The Ulster Rugby management team has confirmed the senior playing squad for next season, with 37 fully-contracted players and 7 development players included.

Of the 44 players named in the panel, 41 are Irish-qualified and 27 have progressed through Ulster’s player development pathway.

Nine players who started the ²⁰¹⁸⁄₁₉ season in the Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy have signed upgraded contracts ahead of the new season.

They will be joined by six new faces; Jack McGrath, Sam Carter, Matt Faddes, Gareth Milasinovich, Bill Johnston and David O’Connor (brother of current second row, Alan).

Commenting on the squad for the upcoming season, Head Coach, Dan McFarland, said:

“Having a large number of indigenous young players in the squad is incredibly important for the future of Ulster Rugby. Kieran Campbell and his staff in the Academy deserve a lot of credit for their work in bringing through the next generation of talent to the senior squad, which was so evident last season. Our clubs and schools also play a huge part in the development pathway of our young players, providing the basis for crucial early technical and motivational growth.

“It is important that we retain the best of our home-grown talent, many of whom receive attractive offers from other clubs, and we have managed to do that once again with some key re-signings.

“Combined with this core group of Ulster men is the vital input of our overseas players. Having players like Marcell Coetzee in the group has delivered tangible benefits both on and off the field, and I’m confident that Sam Carter and Matt Faddes will also have big impacts.

“We will also welcome the experience and quality of Jack McGrath, and the potential of Gareth Milasinovich, Bill Johnston and David O’Connor into the squad, and I’m looking forward to working with them all.

“The squad is developing nicely. We need to have quality throughout the squad; sometimes that’s down to recruitment, a lot of the time it’s down to bringing the young guys through. Getting a healthy mixture of the two is really important.”

The majority of the squad will commence pre-season training on Monday 1st July.

Ulster Rugby ²⁰¹⁹⁄₂₀ squad

Players developed through the Academy or Ulster club system are marked with * and Development players are in italics.

Will Addison

John Andrew*

Robert Baloucoune*

Billy Burns

Sam Carter

Marcell Coetzee

John Cooney

Angus Curtis*

Matt Faddes

Craig Gilroy*

Iain Henderson*

Rob Herring

James Hume*

Bill Johnston

Greg Jones*

Ross Kane*

Angus Kernohan*

Michael Lowry*

Louis Ludik

Rob Lyttle*

Luke Marshall*

Adam McBurney*

Kyle McCall*

Zack McCall*

Stuart McCloskey*

Jack McGrath

Gareth Milasinovic

Marty Moore

Jordi Murphy

Alan O’Connor*

David O’Connor

Tommy O’Hagan*

Eric O’Sullivan*

Tom O’Toole*

Marcus Rea*

Matty Rea*

Sean Reidy

Clive Ross

David Shanahan*

Jonny Stewart*

Jacob Stockdale*

Nick Timoney*

Kieran Treadwell

Andrew Warwick*

—

Ulster Academy ²⁰¹⁹⁄₂₀ Squad Announced

The ²⁰¹⁹⁄₂₀ Abbey Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy squad has also been announced, which includes five new entrants.

Flying back three sensation Aaron Sexton will make the full time switch from athletics to rugby, having recently broken the Irish Schools records for both the 100 and 200 metres. Sexton is also a familiar name in rugby circles, as he was Ulster A’s top try scorer in last year’s Celtic Cup, touching down seven times in six games. The Bangor Grammar School pupil also featured in Ulster’s pre-season friendly versus Gloucester and was the 2017 Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Player of the Year.

Another exciting back three prospect, Conor Rankin, will join the Academy from Campbell College, where he was a pivotal figure in the side that won the 2018 Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Cup.

Recently awarded Danske Bank Ulster Schools’ Player of the Year Tom Stewart is another player joining the Academy following a stellar schools career where the Belfast Royal Academy hooker captained Ulster at U18 level.

Highly rated Irish qualified centre Hayden Hyde will make the move from English Premiership side Harlequins to Ulster, following in the footsteps of Kieran Treadwell and Sam Arnold. Hyde has already represented Ireland at U18 and U19 level.

Following a year in the sub-Academy and a season’s experience in the All Ireland League with Banbridge RFC, prop Callum Reid has been awarded a full time place in the Academy. Reid represented Ulster A in the Celtic Cup last year and was part of the Ireland U20 Six Nations Grand Slam winning team.

After an outstanding season last year which saw Ulster Academy players contribute no less than 111 appearances across the Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Champions Cup, nine players who started the year in the Academy have gone on to earn upgraded contracts; Robert Baloucoune, Angus Curtis, James Hume, Angus Kernohan, Michael Lowry, Zack McCall, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole and Marcus Rea.

Commenting on the announcement of the squad, Abbey Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy Manager, Kieran Campbell said:

“Last year was a really successful season in terms of the contribution Academy players made at senior level, which is ultimately what we are here to do – develop players of the requisite quality to represent Ulster and Ireland.

“We still believe there is significant opportunity to grow again this year and we are excited about the new batch of players joining our programme. Each year we are driving increased standards so I congratulate those who have been awarded a place in the Academy and look forward to seeing how they develop into the future.”

ULSTER RUGBY ACADEMY ²⁰¹⁹⁄₂₀

Year 4:

Aaron Hall

Position: Back Row

DOB: 26/06/1998

Height: 193cm

Weight: 98kg

Year 3:

Graham Curtis

Position: Scrum Half

DOB: 12/09/1999

Height: 176cm

Weight: 84kg

Matthew Dalton

Position: 2nd Row

DOB: 16/11/1998

Height: 197cm

Weight: 105kg

Joe Dunleavy

Position: Flanker

DOB: 22/12/1998

Height: 190cm

Weight: 101kg

Jack Regan

Position: 2nd Row

DOB: 09/05/1997

Height: 197cm

Weight: 108kg

Year 2:

Matthew Agnew

Position: Back Row

DOB: 20/11/1998

Height: 180cm

Weight: 89kg

Azur Allison

Position: Back Row

DOB: 19/04/1999

Height: 192cm

Weight: 95kg

Bruce Houston

Position: Fly Half

DOB: 16/08/1999

Height: 192cm

Weight: 84kg

Iwan Hughes

Position: Back Three

DOB: 06/04/1999

Height: 174cm

Weight: 79kg

David McCann

Position: Back Row

DOB: 13/06/2000

Height: 191cm

Weight: 103kg

Stewart Moore

Position: Centre

DOB: 08/08/1999

Height: 183cm

Weight: 91kg

Year 1:

Hayden Hyde

Position: Centre

DOB: 15/09/2000

Conor Rankin

Position: Back Three

DOB: 27/05/2001

Height: 186cm

Weight: 83kg

Callum Reid

Position: Prop

DOB: 06/01/1999

Height: 183cm

Weight: 111kg

Aaron Sexton

Position: Back Three

DOB: 24/08/2000

Height: 188cm

Weight: 88kg

Tom Stewart

Position: Hooker

DOB: 11/01/2001

Height: 182cm

Weight: 97kg