# 2007–08 Ulster Rugby season

The 2007–08 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 14th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their fourth under head coach Mark McCall. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League
Steve Williams joined as assistant coach at the beginning of the season, replacing Allen Clarke, who had left to become the manager of the IRFU's elite player programme. After a poor run of results, Mark McCall resigned as head coach in November 2007. Steve Williams took over on an interim basis, and Matt Williams was appointed as McCall's permanent replacement in December. Ulster finished bottom of their pool in the Heineken Cup, and second from bottom in the Celtic League. Tommy Bowe was Ulster's Player of the Year, and IRUPA Players' Player of the Year. David Humphreys, who retired at the end of the season, was inducted into the IRUPA Hall of Fame.

## Staff

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Head coach (to 13 Nov 2007) | Mark McCall | Ireland |
| Assistant coach (to 13 November 2007) Caretaker coach (13 Nov-30 Dec 2007) | Steve Williams | Wales |
| Head coach (from 30 Dec 2007) | Matt Williams | Australia |
| Assistant coach | Neil Kelly | England |
| Fitness coach | Philip Morrow | Ireland |
| Team physiotherapist | Gareth Robinson | Ireland |
| Fitness coach | Jonny Davis | Ireland |
| Team doctor | David Irwin | Ireland |
| Team Manager | David Millar | Ireland |
| Video analyst | Simon McGookin | Ireland |

## Squad
### Senior squad

| Ulster Rugby squad |
| Props Justin Fitzpatrick (21 apps, 16 starts) Bryan Young (21 apps, 15 starts) Tom Court (14 apps, 11 starts, 10 pts) Declan Fitzpatrick (12 apps, 6 starts) Simon Best (no apps) Jarlath Carey (no apps) Niall Conlon (no apps) Hookers Rory Best (19 apps, 17 starts, 5 pts) Nigel Brady (13 apps, 7 starts) Matt Miles (1 app) Stuart Philpott (1 app) Neil Hanna (no apps) Locks Matt McCullough (22 apps, 19 starts, 15 pts) Justin Harrison (21 apps, 16 starts) Ryan Caldwell (22 apps, 15 starts, 15 pts) Carlo Del Fava (19 apps, 12 starts, 5 pts) Tim Barker (4 apps, 2 starts) | Back row Neil Best (19 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Kieron Dawson (17 apps, 13 starts, 15 pts) Roger Wilson (15 apps, 10 starts, 10 pts) Stephen Ferris (10 apps, 10 starts) David Pollock (12 apps, 6 starts) Grant Webb (4 apps, 2 starts) Neil McMillan (3 apps, 1 start) Chris Henry (no apps) Scrum-halves Isaac Boss (20 apps, 17 starts, 20 pts) Paul Marshall (9 apps, 5 starts, 5 pts) Kieran Campbell (10 apps, 3 starts) Fly-halves Niall O'Connor (16 apps, 10 starts, 61 pts) David Humphreys (6 apps, 3 starts, 27 pts) Kieran Hallett (1 app) | Centres Andrew Trimble (18 apps, 18 starts, 20 pts) Paddy Wallace (19 apps, 15 starts, 79 pts) Rob Dewey (14 apps, 9 starts, 5 pts) Paul Steinmetz (8 apps, 7 starts) Seamus Mallon (4 apps, 3 starts) Darren Cave (2 apps, 1 start) Adam Larkin (1 app) Wings Tommy Bowe (23 apps, 23 starts, 40 pts) Mark Bartholomeusz (19 apps, 15 starts, 5 pts) Simon Danielli (15 apps, 15 starts, 30 pts) Mark McCrea (13 apps, 10 starts) Paul McKenzie (no apps) Fullbacks Bryn Cunningham (16 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Mark Kettyle (no apps) |
| (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. |

### Academy squad

| Academy squad |
| Props Paul Karayiannis (1) Neil Simpson (2) Pat Steenkamp (1) Hookers Stephen Douglas (2) Locks Sam McDonald (1) James Sandford (1) | Back row T. J. Anderson (2) Willie Faloon (2) Mark Robinson (2) Scrum-halves David Drake (2) Ian Porter (1) Fly-halves none | Centres Ian Whitten (1) Wings Chris Cochrane (1) Mark McCrea (2) Chris Quinn (1) Tommy Seymour (1) Fullbacks Owen McMurray (2) Jamie Smith (1) |

## Heineken Cup
### Pool 2

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Gloucester (3) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 13 | +11 | 184 | 119 | +65 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Ospreys (8) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 9 | +7 | 164 | 102 | +62 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| Bourgoin | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 19 | −7 | 118 | 174 | −56 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Ulster | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 24 | −11 | 102 | 173 | −71 | 0 | 1 | 5 |

## Celtic League

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| Leinster | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 428 | 283 | +145 | 44 | 30 | 4 | 3 | 61 |
| Cardiff Blues | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 395 | 315 | +80 | 48 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 56 |
| Munster | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 330 | 258 | +72 | 33 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 48 |
| Edinburgh | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 313 | 285 | +28 | 35 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 48 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 340 | 349 | −9 | 31 | 38 | 1 | 3 | 46 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 403 | 362 | +41 | 45 | 38 | 6 | 5 | 39 |
| Ospreys | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 321 | 255 | +66 | 24 | 24 | 2 | 9 | 37 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 282 | 394 | −112 | 31 | 44 | 1 | 3 | 34 |
| Ulster | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 278 | 407 | −129 | 33 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 29 |
| Connacht | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 214 | 396 | −182 | 16 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| 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 |||||||||||||

## 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 |
| 2007–08 Celtic League | 9 | 9,661 | 13,132 | 6,592 | 2007–08 Heineken Cup | 3 | 10,335 | 13,000 | 8,340 | 117,956 | 9,830 |

## Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 15 May 2008 at the La Mon House Hotel outside Belfast. Winners were:
* Guinness Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: David Humphreys
* Bank of Ireland Ulster Player of the Year: Tommy Bowe
* Vodafone Young Ulster Player of the Year: Niall O'Connor
* Kukri Sportswear Club of the Year: City of Armagh RFC
* First Trust Club Player of the Year: Ian Porter, QUB
* Ken Goodall Award for Outstanding Player at the Sports Institute: Ian Whitten, QUB
* Special Merit Award: Latimer Adair, Ballynahinch RFC
* Calor Gas Youth Player of the Year: James Simpson, Ballynahinch RFC
* Northern Bank Schools Player of the Year: Jonny Shiels, Coleraine Academical Institution