# 2002–03 Ulster Rugby season

The 2002–03 season was Ulster Rugby's eighth under professionalism, and their second under head coach Alan Solomons. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League. No IRFU Interprovincial Championship was held this season.
In the Celtic League, they finished third in Pool A, qualifying for the playoffs. They beat Glasgow in the quarter-finals, but lost to Munster in the semi-finals. In the Heineken Cup, they finished third in Pool 6, missing out on the knockout stage. Bryn Cunningham was Ulster's Player of the Year. Flanker Neil McMillan won the IRUPA Young Player of the Year award.

## Staff

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Chief Executive | Michael Reid | Ireland |
| Director of Rugby | Alan Solomons | South Africa |
| Team manager | John McComish | Ireland |
| Forwards coach | Adrian Kennedy | Ireland |
| Backs coach | Mark McCall | Ireland |
| Assistant conditioning coach | John McCloskey | Ireland |
| Physiotherapist | Gareth Robinson | Ireland |
| Director of Elite Player Development | Allen Clarke | Ireland |

## Squad

| Ulster Rugby squad |
| Props Robbi Kempson (14 apps, 14 starts) Justin Fitzpatrick (14 apps, 11 starts) Simon Best (8 apps, 5 starts) Clem Boyd Hookers Matt Sexton (14 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Paul Shields (8 apps, 1 start, 5 pts) Locks Jeremy Davidson (11 apps, 11 starts) Gary Longwell (10 apps, 10 starts) Mark Blair (11 apps, 8 starts) Paddy Johns (1 app) Matt McCullough | Back row Neil McMillan (14 apps, 14 starts, 15 pts) Warren Brosnihan (13 apps, 13 starts, 5 pts) Tony McWhirter (14 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Andy Ward (c) (7 apps, 5 starts, 10 pts) Russell Nelson (4 apps, 2 starts) Neil Best (7 apps, 10 pts) Scrum-halves Neil Doak (15 apps, 15 starts, 48 pts) Kieran Campbell (4 apps) David Spence Fly-halves David Humphreys (11 apps, 11 starts, 128 pts) Paddy Wallace (3 apps, 2 starts, 23 pts) | Centres Jonny Bell (10 apps, 10 starts, 5 pts) Ryan Constable (10 apps, 8 starts) Shane Stewart (10 apps, 8 starts, 5 pts) Adam Larkin (10 apps, 6 starts) Jan Cunningham (3 apps, 1 start, 5 pts) Wings James Topping (12 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Tyrone Howe (8 apps, 8 starts, 15 pts) Scott Young (8 apps, 5 starts, 5 pts) Sheldon Coulter (8 apps, 5 starts) Fullbacks Bryn Cunningham (14 apps, 14 starts, 8 pts) |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. |

## 2002–03 Heineken Cup
### Pool 6

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
| Northampton Saints | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 172 | 110 | 62 | 8 |
| Biarritz Olympique | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 138 | 73 | 65 | 8 |
| Ulster | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 116 | 106 | 10 | 8 |
| Cardiff | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 26 | −20 | 78 | 215 | −137 | 0 |

## 2002-03 Celtic League
### Pool A

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Munster | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 227 | 129 | +98 | 25 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 231 | 145 | +86 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 27 |
| 3 | Ulster | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 173 | 111 | +62 | 15 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| 4 | Neath | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 153 | 121 | +32 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| 5 | Llanelli | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 191 | 168 | +23 | 23 | 16 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
| 6 | Swansea | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 177 | 212 | −35 | 18 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
| 7 | Ebbw Vale | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 140 | 226 | −86 | 16 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Caerphilly | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 144 | 324 | −180 | 17 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 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) qualify for the knock-out stage. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 ||||||||||||||

### 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 |
| 2002–03 Celtic League | 4 | 8,375 | 10,500 | 6,000 | 2002–03 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,717 | 12,500 | 11,000 | 68,650 | 9,807 |

## Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Ramada Hotel on 15 May 2003. Winners were:
* Ulster Player of the Year: Bryn Cunningham
* Guinness Rugby Personality of the Year: Allen Clarke
* Club Ulster Supporters Player of the Year: Robbi Kempson
* Schools Player of the Year: Andrew Trimble, Coleraine Academical Institution
* Club Team of the Year: Ballymena R.F.C.
* Dorrington Faulkner Award: Ivan Coffey
* Club PRO: John Dickson
* Youth Player of the Year: Stephen Ferris
* Coach of the Year: Tom McGaw
* Club of the Year: Ballynahinch RFC
* Merit Award: Scott Gardiner, Monaghan Rugby Club