Personnel changes New signings were Australian lock
Sam Carter, from the
Brumbies; Ireland and Lions prop
Jack McGrath, from
Leinster; New Zealand wing
Matt Faddes, from the
Highlanders; South African-born, Irish-qualified prop
Gareth Milasinovich, from
Worcester Warriors; former Ireland U20 out-half
Bill Johnston, from
Munster; and lock
David O'Connor, from
Lansdowne, joining his older brother
Alan at Ulster on a development contract. Players leaving included flanker
Caleb Montgomery to
Worcester Warriors, wing
David Busby to the
Seattle Seawolves, out-half
Johnny McPhillips to
Leicester Tigers, and lock Alex Thompson to
Jersey Reds. Utility back
Peter Nelson and wing
Jack Owens were released. Centre
Darren Cave retired, and so did hooker
Rory Best after captaining Ireland at the 2019 World Cup.
Iain Henderson was named Ulster's new captain in Best's place. Six new players joined the academy: wing
Aaron Sexton, from
Bangor Grammar School; wing Conor Rankin, from
Campbell College; hooker
Tom Stewart, last seasons' Ulster Schools Player of the Season, from
Belfast Royal Academy; Irish-qualified centre
Hayden Hyde, from
Harlequins academy; prop
Callum Reid, from
Banbridge RFC; and wing
Ethan McIlroy, who joined in January 2020, from
Methodist College Belfast. Scrum coach
Aaron Dundon, strength and conditioning coach Kevin Geary and GPS analyst Chris Hagan left the province's support staff.
Rugby World Cup Three Ulster players were named in the initial
Ireland squad for the
2019 Rugby World Cup: hooker
Rory Best, captaining the team for his last tournament before retiring, lock
Iain Henderson, and wing
Jacob Stockdale. Flanker
Jordi Murphy and hooker
Rob Herring were later called up to replace the injured
Jack Conan and
Seán Cronin.
Season With Iain Henderson away with Ireland at the World Cup, Rob Herring was named stand-in captain. When Herring was called up to the World Cup due to injury, the captaincy went to Billy Burns. The pool stage of the Champions Cup was completed in January 2020, with Ulster finishing second in Pool 3 and qualifying for the quarter-finals. The
2020 Six Nations Championship began in February 2020. Seven Ulster players, Ian Henderson, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole, Will Addison, Billy Burns, John Cooney and Jacob Stokdale, were called up for Ireland. Robert Baloucoune included in the training squad as a development player. Stockdale, Henderson, Herring and Cooney appeared in the first three games, before the tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ulster's away game against Benetton in the Pro14, scheduled for 29 February 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later recorded as a 0–0 draw. The rest of the season was suspended on 12 March. The knockout stage of the Champions Cup was also postponed. The Pro14 season resumed in August, the regular season reduced from 21 games to 15, with matches played behind closed doors. Scrum-half
Alby Mathewson and out-half
Ian Madigan joined in the summer, and were able to play in these late-season matches, but Ulster were docked a point in the Pro14 table as Madigan played two games before he was properly registered with his new club. Ulster finished second in Conference A and qualified for the playoffs. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. The knockout stages of the Champions Cup resumed in September, and Ulster went out in the quarter-finals to Toulouse. The Six Nations resumed in October. The Ireland squad included four Ulster players, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale, and Herring and Stockdale both played in the last two matches. Academy players
Stewart Moore, Azur Allison and
Ethan McIlroy made their senior debuts this season. Ulster had the highest home attendance in the Pro14, averaging 15,295, and led the league in defence. They were fourth in attendance in the Champions Cup, averaging 17,024.
Post-season Inside centre
Stuart McCloskey and scrum-half
John Cooney were named on the Pro14 Dream Team. Cooney and number 8
Marcell Coetzee made the longlist for
EPCR European Player of the Year. At the Ulster Rugby Awards, John Cooney was named Player of the Year. Marcell Coetzee won Personality of the Year, Supporters' Club Player of the Year, and Rugby Writers' Player of the Year.
Tom O'Toole was Young Player of the Year. ==Staff==