ULSTER Rugby

Ravenhill is now Kingspan Stadium after a new 10 year sponsorship deal.

swift4prez wrote: Ravenhill is now Kingspan Stadium after a new 10 year sponsorship deal.

Good deal for Ulster. We probably cant sell the naming rights to the Sportsground. Not sure it would be worth while at the moment anyway. Let our stock rise over the next few years, and get a better deal

David Humphreys to Gloucester ! New DOR. Big blow for the boys up North.

Craic Head wrote: David Humphreys to Gloucester ! New DOR. Big blow for the boys up North.

No wonder he wasn't too cut up about Afoa going!

Must be a big increase in money, cant see glo being a higher profile job than ulster

Gloucester have stated their intention to get themselves in the top half of the table and no doubt have taken note of what has happened at Ulster during Humphreys term there. Probably a smart move on his part. It's a little different case but O'Shea's time at Harlequins has done wonders for his stock in Ireland. Getting Gloucester competing for silverware would do the same for Humphreys.

I just hope this isn't more to do with Humphreys having concerns about the viability of Pro12 rugby and the ability of the Irish provinces to compete for big name players going forward. That would really be an indictment and add to my uneasiness concerning the future.

Mark Anscome has parted ways with ulster, they've had a lot of departures recently!

Is something going on in Ravenhill?

Less Kiss to replace him on an intrim basis.

Humpreys now Anscome. Humpreys was a big shock for me. Anscombe has come at a very strange time.

As already asked, anyone know if things not going well in the background?

Has there been a recent ( past season ) new head of operations appointed?

All seems pretty strange

Logan's been CEO since 2010 I believe. The major change is Humphries jumping ship.

It appears that the 2 roles (Dir. of Rugby and Head Coach) will be now be amalgamated. Note that Ulster was the only province where the roles were separate.

Loving the quote on boards.ie

" it is really turning into game of thrones up there"

Had a look at a couple of the Ulster fans forums. Doesn't seem to come as a surprise. They seem happy enough that he's going. Sounds like he got the boot.

Heard Bowe say that it was time for a change in the ulster set up on bbc!

Seems like there is more to the departures than meets the eye.

Anscombe departure

Anscombe's son doesn't seem too happy with the decision.

Jake White being linked with the job.

www.ulsterrugbyshop.com/collections/newrange

Nice new gear for our friends up north. Hope BLK don't leave it too late

BBC Northern Ireland has secured a new four-season deal to provide live coverage of Ulster's matches in the Guinness Pro12.

In the league section of the competition, BBC TWO NI will broadcast Ulster home and away games which are not being shown live on Sky Sports.

The matches that Sky select will be live on BBC Radio Ulster.

BBC Northern Ireland has also secured live TV coverage of any play-off match involving Ulster - including finals.

Ulster vs Exeter
former connacht eagles player, Charlie Butterworth starting at 7.
Mike McComish and Sean O'Hagan on the bench