1996–97 Ulster Rugby season

The 1996–97 Ulster Rugby season was Ulster's second season under professionalism, during which they competed in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship and the Heineken Cup.

1996–97 Ulster Rugby season
Ground(s)Ravenhill Stadium (Capacity: 12,500)
Coach(es)Tony Russ
Captain(s)Denis McBride
Top scorerDavid Humphreys (52)
Most triesStuart Duncan (3)
League(s)Heineken Cup (4th in pool)
IRFU Interprovincial Championship (3rd of 4)
Team kit
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

In June 1996, Ulster hired former Leicester Tigers coach Tony Russ on a five-year contract as their Director of Rugby. He would coach the Ulster senior team, organise strategy, and help develop the game from schools to senior level, working closely with IRFU Director of Rugby Ray Southam.[1]

At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs. However, Ulster were now offering contracts and match fees for Heineken Cup and Interprovincial matches, although these contracts sometimes conflicted with players contracted to clubs in England.[2] English clubs were prepared to release their Irish players for the Heineken Cup, but not for the Interprovincial Championship,[3] but clubs in England and Wales were unhappy at having to compete against representative teams from Ireland in the Heineken Cup.[4] Out-half David Humphreys and lock Jeremy Davidson defied their club, London Irish, by competing in the Heineken Cup for Ulster,[5] but were unavailable for Ulster's match against Australia as it clashed with London Irish's league match against Wasps. In Humphreys' absence, Ulster called on former Scotland "A" international Stuart Laing.[6]

Ulster finished third in the Interprovincial Championship, and fourth in their pool in the Heineken Cup. In November, Russ quit to join English second division club Waterloo F.C.,[7] unhappy that after eight games, he would not be able to work with his Ulster players again for six months.[8]: 11  Clive Griffiths was lined up to take over, but withdrew for family reasons.[9] Davy Haslett, a geography teacher at Royal Belfast Academical Institution and assistant coach on the 1997 Ireland A rugby union tour of Oceania,[8]: 10–11  was named as coach for the 1997–98 season in June.[10]

Ulster players selected for Ireland for the 1997 Five Nations Championship were: Jonny Bell, Allen Clarke, Jeremy Davidson, Maurice Field, David Humphreys, Paddy Johns, Denis McBride and James Topping. Jeremy Davidson was selected for the 1997 British Lions tour to South Africa.

Players selected
Ulster Rugby squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

  • Ireland Andrew Matchett, Ballymena
  • Ireland Stephen Bell, Dungannon

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

  • Ireland Robin Morrow, QUB
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.

    1996–97 Heineken Cup
    Main article: 1996–97 Heineken Cup

    Pool 3
    Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
    France Brive 4400138510665418
    England Harlequins 43012081213195366
    Wales Neath 42021016–683109–264
    Ireland Ulster 4103610–47587–122
    Scotland Caledonia 40041320–7117156–390
    13 October 1996
    14:30
    Caledonia Scotland34-41Ireland Ulster
    Try: Shepherd
    Rouse
    Grimes
    Con: Shepherd (2)
    Pen: Shepherd (4)
    Drop: Newton    		Report[5][11]Try: Humphreys (2)
    Cunningham (2)
    McKinty
    Con: Humphreys (2)
    Pen: Humphreys (2)
    Laing
    Drop: Humphreys
    McDiarmid Park
    Attendance: 2,400
    Referee: J. C. Gastou
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Paddy Johns, 5. Jeremy Davidson, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. David Humphreys, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Sheldon Coulter, 13. Maurice Field, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow. Replacements: Neil McCluskey, for Coulter, 30 mins), Stuart Laing, for Field, 73 mins)


    16 October 1996
    19:00
    Ulster Ireland15–21England Harlequins
    Pen: Humphreys (4)
    Drop: Humphreys    		Report[12][13]Try: Watson
    O'Leary
    Con: Carling
    Pen: Carling (2)
    Ravenhill
    Attendance: 8,000
    Referee: I. Ramage
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Paddy Johns, 5. Jeremy Davidson, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. David Humphreys, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. James Topping, 13. Sheldon Coulter, 14. Neil McCluskey, 15. Robin Morrow. Replacements: John Patterson (for McBride).


    26 October 1996
    14:30
    Neath Wales15–13Ireland Ulster
    Try: Williams
    Gerrard
    Con: Davies
    Pen: Davies    		Report[14]Try: Matchett
    Con: Humphreys
    Pen: Humphreys (2)
    The Gnoll
    Attendance: 2,000
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Gary Longwell, 5. Jeremy Davidson, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. David Humphreys, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Maurice Field, 13. Mark McCall, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow.


    2 November 1996
    14:30
    Ulster Ireland6–17France Brive
    Pen: Humphreys
    Drop: Humphreys    		Report[15]
    Highlights    		Try: Duboisset
    Carrat
    Viars
    Con: Venditti
    Ravenhill
    Attendance: 3,500
    Referee: H. Lewis
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Paddy Johns, 5. Jeremy Davidson, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. David Humphreys, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Maurice Field, 13. Mark McCall, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow.

    1996–97 IRFU Interprovincial Championship
    Main article: IRFU Interprovincial Championship
    Team P W D L F A BP Pts Status
    3 3 0 0 117 92 - 12 Champions; qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
    3 1 0 2 88 92 - 4 Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
    3 1 0 2 81 89 - 4 Qualified for next season's Heineken Cup
    3 1 0 2 77 90 - 4

    Top three teams qualify for next season's Heineken Cup.

    21 September 1996
    Ulster Ulster25-35Leinster Leinster
    Try: Ritchie
    Duncan
    Topping
    Con: Laing (2)
    Pen: Laing (2)    		Preview[16]
    Report[17]    		Try: McKenna (2)
    Jameson
    Spicer
    Con: Governey (3)
    Pen: Governey (3)
    Ravenhill
    Referee: L. Mayne
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Clem Boyd, 4. Gary Longwell, 5. Charlie Simpson, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Mark McCall, 13. Maurice Field, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow.


    28 September 1996
    Ulster Ulster32-27Connacht Connacht
    Try: Duncan
    Laing
    Topping
    Con: Laing
    Pen: Laing (5)    		Report[18]Try: Carey
    Elwood
    Con: Elwood
    Pen: Elwood (5)
    Drop: Elwood
    Ravenhill
    Referee: B. Smith
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Clem Boyd, 4. Gary Longwell, 5. Alan Robinson, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Mark McCall, 13. Maurice Field, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow.


    5 October 1996
    Munster Munster27-24Ulster Ulster
    Try: Dineen
    Galwey
    Con: Begley
    Pen: Begley (3)
    Drop: McIvor
    Keene    		Report[19]Try: Duncan
    Coulter
    Con: Laing
    Pen: Laing (4)
    Thomond Park
    Referee: A. Lewis
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Clem Boyd, 4. Gary Longwell, 5. Alan Robinson, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Sheldon Coulter, 13. Mark McCall, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow.

    Representative matches
    16 November 1996
    Ulster Ireland26-39Australia Australia
    Try: Topping
    Penalty try
    Con: Laing (2)
    Pen: Laing (2)    		Report[20]Try: Eales
    Roff
    Campese
    Penalty try
    Con: Burke
    Pen: Burke
    Knox
    Ravenhill
    Referee: K. Macartney
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Gary Longwell, 5. Paddy Johns, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Mark McCall, 13. Maurice Field, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow.

    Friendlies
    24 August 1996
    Ulster Ireland17-43England London Irish
    Try: Ritchie
    Hillman
    Field
    Con: Coulter    		Report[21]Try: Humphreys
    Newington
    Flood
    Woods
    Bishop (2)
    Richardson
    Con: Humphreys (5)
    Ravenhill
    3 September 1996
    Ballymena Ireland5-20Ireland Ulster
    Try: BeattieReport[22]Try: Longwell
    Ritchie
    Matchett
    Con: Laing
    Pen: Laing
    Eaton Park
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Charlie Simpson, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. John Patterson, 7. Denis McBride (c), 8. Stephen McKinty, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Sheldon Coulter, 13. Maurice Field, 14. James Topping, 15. Stan McDowell. Replacement: Tony McWhirter (for McKinty).
    6 September 1996
    Dungannon Ireland17-47Ireland Ulster
    Try: Sandford
    McCaughey
    Dunn
    Con: Blair    		Report[23]Try: McDowell
    McKinty (2)
    Topping (2)
    Longwell
    McWhirter
    Con: Laing (6)
    Stevenson Park
    Ulster lineup
    • 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. K. Gallagher, 5. Charlie Simpson, 6. John Patterson, 7. Stephen McKinty, 8. Tony McWhirter, 9. Neil Doak, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Sheldon Coulter, 13. Maurice Field, 14. James Topping, 15. Stan McDowell.

    References
    1. "Ulster name pro director", Irish Independent, 5 June 1996
    2. "Reid's cautionary note on contracts", Belfast Telegraph, 23 March 1996
    3. Jim Stokes, "Time is right for a radical change", Ireland's Saturday Night, 24 August 1996
    4. Peter O'Reilly, "Ulster coach warns on power balance", The Sunday Tribune, 22 September 1996
    5. Bill Leith, "Rugby Union: Topping grabs spoils", The Independent, 13 October 1996
    6. "Ulster lose London Irish pair", The Irish Times, 14 November 1996
    7. Micheal McCleary, "Russ job! Rugby chief quits", Sunday Life, 17 November 1996
    8. Jonathan Bradley, The Last Amateurs: The Incredible Story of Ulster Rugby's 1999 European Champions, The Blackstaff Press, 2018
    9. Peter O'Reilly, "Contract jitters go on despite moves", The Sunday Tribune, 11 May 1997
    10. Micheal McGeary, "Davy has a job", Sunday Life, 22 June 1997
    11. "Humphreys points the way for Ulster", Irish Independent, 14 October 1996
    12. Jim Stokes, "Defiant Ulster lose to late Harlequins try", Irish Independent, 17 October 1996
    13. Jim Stokes, "Salute brave Ulster", Belfast Telegraph, 17 October 1996
    14. "Ulster rue missed chances as Neath steal it", Sunday Independent, 27 October 1996
    15. "Ulster challenge fades tamely", Sunday Independent, 3 November 1996
    16. Jim Stokes, "Ulster seek sweet revenge", Belfast Telegraph, 20 September 1996
    17. Peter O'Reilly, "Leinster pack steamrolls ahead", The Sunday Tribune, 22 September 1996
    18. Sean Diffley, "Connacht falter with the winning post in sight", Sunday Independent, 29 September 1996
    19. Michael McGeary, "Ulster fall short", Sunday Life, 6 October 1996
    20. Micheal McGeary, "Brave Ulster", Sunday Life, 17 November 1996
    21. Neil McKay, "All change in rugby's new world", Sunday Life, 25 August 1996
    22. Jim Stokes, "Ballymena expose Ulster's gaping void", Belfast Telegraph. 4 September 1996
    23. Alex George, "Ulster too strong for Dungannon", News Letter, 7 September 1996
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