# 2000–01 Ulster Rugby season

The 2000–01 season was Ulster Rugby's sixth since the advent of professionalism, and their third under coach Harry Williams. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the IRFU Interprovincial Championship. Williams announced in August 2000 that he would leave at the end of the season.
The IRFU rejected a proposal for a Celtic League involving three of the Irish provinces, two Scottish super-districts and seven Welsh clubs, each playing 22 matches. The IRFU argued that the structure proposed would add too many games and leave provincial players unable to play for their clubs, and made a counter-proposal of an eleven-game season, which the Welsh and Scottish unions rejected. Discussions continued, and a format was finally agreed for the following season.
They were bottom of their pool in the Heineken Cup, failing to qualify for the knockout stage. They finished second in the Interprovincial Championship, qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup. The average crowd at Interprovincial matches was 7,000, comparing favourably to 3,000 in the English first division. Tyrone Howe was Ulster's Player of the Year, and was selected for the 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia.

## Squad

| Ulster Rugby squad |
| Props Simon Best Clem Boyd John Campbell Justin Fitzpatrick Hookers Allen Clarke Paul Shields Richard Weir Mark Crick Locks Mark Blair Paddy Johns Aidan Kearney Gary Longwell | Back row Chris McCarey Tony McWhirter Russell Nelson* Dion O'Cuinneagain Derek Topping Andy Ward Scrum-halves Stephen Bell Neil Doak Brad Free* Fly-halves David Humphreys (c) Niall Malone | Centres Jonny Bell Tyrone Howe Seamus Mallon Shane Stewart Wings Ryan Constable Sheldon Coulter Jan Cunningham Tyrone Howe James Topping Fullbacks Grant Henderson Bryn Cunningham |
| (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. $^*$ denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. |

## 2000–01 Heineken Cup

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
| Cardiff | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 182 | 146 | 36 | 8 |
| Saracens | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 174 | 140 | 34 | 8 |
| Toulouse | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 171 | 182 | −11 | 5 |
| Ulster | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 21 | −10 | 146 | 205 | −59 | 3 |

## 2000-01 IRFU Interprovincial Championship

Status :
| Munster | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 151 | 99 | 1 | 23 | Champions; qualified for 2001–02 Heineken Cup |
| Ulster | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 144 | 119 | 3 | 15 | Qualified for 2001–02 Heineken Cup |
| Leinster | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 109 | 111 | 2 | 12 | Qualified for 2001–02 Heineken Cup |
| Connacht | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 100 | 175 | 1 | 5 | Qualified for 2001–02 European Challenge 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 |
| – | – | – | – | – | 2000–01 Heineken Cup | 3 | 12,500 | 13,500 | 12,000 | 37,500 | 12,500 |

## Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 24 May 2001. Winners were:
* Ulster Rugby player of the year: Tyrone Howe
* Supporters' Club player of the year: Tyrone Howe
* Guinness personality of the year: Gary Longwell
* Coach of the year: Willie Anderson, Dungannon RFC
* Schools player of the year: Glen Telford, RBAI
* Youth player of the year: Wayne Dougan, Banbridge RFC
* Club of the year: Clogher Valley RFC
* PRO Award: Terry Jackson, Dungannon RFC
* Dorrington B Faulkner Memorial Award: Roy McGarvey, Coleraine