Ulster Rugby participant in 2003–04 Celtic League
Professional success (1999–2006)
After rugby union was declared open to professionalism in 1995, the IRFU gradually developed the provincial sides as professional teams. The Heineken Cup was launched in 1995 to provide a new level of European cross-border competition, and Ulster, coached by Harry Williams and captained by David Humphreys, became the first Irish team to win it in the 1998–99 season, beating beat French side US Colomiers 21–6 in the final at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.The Celtic League, featuring all four Irish provinces plus teams from Scotland and Wales, was launched in 2001. From 2001 to 2004, the Ulster team was coached by Alan Solomons, a former assistant coach of the Springboks and head coach of The Stormers and Western Province in his native South Africa. Solomons coached Ulster to a three-year unbeaten home record in the Heineken Cup. In the 2003–04 season, Ulster finished second in the Celtic League, only overtaken by Llanelli on the final day of the campaign. Two of Ulster's most impressive achievements in this period were a 33–0 win over English giants Leicester Tigers in the Heineken Cup in January 2004, and winning the inaugural Celtic Cup on 20 December 2003, beating Edinburgh in a rain-soaked Murrayfield final.Solomons was succeeded by Mark McCall, former captain of the province and a member of Ulster's Heineken Cup winning squad, with former teammate Allen Clarke as his assistant, and Ulster's unbeaten home run in Europe was extended to four years. Dominant forward play by Australian lock Justin Harrison, New Zealand-born Irish scrum-half Isaac Boss, and a rapid maturing of a youthful home-grown three-quarter line made Ulster champions of the 2005–06 Celtic League. On the last day of the season, the title came down between Ulster and Leinster, before being decided in Ulster's favour by a 40-metre David Humphreys drop goal against Ospreys.
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