Personnel changes Assistant coach
Dan Soper moved from assistant coach to a new transition and development role. Former
Connacht attack coach Mark Sexton joined as backs coach.
Willie Faloon is defence and contact skills coach.
Niall Annett and Jonathon Graham were appointed Elite Player Development Officers. In September, Ulster announced that general manager
Bryn Cunningham was to leave his post once a successor had been recruited. Former Ulster and Ireland captain
Rory Best was announced as the new general manager on 29 October. South African loose forward
Juarno Augustus joined from
Northampton Saints. and Australian international loosehead
Angus Bell will join Ulster in December, on sabbatical from the
Waratahs. Academy locks
Joe Hopes and
Charlie Irvine joined the senior squad on development deals, to become senior deals in 2026, and out-half
James Humphreys moved from a development contract to a senior one, as did prop
Scott Wilson and back rowers
James McNabney and
Lorcan McLoughlin, while academy out-half
Jack Murphy was upgraded to a senior contract. Six players joined the academy: hooker Connor Magee, props
Tom McAllister and Flynn Longstaff, out-half Daniel Green, and wings Josh Gibson and
Aitzol Arenzana-King. Lock
Kieran Treadwell left to join
Harlequins. Scrum-half
John Cooney joined French club
Brive. Flanker
Reuben Crothers retired. Lock
Alan O'Connor left to become head of rugby development at
Ballymena Academy. Prop
Andrew Warwick retired from professional rugby and returned to
Ballymena RFC; Academy prop
Cameron Doak joined the
Harlequins academy. Out-half
Aidan Morgan left by mutual consent, and signed for
Toyota Verblitz. In November, centre
Stewart Moore joined
Newcastle Falcons on loan, but was soon recalled to cover for injuries. Two Irish-qualified 18-year-olds, Australian-born lock Paddy Woods and South-African-born centre Rynard Gordon, joined the Ulster academy in February.
International callups Men's summer tour Seven Ulster players, lock
Cormac Izuchukwu, prop
Tom O'Toole, hooker
Tom Stewart, flanker
Nick Timoney, centre
Stuart McCloskey, scrum-half
Nathan Doak and wing
Jacob Stockdale, were named in the
Ireland men's squad for the
summer tour to Georgia and Portugal. Three more players, flanker
James McNabney, centre
Jude Postlethwaite and wing
Zac Ward, were called up as training panellists, and prop
Scott Wilson was called up as injury cover. McNabney sustained an
anterior cruciate ligament injury in training. Izuchukwu, Timoney, Stockdale and McCloskey started against Georgia on 5 July, with Stewart appearing from the bench. Timoney scored a try in a 34–5 victory, but Stockdale was taken off with an arm injury. McCloskey started, and scored a try, with Stewart, O'Toole and Izuchukwu coming off the bench in a 106–7 victory against Portugal on 12 July.
Women's World Cup Four Ulster players were named in the
Ireland preparation squad for the
2025 Women's Rugby World Cup: hooker
Neve Jones, back row
Brittany Hogan, prop
Sadhbh McGrath and lock
Fiona Tuite. McGrath and Hogan were named to start the first warm-up match against
Scotland on 2 August, with Jones and Tuite on the bench. McGrath scored a try in a 27–21 victory. Jones, Tuite and Hogan were named to start, with McGrath and
Claire Boles on the bench, for the second warm-up match against
Canada on 9 August, which Ireland lost 26–47. Boles, Hogan, Jones, McGrath and Tuite were all named in the World Cup squad. Hogan, Tuite and Jones started the opening 42–14 victory over Japan, with McGrath coming off the bench; Jones and Tuite both scored tries. Boles and Tuite started the 43–27 victory over Spain, with Jones, McGrath and Hogan coming off the bench. Hogan and Jones started the final pool match, a 40–0 defeat to New Zealand, and McGrath and Boles came off the bench. Ireland qualified for the quarter-final, which they lost 13–18 to France. Jones, Tuite and Hogan started, and McGrath came off the bench.
Sponsorship Ulster's principal sponsor, following the end of their deal with Kingspan, is Antrim-based manufacturing company SAM Mouldings. Following a stadium naming deal,
Ravenhill will be known as Affidea Stadium.
Season First block Ulster opened their URC season with a home bonus point win against
Dragons on 26 September. They beat the Sharks with a four-try bonus point on 18 October. Four players, including academy back row
Bryn Ward, were added to the squad to cover injuries and international callups. Ward made his debut, and
Robert Baloucoune scored three tries, but the Lions won 49–31.
International break Four Ulster players,
Iain Henderson,
Nick Timoney,
Stuart McCloskey and
Jacob Stockdale, were named in the
Ireland squad for the
2025 end-of-year rugby union internationals. McCloskey started, and Henderson appeared from the bench, in the loss to
New Zealand in Chicago. Stockdale and Timoney started, and Timoney scored a try, in the home win against
Japan. McCloskey started and Timoney appeared from the bench in the home win over
Australia. No Ulster players appeared in the home defeat to
South Africa. Ten Ulster players,
Tom Stewart (named as captain),
Tom O'Toole,
Scott Wilson,
David McCann,
Nathan Doak,
Jack Murphy,
Jude Postlethwaite,
Zac Ward,
Robert Baloucoune and
Michael Lowry, were named in the Ireland 'A' squad to face
Spain on 8 November.
Jimmy Duffy was named as forwards coach. Stewart, O'Toole, Postlethwaite, Baloucoune and Lowry started, and Wilson, McCann, Doak and Ward appeared from the bench, in the 61–24 away win, with Baloucoune scoring two tries, and Postlethwaite and Wilson scoring one each.
Second block Ulster returned to the URC on 28 November 2025 with a 47-13 home win over
Benetton, including two tries each for
Robert Baloucoune and
Werner Kok. A home victory against
Stade Francais meant Ulster finished top of the group and third seed overall, earning a home game in the round of sixteen against
Ospreys on 4 April. A last-minute away loss to the
Scarlets and a home win over
Cardiff left Ulster fourth in thye URC table after round 11.
Six Nations break Nine Ulster players were selected in the
Ireland squad for the
2026 Six Nations Championship: hooker
Tom Stewart, prop
Tom O'Toole, lock
Cormac Izuchukwu, flanker
Nick Timoney, wings
Jacob Stockdale and
Robert Baloucoune, centres
Stuart McCloskey and
Jude Postlethwaite, and uncapped scrum-half
Nathan Doak. Loose forward
Bryn Ward was called up as a training panellist, and was in the squad for the
Ireland 'A' squad for the fixture against England 'A', alongside props
Sam Crean and
Scott Wilson, locks
Charlie Irvine and
Harry Sheridan, centre
James Hume, out-half
Jack Murphy, and wing
Zac Ward, with Mark Sexton involved as attack coach. McCloskey and Stockdale started, and Timoney came off the bench and scored a try, in the opening away loss against
France. Wilson, Irvine, Bryn Ward, Zac Ward and Hume started the 'A' international, and Crean, Sheridan and Murphy appeared from the bench, as they lost 52-14 to England 'A'. Bryn Ward returned to the full Ireland squad. Izuchukwu, McCloskey and Baloucoune were named to start, with O'Toole and Timoney on the bench, for the second Six Nations game at home to
Italy. Baloucoune scored a try and was named Man of the Match in a 20-13 win. The following week McCloskey and Baloucoune started, with Baloucoune scoring a try, and O'Toole and Timoney came off the bench, in a 42-21 away win against
England. In the Six Nations break week, Ulster lost 21-10 away to the Ospreys. The following week, Tom O'Toole, Nick Timoney, Jacob Stockdale, Stuart McCloskey and Robert Baloucoune started, Stockdale scoring a try, and Tom Stewart and Nathan Doak came off the bench, the latter making his international debut, as Ireland beat Wales 27-17 in Dublin. The postponed round 2 URC match between
Edinburgh and Ulster was rescheduled for 13 March 2026. Academy prop
Tom McAllister made his senior debut as Ulster won 40-19 and went into second in the URC table. In the final round of the Six Nations, Tom O'Toole, Stuart McCloskey and Robert Baloucoune started, with Baloucoune scoring a try, and Timoney came off the bench, as Ireland won the
Triple Crown with a home win against
Scotland. Baloucoune won the tournament's Rising Player award.
Final block Ulster lost their home interpro against
Connacht, with academy centre
Jonny Scott making his debut from the bench.
James Humphreys made his first start the following week, as Ulster defeated
Zebre Parma away, with a four-try bonus point returning them to third in the table. Ulster hosted the
Ospreys in the round of 16 of the
Challenge Cup, and won 28-24, with what would have been a last-minute winning try by the Ospreys disallowed for a forward pass. Ulster then lost two interpros in the URC: the first, 21-29 at home to
Leinster, in which six players went off injured, and the second, a heavily rotated side lost 14-41 away to Munster. Three academy players, flankers
James McKillop and
Tom Brigg, and wing
Aitzol Arenzana-King, who scored a try, made their senior debuts. These two defeats left Ulster in eighth position in the table, with nine teams capable of qualifying for the eight playoff places. They won their home semi-final in the Challenge Cup against
Exeter Chiefs, setting up a final in Bilbao against
Montpellier.
Future developments Signings reported for the 2026-27 season include Benetton's Zimbabwean lock
Eli Snyman, Connacht scrum-half
Matthew Devine, Irish-qualified lock/back row
Ben Donnell from
Cardiff, and Irish-qualified out-half
Jamie Benson from
Harlequins. Ulster synchronised the contracts of their entire senior coaching team: Head coach Richie Murphy, forwards coach Jimmy Duffy, defence coach Willie Faloon and attack coach Mark Sexton all signed new contracts to the end of the 2027-28 season, with development and transition coach Dan Soper already signed until then. However, it was later announced that Duffy would leave at the end of the season by mutual consent. Academy back row forward
Bryn Ward signed his first senior contract for the 2026-27 season. ==Staff==