# 2006–07 Ulster Rugby season

The 2006–07 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's 13th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and their third under head coach Mark McCall. They competed in the Heineken Cup and the Celtic League.
They finished fifth in the Celtic League. Andrew Trimble was the league's joint top try scorer with seven. David Humphreys was fourth top points scorer with 148, and third leading marksman with 56 successful goal kicks. They were third in their Heineken Cup pool, failing to qualify for the knockout stage. Roger Wilson was Ulster's Player of the Year.

## Staff

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Director of Coaching | Mark McCall | Ireland |
| Assistant coach (forwards) | Allen Clarke | Ireland |
| Defence coach | Neil Kelly | England |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Rodney Kennedy | Ireland |
| Fitness and conditioning coach | Philip Morrow | Ireland |
| Team manager | John McComish | Ireland |
| Team doctor | David Irwin | Ireland |
| Team physiotherapist | Gareth Robinson | Ireland |
| Video analyst | Simon McGookin | Ireland |

## Squad
### Senior squad

| Ulster Rugby squad |
| Props Bryan Young (23 apps, 20 starts) Simon Best (17 apps, 15 starts) Justin Fitzpatrick (22 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Tom Court* (3 apps, 2 starts) Declan Fitzpatrick (8 apps, 1 start, 5 pts) John Andress (no apps) Niall Conlon (no apps) Hookers Rory Best (19 apps, 18 starts, 20 pts) Paul Shields (16 apps, 8 starts) Nigel Brady (3 apps) Stuart Philpott (1 app) Locks Justin Harrison (25 apps, 25 starts) Matt McCullough (18 apps, 13 starts, 5 pts) Tim Barker (21 apps, 10 starts) Ryan Caldwell (6 apps, 4 starts) Lewis Stevenson (no apps) | Back row Roger Wilson (26 apps, 25 starts, 15 apps) Neil Best (18 apps, 18 starts, 15 pts) Stephen Ferris (20 apps, 17 starts) Kieron Dawson (20 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Neil McMillan (14 apps, 4 starts, 10 pts) David Pollock (3 apps) Sam Harding (1 app) Chris Henry (no apps) Scrum-halves Isaac Boss (20 apps, 19 starts, 15 pts) Kieran Campbell (20 apps, 7 starts, 5 pts) Paul Marshall (2 apps) Fly-halves David Humphreys (19 apps, 19 starts, 200 pts) | Centres Paddy Wallace (24 apps, 22 starts, 47 pts) Paul Steinmetz (23 apps, 22 starts, 62 pts) Andrew Trimble (19 apps, 19 starts, 45 pts) Kevin Maggs (20 apps, 7 starts) Adam Larkin (3 apps, 1 start) Darren Cave (1 app) Wings Paul McKenzie (12 apps, 16 starts) Tommy Bowe (17 apps, 15 starts, 25 pts) Mark Bartholomeusz (15 apps, 14 starts, 5 pts) Andy Maxwell (14 apps, 12 starts, 20 pts) Fullbacks Scott Young (23 apps, 20 starts) Bryn Cunningham (19 apps, 18 starts, 30 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. |

### Academy squad
#### Players in

* Niall O'Connor
* Neil Simpson
* Michael Ferguson
* Stephen Douglas
* Mark Robinson
* T. J. Anderson
* Willie Faloon
* David Drake
* Phil Coulter
* Owen McMurray
* Richard Fegan
* Dale Black
| Position | Name | Nationality |
| High Performance Development Manager | Gary Longwell | Ireland |
| Fitness and conditioning coach | Steve Richards | Ireland |
| Elite Player Development Officer | Neil Doak | Ireland |
| Academy squad |
| Props Michael Ferguson, Dungannon (1) Neil Simpson, Instonians (1) Hookers Stephen Douglas, Ballymena (1) Locks none | Back row Mark Robinson, QUB (1) T. J. Anderson, Dungannon (1) David Pollock, QUB (2) Willie Faloon, Ballynahinch (1) Scrum-halves David Drake, Ballymena (1) Phil Coulter, Malone (1) Fly-halves Niall O'Connor, Belfast Harlequins (1) Owen McMurray, Instonians (1) | Centres Darren Cave, Belfast Harlequins (2) Mark McCrea, QUB (1) Stuart Megaw, Ballynahinch Wings Richard Fegan, Malone (1) Dale Black, Dungannon (1) Fullbacks none |

## Heineken Cup
### Pool 5

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Llanelli Scarlets (2) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 12 | +8 | 169 | 120 | +49 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| Toulouse | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 147 | 145 | +2 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
| Ulster | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 15 | −5 | 111 | 129 | −18 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| London Irish | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 124 | 157 | −33 | 2 | 3 | 9 |

## Celtic League

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Ospreys | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 461 | 374 | +87 | 49 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 64 |
| 2 | Cardiff Blues | 20 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 447 | 327 | +120 | 53 | 33 | 6 | 3 | 63 |
| 3 | Leinster | 20 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 472 | 376 | +96 | 54 | 37 | 7 | 4 | 61 |
| 4 | Llanelli Scarlets | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 490 | 417 | +73 | 61 | 41 | 9 | 0 | 57 |
| 5 | Ulster | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 423 | 310 | +113 | 45 | 31 | 4 | 5 | 55 |
| 6 | Munster | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 379 | 294 | +85 | 37 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 54 |
| 7 | Glasgow Warriors | 20 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 434 | 419 | +15 | 42 | 49 | 3 | 2 | 49 |
| 8 | Edinburgh | 20 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 335 | 423 | −88 | 31 | 45 | 2 | 6 | 42 |
| 9 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 20 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 353 | 362 | −9 | 36 | 43 | 1 | 6 | 39 |
| 10 | Connacht | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 326 | 474 | −148 | 30 | 48 | 2 | 4 | 26 |
| 11 | Border Reivers | 20 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 201 | 545 | −344 | 16 | 64 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 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 Archived 2020-09-03 at the Wayback Machine ||||||||||||||

## 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 |
| 2006–07 Celtic League | 10 | 10,207 | 12,900 | 7,429 | 2006–07 Heineken Cup | 3 | 12,599 | 12,772 | 12,278 | 139,862 | 10,759 |

## Ulster Rugby Awards

The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held at the Ramada Hotel on 17 May 2007. Winners were:
* Bank of Ireland Ulster Player of the Year: Roger Wilson
* Guinness Ulster Rugby Personality of the Year: Rory Best
* Vodofone Ulster Young Player of the Year: David Pollock
* Kukri Sportswear Club of the Year: Dungannon RFC
* First Trust Club Player of the Year: Paul Magee, Dungannon
* Ken Goodall Award for Outstanding Player at the Sports Institute: Thomas Anderson
* Northern Bank Schools Player of the Year: James Sandford, The Royal School, Armagh
* Calor Gas Youth Player of the Year: David McGregor
* Belfast Telegraph Merit Award: Simon McDowell
* Dorrington B. Faulkner Award: Walter Lindsay, Civil Service Rugby Club