# 2001–02 Ulster Rugby season

The 2001–02 season was Ulster Rugby's seventh under professionalism, and their first under head coach Alan Solomons. They competed in the Heineken Cup, the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, and the inaugural Celtic League. Flanker Andy Ward was captain.
Solomons, former assistant coach of South Africa and the Western Stormers, was appointed in January to succeed Harry Williams in June. Mark McCall remained assistant coach. Former Springboks assistant coach Phil Mack, who had worked with Solomons with the Stormers, was appointed fitness advisor in place of Mike Bull.
Hooker Allen Clarke retired from playing and was named Director of Elite Player Development, establishing Ulster's first academy programme, based at the Sports Institute for Northern Ireland. The first intake consisted of fourteen players.
The Irish, Scottish and Welsh unions agreed a format for the inaugural Celtic League in May 2001. It would involve all four Irish provinces, two teams from Scotland and nine from Wales, organised in two conferences. It would kick off on 18 August, with the final scheduled for 15 December. Celtic league fixtures between Ulster and Leinster, and between Munster and Connacht, would count towards this year's IRFU Interprovincial Championship. The remaining Interprovincial fixtures would take place in April 2002.
In the Celtic League, Ulster finished second in Pool A, qualifying for the playoffs. They beat Neath in the quarter-final, but lost to Munster in the semi-final. David Humphreys was the league's leading scorer with 122 points, and the "leading marksman" with 39 successful goal kicks. In the Heineken Cup, they finished second in Pool 2, missing out on the knockout stage. They finished second in the Interprovincial Championship, qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup. David Humphreys was Ulster's Player of the Year. Lock Gary Longwell made his 100th appearance for Ulster in October 2001.

## Squad

| Ulster Rugby squad |
| Props Simon Best (15 apps, 15 starts, 5 pts) Justin Fitzpatrick (14 apps, 12 starts) Clem Boyd (10 apps, 3 starts) John Campbell (1 app) Leopoldo de Chazal Bryan Young Hookers Paul Shields (15 apps, 15 starts, 10 pts) Mark Crick (4 apps) Richard Weir (3 apps) Matt Sexton Locks Gary Longwell (14 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Paddy Johns (9 apps, 7 starts) Jeremy Davidson (12 apps, 6 starts) Mark Blair (9 apps, 5 starts, 10 pts) Aidan Kearney Matt McCullough | Back row Andy Ward (c) (14 apps, 14 starts, 20 pts) Tony McWhirter (13 apps, 10 starts, 5 pts) Russell Nelson (12 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Neil McMillan (13 apps, 6 starts, 5 pts) David Allen* (2 apps, 1 starts) Robby Brink (1 app, 1 start) Mike Haslett (1 app) Andrew Hughes Scrum-halves Neil Doak (12 apps, 12 starts, 10 pts) Brad Free* (4 apps, 2 starts, 5 pts) Kieran Campbell (4 apps, 1 starts) Fly-halves David Humphreys (13 apps, 13 starts, 202 pts) Niall Malone (2 apps, 1 starts) | Centres Jonny Bell (11 apps, 11 starts) Adam Larkin* (13 apps, 9 starts, 5 pts) Shane Stewart (7 apps, 6 starts, 5 pts) Ryan Constable (10 apps, 2 starts, 25 pts) Stan McDowell Wings Tyrone Howe (14 apps, 14 starts, 25 pts) James Topping (9 apps, 9 starts, 10 pts) Sheldon Coulter (8 apps, 6 starts) Jan Cunningham (2 apps, 1 starts) Scott Young Fullbacks Paddy Wallace (15 apps, 15 starts, 64 pts) Bryn Cunningham (4 apps, 3 starts, 5 pts) |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. |

## 2001–02 Heineken Cup
### Pool 2

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
| Stade Français | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 4 | 19 | 213 | 64 | 149 | 10 |
| Ulster | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 196 | 142 | 54 | 8 |
| Wasps | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 120 | 186 | −66 | 4 |
| Benetton Treviso | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 27 | −25 | 102 | 239 | −137 | 2 |

## 2001-02 Celtic League
### Pool A Table

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Pts |
| 1 | Leinster | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 281 | 114 | +167 | 35 | 8 | 21 |
| 2 | Ulster | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 194 | 157 | +37 | 19 | 17 | 13 |
| 3 | Glasgow | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 204 | 172 | +32 | 25 | 17 | 13 |
| 4 | Llanelli | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 175 | 123 | +52 | 14 | 7 | 12 |
| 5 | Swansea | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 124 | 158 | −34 | 9 | 12 | 9 |
| 6 | Bridgend | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 161 | 208 | −47 | 17 | 25 | 9 |
| 7 | Pontypridd | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 111 | 207 | −96 | 8 | 25 | 3 |
| 8 | Ebbw Vale | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 134 | 245 | −111 | 13 | 29 | 3 |
| Match points were awarded as follows: 3 points for a win 1 point for a draw ||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) qualify for the knock-out stage. Source: RaboDirect PRO12 ||||||||||||

### Semi final
## 2001-02 IRFU Interprovincial Championship

Status :
| Leinster | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 35 | 2 | 12 | Champions; qualified for 2002–03 Heineken Cup |
| Ulster | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 66 | 0 | 8 | Qualified for 2002–03 Heineken Cup |
| Munster | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 64 | 48 | 1 | 7 | Qualified for 2002–03 Heineken Cup |
| Connacht | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 107 | 1 | 1 | Qualified for 2002–03 European Challenge Cup |
Celtic League pool matches between Irish provinces count towards the Interprovincial Championship.

### 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 |
| 2001–02 Celtic League | 4 | 8,500 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 2001–02 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,833 | 13,000 | 10,000 | 69,500 | 9,929 |

## Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 23 May 2002. Winners were:
* Ulster player of the year: David Humphreys
* Ulster Supporters' Club player of the year: David Humphreys
* Guinness personality of the year: Paddy Wallace
* Ulster schools player of the year: Lewis Stevenson
* Coach of the year: Andre Bester, Belfast Harlequins
* Youth player of the year: Oisin Hennessey
* Club of the year: Ballynahinch RFC
* Dorrington B Faulker Memorial Award for services to rugby: Dick Hinds, formerly of Omagh Academy
* PRO/Media Prize: Terry Jackson, Dungannon RFC

## Season reviews

* "Andy Ward's Thoughts On The Season", Ulster Rugby, 15 May 2002, archived 9 July 2002