 5 pts) Ronan McCormack (23 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Bryan Young (4 apps) Declan Fitzpatrick Andrew Kershaw Simon Shawe Hookers Paul Shields (23 apps, 19 starts) Nigel Brady (10 apps, 3 starts) Rory Best (9 apps, 5 starts) Locks Matt McCullough (26 apps, 25 starts, 5 pts) Gary Longwell (21 apps, 19 starts) Rowan Frost* (23 apps, 9 starts, 5 pts) Matt Mustchin (7 apps, 4 starts) Tim Barker (2 apps) | Back row Neil Best (22 apps, 22 starts, 5 pts) Roger Wilson (22 apps, 20 starts, 5 pts) Campbell Feather (26 apps, 17 starts, 15 pts) Andy Ward (c) (17 apps, 13 starts, 5 pts) Gavin Pfister (6 apps, 4 starts) Gary Brown (4 apps, 1 starts) Neil McMillan (1 apps, 1 starts) Scrum-halves Kieran Campbell (24 apps, 21 starts, 5pts) Neil Doak (14 apps, 6 starts) Reece Spee* (1 app) Fly-halves David Humphreys (16 apps, 16 starts, 145 pts) Paddy Wallace (12 apps, 6 starts, 24 pts) Adam Larkin (9 apps, 6 starts, 54 pts) | Centres Paul Steinmetz (26 apps, 24 starts, 45 pts) Kevin Maggs (21 apps, 21 starts, 15 pts) Jonny Bell (13 apps, 11 starts, 5 pts) Seamus Mallon (3 apps, 1 starts) Shane Stewart Wings Tommy Bowe (26 apps, 25 starts, 40 pts) Tyrone Howe (17 apps, 15 starts, 15 pts) Andy Maxwell (14 apps, 9 starts, 15 pts) Scott Young (9 apps, 6 starts) James Topping Fullbacks Bryn Cunningham (26 apps, 25 starts, 25 pts) |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. |

### Academy squad

| Academy squad |
| Staff Joe Miles - chairman Allen Clarke - director Maurice Field - manager Roger Kennedy - strength and conditioning Michael Webb - doctor Phil Glasgow - physiotheraprist | Players Glenn Telford Gareth Steenson Gary Maxwell Niall Conlon John Andress Lewis Stevenson Chris Henry Oisin Hennessy Stephen Ferris Stuart McGaw Thomas Horner Glen Moore Mark Scott Jamie McGrugan Blair Clements Paul McKenzie |

## 2004–05 Heineken Cup
### Pool 6

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Stade Français (3) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 9 | 11 | 179 | 90 | 89 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Gloucester | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 144 | 128 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Ulster | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 88 | 139 | −51 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Cardiff Blues | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 13 | −5 | 98 | 152 | −54 | 0 | 3 | 7 |

## 2004-05 Celtic League

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Neath-Swansea Ospreys | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 508 | 267 | +241 | 53 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 76 |
| 2 | Munster | 20 | 15 | 1 | 4 | 470 | 331 | +139 | 54 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 69 |
| 3 | Leinster | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 455 | 350 | +105 | 46 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 57 |
| 4 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 381 | 436 | −55 | 39 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 50 |
| 5 | Llanelli Scarlets | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 402 | 446 | −44 | 48 | 42 | 7 | 3 | 46 |
| 6 | Glasgow Warriors | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 465 | 466 | −1 | 40 | 58 | 4 | 7 | 45 |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 409 | 407 | +2 | 47 | 40 | 4 | 4 | 44 |
| 8 | Ulster | 20 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 363 | 387 | −24 | 37 | 34 | 2 | 5 | 43 |
| 9 | Cardiff Blues | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 350 | 404 | −54 | 35 | 41 | 2 | 4 | 40 |
| 10 | Connacht | 20 | 7 | 1 | 12 | 317 | 407 | −90 | 32 | 46 | 2 | 5 | 37 |
| 11 | Borders | 20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 337 | 556 | −219 | 31 | 66 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| 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) ||||||||||||||
| Source: RaboDirect PRO12 Archived 22 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine ||||||||||||||

## Celtic Cup
### Home attendance

| Domestic League | Domestic League | Domestic League | Domestic League | Domestic League | European Cup | European Cup | European Cup | European Cup | European Cup | Total | Total |
| League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance |
| 2004–05 Celtic League | 10 | 6,693 | 8,145 | 5,638 | 2004–05 Heineken Cup | 3 | 9,452 | 11,435 | 7,320 | 95,283 | 7,330 |

## Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Ramada Hotel on 12 May 2005. Winners were:
* Bank of Ireland Ulster Player of the Year: Neil Best
* Guinness Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: Tommy Bowe
* Club Ulster Supporters Player of the Year: Kieran Campbell
* Kukri Schools Player of the Year: David Pollock, Royal School Dungannon
* First Trust Bank Club of the Year: Ballymena RFC
* Calor Gas Youth Player of the Year: Nigel Newell, Ballynahinch RFC
* Dorrington B. Faulkner Award: Brian Reid, Coleraine RFC
* Northern Bank Coach of the Year: Gerald McCarter, City of Derry R.F.C., Ulster U21s
* Downtown Radio Club/PRO Media Liaison Officer of the Year: Joan Beatty, Enniskillen
* Belfast Telegraph Club Team of the Year: Ballymena RFC 2nd XV
* The Botanic Inns Merit Award: Suzanne Flemming