Ulster Confirm Senior Squad For 2017/18 Season
The Ulster management team have confirmed the province’s senior playing squad for next season, which features 46 fully-contracted and development players.
42 of the players named in the panel will be Irish-qualified next season, while 29 have progressed through Ulster’s player development pathway. The squad includes 23 players capped at international level, with Jacob Stockdale, Kieran Treadwell and new signing John Cooney becoming the latest players to earn international caps during Ireland’s recent summer tour of the USA and Japan.
Commenting on the squad for the upcoming season, Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss said: “We are very happy with the business conducted by (operations director) Bryn Cunningham over the past few months to bring in John Cooney, Jean Deysel and Schalk van der Merwe to cover key positions at scrum half and in the pack.
“With the likes of Marcell (Coetzee), Stu (Olding), Tommy (Bowe) and Charles (Piutau) also all returning from injury, we’re now looking at a squad will real depth and quality throughout.
“As always, the development of our indigenous players is a core part of what we do at Ulster, so to see 27 home-grown players in our senior squad is testament to the work being done both in the Ulster Academy and in the clubs throughout the province.
“Six Academy players made their debuts last season and it is particularly promising to see the quality of young forwards coming through the system, so we will continue to work closely with (Academy manager) Kieran Campbell and his staff to nurture our best young talent.
“Our coaching team is now in place and have begun working with the squad. (Head coach) Jono (Gibbes), (assistant coach) Dwayne (Peel) and (scrum coach) Aaron (Dundon) have brought a great sense of enthusiasm and energy, and the players have responded well, so we’re really looking forward to getting stuck into the pre-season programme over the coming weeks.”
The majority of the squad commenced pre-season training on Monday, while the six players who toured with Ireland, and the three players currently on British & Irish Lions duty, will join the group at later stages.
ULSTER 2017/18 SENIOR SQUAD:
Players developed through the Abbey Insurance Ulster Rugby Academy or Ulster club system are in italics, while internationals are highlighted in bold. Caps are included in brackets. * indicates uncapped players.
Rodney Ah You (18 ULS, 3 IRE)
John Andrew (27 ULS)
Rory Best (198 ULS, 104 IRE)
Callum Black (128 ULS)
Tommy Bowe (150 ULS, 69 IRE)
Peter Browne (31 ULS)
David Busby (2 ULS)
Aaron Cairns (1 ULS)
Darren Cave (193 ULS, 11 IRE)
Marcell Coetzee (4 ULS, 28 SA)
John Cooney (0 ULS, 1 IRE)
Jean Deysel (0 ULS, 4 SA)
Robbie Diack (193 ULS, 2 IRE)
Craig Gilroy (149 ULS, 10 IRE)
Iain Henderson (74 ULS, 32 IRE)
Chris Henry (165 ULS, 24 IRE)
Wiehahn Herbst (54 ULS)
Rob Herring (120 ULS, 1 IRE)
Brett Herron (7 ULS)
Paddy Jackson (123 ULS, 25 IRE)
Ross Kane (11 ULS)
Louis Ludik (54 ULS)
Robert Lyttle (8 ULS)
Luke Marshall (104 ULS, 11 IRE)
Paul Marshall (195 ULS, 3 IRE)
Kyle McCall (36 ULS)
Stuart McCloskey (58 ULS, 1 IRE)
Johnny McPhillips *
Peter Nelson (37 ULS)
Alan O’Connor (39 ULS)
Tommy O’Hagan *
Stuart Olding (62 ULS, 4 IRE)
Jack Owens (1 ULS)
Callum Patterson *
Jared Payne (78 ULS, 20 IRE)
Charles Piutau (23 ULS, 16 NZ)
Matthew Rea *
Sean Reidy (58 ULS, 2 IRE)
Clive Ross (52 ULS)
David Shanahan (13 ULS)
Jonny Simpson (4 ULS)
Jacob Stockdale (24 ULS, 2 IRE)
Kieran Treadwell (21 ULS, 2 IRE)
Andrew Trimble (217 ULS, 70 IRE)
Schalk van der Merwe *
Andrew Warwick (74 ULS)