It's all quiet now for the Ulster players..
With the conclusion of the International July tour, all activity ceases, the players get a much needed and mandatory rest period before reporting for duty to take part in pre-season training ahead of the United Rugby Championship and the Nations Championship that kicks off a little later on in November. Rest and rehabilitation is on the menu!
Coaching & Leadership Updates
There's been a few changes worthy of note,
Coaching Staff
- Head coach Richie Murphy and the core coaching staff will be sticking around for another while, they extended their contracts
- Forwards coach Jimmy Duffy has departed for Munster, but a quality replacement has been sourced, former Highlanders head coach and All Blacks Prop Clarke Dermody. Ulster is going to be transitioning towards a younger pack 2026/27 so Dermody's teaching abilities are hopefully going to be indispensible in that area
Academy Pathway Promotions
- Flanker Bryn Ward Secured his first full senior contract after an outstanding academy stint. The name might sound familiar, that's because his dad is Andy Ward, the legendary former Ulster and Ireland openside flanker, big shoes to fill!
- Hooker Henry Walker A very promising young man, Ireland U20's captain, he's the modern hooker build, so highly mobile, good ball carrying and quality work rate around the pitch. With Andrews leaving basically the new backup for Herring and Stewart.
- Winger Aitzol Arenzana-King. Originally started out in Leinster Academy 2022 but then headed north to Ulster to try and achieve a quicker route to first team selection. This guy knows how to score tries, had it not been for his 8 month sideline due to ACL recovery, he probably would have made a bigger splash last season.
Captaincy
- Veteran lock Iain Henderson remains club captain, hell of a talisman to be honest.
New Signings (In)
Lots of action here (which is great to see), head coach Richie Murphy is getting on with the job, so far Ulster have added 7 new seniors to boost to the forward pack power and provide more options in the backline:
- Eduardo Bello (Tighthead Prop) – Argentine international signed from Newcastle.
- Eli Snyman (Lock) – Zimbabwean-born lock joining from Benetton.
- Keynan Knox (Prop) – Irish-qualified tighthead added to boost front-row depth.
- Ben Donnell (Lock / Back-Row) – Irish-qualified forward acquired from Cardiff.
- Matthew Devine (Scrum-Half) – Young playmaker signed from Connacht.
- Jamie Benson (Fly-Half) – Irish-qualified fly-half arriving from Harlequins.
- Chay Mullins (Back-Three) – Sevens and 15s back-three threat moving from Connacht.
The most intriguing name on this list is probably Chay Mullins, for a young guy he's got some achievements under his belt already. He’s a Paris 2024 Olympian and World Cup bronze medalist with the Ireland Sevens squad. 6’4” with World Series Sevens gas. When Connacht unleased him, he scored a hat trick against Zebre in his starting debut! Can't wait to see this gentleman on the pitch at Ravenhill carving up the opposition.
Departures & Released Players (Out)
11 Senior players were released upon contract completion. Head coach Richie Murphy initiated this squad cleanup to attempt to tame Ulster's wage bill and also make way for the Academy kids like flanker Bryn Ward and hooker Henry Walker to enter into Senior Contract. It's cutthroat but it's how the world works, Clubs need to balance the books.
- Prop Angus Bell – Ended his sabbatical season and returned to Australia to play with NSW Waratahs.
- Winger Werner Kok – Completed a move to Newcastle.
- Fly-Half James Humphreys – Completed a move to Ealing Trailfinders.
This next group consists primarily of homegrown talent, depth options, or players recovering from injury they've unfortunately been released without immediate transfers.
Long-Serving Vets The first two of these gentlemen have been faithful Ulster servants for well over a decade!
John Andrew (Hooker – 137 Club Caps): After 11 seasons as Ulster's dependable hooker and a key cultural leader in the squad, the 31-year-old Ballymena man stepped away from top-tier professional rugby upon contract end.
David Shanahan (Scrum-Half – 104 Club Caps): "Shanners" spent 13 years in the Ulster setup as a high-tempo backup scrum-half. Following his contract completion, the 33-year-old stepped away also.
Forwards & Breakdown Specialists
Marcus Rea (Flanker – 59 Club Caps): Breakdown specialist and former URC turnover leader finished his contract and entered the free-agent market to explore opportunities in the RFU Championship and domestic All-Ireland League (AIL). Marcus and his older brother "Matty" have both now moved on from Ulster, for Matty it was the end of the 2024/25 season.
Sean Reffell (Flanker – 16 Club Caps): A former Saracens openside. Four seasons spent at Ulster mostly injured, never really got started in the end.
Matthew Dalton (Lock – 23 Club Caps): The lock Completed his second stint with Ulster as squad cover and returned to the free-agent market.
Lorcan McLoughlin (Back-Row): Has transitioned out of the full professional squad at the end of his development deal.
Backs & Front-Row Depth
Ben Moxham (Winger/Centre – 41 Club Caps): The 25-year-old Larne man showed great initial promise, but then back-to-back ACL knee injuries called time on his Ulster career.
Bryan O'Connor (Tighthead Prop – 5 Club Caps): Short-term front-row cover from English Championship side Bedford Blues.
Rory McGuire (Tighthead Prop – 1 Club Cap): Academy graduate, sadly just didn't make it.
Roundup
That just about covers it. Adding the final senior squad list as it stands for reference, looking forward to doing a spot of rating later towards the end of the 2026/27 season, or possibly pick a few names of the list and rate as performances progress throughout the season. 41 players (23 forwards & 18 backs)
FORWARDS
- Prop Eduardo Bello (New signing – Newcastle Falcons)
- Prop Sam Crean
- Prop Keynan Knox (New signing – Nevers)
- Prop Eric O'Sullivan
- Prop Tom O'Toole
- Prop Callum Reid
- Prop Scott Wilson ~
- Hooker Rob Herring
- Hooker James McCormick
- Hooker Tom Stewart
- Hooker Henry Walker (Promoted from Academy) ~
- Lock Iain Henderson (Captain)
- Lock Joe Hopes
- Lock Charlie Irvine
- Lock Cormac Izuchukwu
- Lock Harry Sheridan
- Lock Eli Snyman (New signing – Benetton) ~
- Back-Row Juarno Augustus
- Back-Row Ben Donnell (New signing – Cardiff)
- Back-Row David McCann
- Back-Row James McNabney
- Back-Row Nick Timoney
- Back-Row Bryn Ward (Promoted from Academy)
BACKS
- Scrum-Half Matthew Devine (New signing – Connacht)
- Scrum-Half Nathan Doak
- Scrum-Half Conor McKee ~
- Fly-Half Jamie Benson (New signing – Harlequins)
- Fly-Half Jake Flannery
- Fly-Half Jack Murphy ~
- Centre Ben Carson
- Centre James Hume
- Centre Stuart McCloskey
- Centre Stewart Moore
- Centre Jude Postlethwaite ~
- Wingers & Full-Backs Aitzol Arenzana-King (Promoted from Academy)
- Wingers & Full-Backs Robert Baloucoune
- Wingers & Full-Backs Michael Lowry
- Wingers & Full-Backs Ethan McIlroy
- Wingers & Full-Backs Chay Mullins (New signing – Connacht)
- Wingers & Full-Backs Jacob Stockdale
- Wingers & Full-Backs Zac Ward
Not long to go now!
Some atmosphere in this place on a friday night, few better places to end the work week.
