# 2016–17 Ulster Rugby season

The 2016–17 season was Ulster's 23rd season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and the third under Director of Rugby Les Kiss and head coach Neil Doak. They completed in the European Rugby Champions Cup and the final season of the Pro12 before it became the Pro14 with the addition of two teams from South Africa.
Ulster announced in August 2016 that Rory Best would vacate the captaincy of the province. The Ireland captain was replaced in his role by Andrew Trimble, the team's record try-scorer, and Rob Herring, who took on the role in Best's absence the previous season. Scrum-half Ruan Pienaar was going into his last season with Ulster, after the IRFU blocked him from extending his contract.
New arrivals were South African number 8 Marcell Coetzee from the Sharks, fullback Charles Piutau from Wasps, prop Rodney Ah You from Connacht, lock Kieran Treadwell from Harlequins, out-half Brett Herron from Bath, scrum-half Angus Lloyd from Trinity, and prop Anton Peikrishvili from Brive. Back row forward Nick Williams left for Cardiff Blues, centre Sammy Arnold for Munster, wing Rory Scholes for Edinburgh, and lock Dan Tuohy for Bristol. Out-half Ian Humphreys retired, and Willie Faloon, Paul Jackson, Ruaidhri Murphy, Bronson Ross, Paul Rowley, Frank Taggart and Sam Windsor were released. Academy players who made their debuts this season included flanker Nick Timoney and wing Rob Lyttle.
Assistant coach Joe Barakat left in December to join Western Force. In early 2017 it was revealed that head coach Neil Doak and assistant coach Allen Clarke would not have their contracts renewed at the end of the season. Doak's replacement would be Jono Gibbes, with Clarke to be succeeded by Dwayne Peel.
In the Pro12, Ulster finished fifth, qualifying for next season's Champions Cup but missing out on the playoffs. Flanker Sean Reidy led the league in tackles with 263. Ulster led the league in discipline and scrums. At the end of the season, Charles Piutau was named Players' Player of the Season, and he and scrum-half Ruan Pienaar made the Pro12 Dream Team. Pienaar's try against Glasgow Warriors was named Try of the Season. They finished bottom of Pool 5 in the Champions Cup, winning two and losing four. Out-half Paddy Jackson was leading scorer with 162 points, with Ruan Pienaar contributing 100 points. Charles Piutau and wing Jacob Stockdale were joint leading try scorers with nine each. Sean Reidy was leading tackler with 329.
At the end of the season, Ruan Pienaar departed for Montpellier, and flanker Roger Wilson retired with a record 221 appearances. Charles Piutau was Ulster's Player of the Season.

## Staff

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Chief executive officer | Shane Logan | Ireland |
| Director of Rugby | Les Kiss | Australia |
| Head coach | Neil Doak | Ireland |
| Operation Director | Bryn Cunningham | Ireland |
| Assistant coach | Allen Clarke | Ireland |
| Assistant coach | Joe Barakat | Australia |
| Head of Strength & Conditioning | Jonny Davis | Ireland |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Kevin Geary | Ireland |

## Squad
### Senior squad

| Ulster Rugby squad |
| Props Andrew Warwick (26 apps, 12 starts) Wiehahn Herbst* (15 apps, 12 starts) Rodney Ah You (18 apps, 10 starts) Callum Black (20 apps, 9 starts) Ross Kane (8 apps, 2 start) Ricky Lutton (6 apps, 2 starts) Jonny Simpson (4 apps, 1 start) Kyle McCall (no apps) Hookers Rob Herring (c) (22 apps, 13 starts, 10 pts) Rory Best (14 apps, 13 starts, 10 pts) John Andrew (14 apps, 2 starts) Jonny Murphy (no apps) Locks Iain Henderson (17 apps, 16 starts, 10 pts) Franco van der Merwe (20 apps, 14 starts, 10 pts) Kieran Treadwell (20 apps, 13 starts) Alan O'Connor (14 apps, 12 starts) Peter Browne* (16 apps, 9 starts) John Donnan (5 apps, 2 starts) Dan Tuohy (2 apps, 2 starts) | Back row Sean Reidy (27 apps, 18 starts, 20 pts) Chris Henry (15 apps, 13 starts, 10 pts) Roger Wilson (14 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Clive Ross (23 apps, 10 starts, 5 pts) Robbie Diack (17 apps, 10 starts, 5 pts) Marcell Coetzee (4 apps, 4 starts) Nick Timoney (3 apps) Conor Joyce (2 apps) Lorcan Dow (no apps) Stephen Mulholland (no apps) Matty Rea (no apps) Scrum-halves Ruan Pienaar (23 apps, 22 starts, 100 pts) Paul Marshall (20 apps, 5 starts, 10 pts) David Shanahan (4 apps, 2 starts) Angus Lloyd (1 app) Fly-halves Paddy Jackson (18 apps, 17 starts, 162 pts) Brett Herron* (7 apps, 4 starts) Sam Windsor* (2 apps, 1 start) Johnny McPhillips (no apps) | Centres Luke Marshall (22 apps, 19 starts, 35 pts) Stuart McCloskey (16 apps, 13 starts, 10 pts) Stuart Olding (14 apps, 12 starts, 16 pts) Darren Cave (14 apps, 9 starts, 15 pts) Jared Payne (10 apps, 9 starts, 15 pts) Mark Best (no apps) Callum Patterson (no apps) Wings Craig Gilroy (17 apps, 14 starts, 15 pts) Tommy Bowe (14 apps, 10 starts, 10 pts) Andrew Trimble (c) (11 apps, 10 starts, 15 pts) Jacob Stockdale (20 apps, 8 starts, 45 pts) Rob Lyttle (4 apps, 3 starts, 10 pts) Jack Owens (1 app) Fullbacks Charles Piutau (23 apps, 23 starts, 45 pts) Louis Ludik* (14 apps, 12 starts, 15 pts) Peter Nelson (6 apps, 4 starts, 4 pts) David Busby (5 apps, 4 starts, 10 pts) |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. Italics denotes academy players who appeared in the senior team. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Ulster Rugby website. |
* Irish Provinces are currently limited to four non-Irish eligible (NIE) players and one non-Irish qualified player (NIQ or "Project Player").

### Academy squad

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Head coach | Kieran Campbell | Ireland |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Matthew Maguire | Ireland |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Matthew Godfrey | Ireland |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Amy Davis | Ireland |
| Representative Team Performance Manager | Michael Black | Ireland |
| Talent Development Officer | Jonny Gillespie | Ireland |
| Elite Player Development Officer/Head Coach Ulster 'A' | Alex Codling | Ireland |
| Elite Player Development Officer | James Topping | Ireland |
| Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach | David Drake | Ireland |
| Ulster Rugby Academy squad |
| Props Peter Cooper (2) Ross Kane (2) Michael Lagan (3) Tommy O'Hagan (1) Craig Trenier (3) Hookers Adam McBurney (1) Zack McCall (1) Locks Alex Thompson (3) | Back row Conall Boomer (1) Aaron Hall (1) Marcus Rea (1) Nick Timoney (2) Scrum-halves Aaron Cairns (1) Johnny Stewart (1) Fly-halves Andy McGrath (2) | Centres Rory Butler (1) Wings Rob Lyttle (2) Jack Owens (3) Fullbacks David Busby (3) |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Ulster Rugby website. |

### Ulster 'A'

The following players, other than players from the senior squad and academy, appeared for Ulster 'A' this season.
| Players used by Ulster 'A' |
| Props Chris Cundell Eric O'Sullivan Locks John McCusker Connor Smith | Back row Johnny Creighton Fly-halves Callum Smith | Centres Lewis Sampson Josh Jordan Andrew Magrath Wings Conor Kelly Mark Keane |

## European Rugby Champions Cup

| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Clermont (1) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 211 | 131 | +80 | 26 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 26 |
| Bordeaux Bègles | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 118 | 120 | –2 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 110 | 146 | –36 | 13 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Ulster | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 131 | 173 | –42 | 16 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 10 |

## Pro12

2016–17 Pro12
watch · · discuss :
| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Munster (RU) | 22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 602 | 316 | +286 | 77 | 34 | 9 | 1 | 86 |
| 2 | Leinster (SF) | 22 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 674 | 390 | +284 | 91 | 47 | 12 | 1 | 85 |
| 3 | Scarlets (CH) | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 537 | 359 | +178 | 66 | 40 | 9 | 0 | 77 |
| 4 | Ospreys (SF) | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 556 | 360 | +196 | 74 | 42 | 10 | 3 | 69 |
| 5 | Ulster | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 521 | 371 | +150 | 68 | 47 | 6 | 4 | 68 |
| 6 | Glasgow Warriors | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 540 | 464 | +76 | 72 | 53 | 9 | 5 | 58 |
| 7 | Cardiff Blues | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 508 | 498 | +10 | 59 | 60 | 3 | 4 | 53 |
| 8 | Connacht | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 413 | 498 | −85 | 47 | 61 | 5 | 3 | 44 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 400 | 491 | −91 | 46 | 59 | 1 | 6 | 31 |
| 10 | Benetton Treviso | 22 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 316 | 664 | −348 | 35 | 92 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| 11 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 368 | 569 | −201 | 38 | 71 | 1 | 6 | 23 |
| 12 | Zebre | 22 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 318 | 773 | −455 | 38 | 105 | 1 | 6 | 19 |
| If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: number of matches won; the difference between points for and points against; the number of tries scored; the most points scored; the difference between tries for and tries against; the fewest red cards received; the fewest yellow cards received. |||||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 to 4) are play-off places and earn a place in the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background indicates teams outside the play-off places that earn a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup. Yellow background advances to a play-off for a chance to compete in the Champions Cup. (Q) indicates team has qualified for the play-offs and has qualified for the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup. |||||||||||||||

### End of season awards

Charles Piutau was named Players' Player of the Season, and the left winger on the Pro12 Dream Team.

## 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 |
| 2016–17 Pro12 | 11 | 15,961 | 17,676 | 13,663 | 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 16,028 | 16,843 | 14,924 | 223,658 | 15,976 |

## Ulster A
### British and Irish Cup
#### Pool 1

| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts |
| Jersey Reds | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 181 | 94 | 87 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Ulster A | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 153 | 124 | 29 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| London Scottish | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 134 | 157 | −23 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Cardiff Blues Premiership Select | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 104 | 197 | −93 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Source: Updated: 10 March 2017 Points breakdown: *4 points for a win *2 points for a draw *1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less *1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match |||||||||||

#### Quarter-finals
## Ulster Women
### 2016-17 Women's Interprovincial Series

| | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Leinster | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 72 | 20 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Connacht | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 29 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | Munster | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 32 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | Ulster | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 101 | 0 | 0 |

## Ulster Rugby Awards

The Heineken Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at Aquinas Diocesan Grammar School, Belfast, on 6 May 2017. Winners were:
* Bank of Ireland Ulster Player of the Year: Charles Piutau
* Heineken Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: Ruan Pienaar
* BT Young Player of the Year: Jacob Stockdale
* Rugby Writers Player of the Year: Sean Reidy
* Ulster Rugby Supporters Club Player of the Year: Ruan Pienaar
* Abbey Insurance Academy Player of the Year: Ross Kane
Roger Wilson was given a special award for retiring as the province's most capped player, with 221 appearances. Honours caps were awarded for appearance milestones to Tommy Bowe (150), Chris Henry (150), Luke Marshall (100) and Rob Herring (100).
The Danske Bank Schools Player of the Year was won by Michael Lowry of RBAI, beating nominees James Hume (RBAI) and Stewart Moore (Ballymena Academy).

## Season reviews

* Ulster Rugby: Who did what 2016 – 2017, The Front Row Union, 17 May 2017