1997–98 Ulster Rugby season

The 1997–98 season was Ulster Rugby's third season under professionalism, during which they competed in the Heineken Cup and the IRFU Interprovincial Championship. Ulster Rugby Limited was incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee on 9 May 1997.^[1][2]

1997–98 Ulster Rugby season

Ground(s)	Ravenhill Stadium (Capacity: 12,500)
Coach(es)	Davy Haslett
Captain(s)	Stephen McKinty
Top scorer	Stuart Laing (115)
Most tries	Jan Cunningham (2) Stan McDowell (2)
League(s)	Heineken Cup (4th in pool) IRFU Interprovincial Championship (3rd of 4)
Team kit
← 1996–97 1998–99 →

The IRFU offered new contracts for provincial players for this season. Full-time players would receive a retainer of £25,000, plus a win bonus of £500 for Heineken Cup matches. Part-time players would be paid a retainer of £7,500, plus a match fee of £400 for Interprovincial matches and £800 for the Heineken Cup, and a win bonus of £450 for both competitions.^[3] Each province could have a maximum of 30 contracted players.^[4]

Mark McCall was offered a full-time contract, but turned it down and signed for London Irish, making him unavailable for Ulster this season.^[5] Full-time contracts were also offered to Jan Cunningham and Stephen Bell, and part-time contracts to Sheldon Coulter, Gary Longwell, Andrew Matchett, Dean Macartney and Tony McWhirter (Ballymena), Stuart Duncan, Richard Mackey and Denis McBride (Malone), Gary Leslie and John Patterson (Dungannon), Clem Boyd (Bedford), Bryn Cunningham (Bective), Stuart Laing (Portadown), Stephen McKinty (Bangor), and Andy Ward (Ballynahinch).^[5]

After the departure of Tony Russ, Clive Griffiths was lined up to take over as head coach, but withdrew in the summer. Davy Haslett, a geography teacher at RBAI, was offered the position on the eve of the 1997 Ireland A rugby union tour of Oceania, on which he was assistant coach. Between returning from that tour and a pre-booked famility holiday, he only had four weeks to work with the team before the season started. Charlie McAleese was appointed assistant coach, and John Kinnear team manager.^{[6]: 10–12} Ulster finished third in the Interprovincial Championship, and bottom of their pool in the Heineken Cup.

A representative match against South African side Geuteng Falcons in early 1998, for which Ulster were to be coached by Ballymena coach Nelie Smith, was called off after clubs refused to release their players.^[7]

Paddy Johns and Andy Ward were selected for the Ireland squad for the 1998 Five Nations Championship. Johns, Ward and James Topping were selected for the 1998 tour to South Africa.

Players selected

Ulster Rugby squad
Props Richard Mackey, Malone Gary Leslie, Dungannon Rab Irwin, Ballymena Hookers Stephen Ritchie, Ballymena Ciaran O'Kane (Portadown) Michael Patton (Dungannon) Locks Tony McWhirter, Ballymena Gary Longwell, Ballymena Murtagh Rea, Malone Charlie Simpson, Dungannon	Back row Stephen McKinty, Bangor Keith Gallick, City of Derry Andy Ward, Ballynahinch* Roger Wilson,[8] Instonians Stuart Duncan, Malone Kevin McKee, Instonians Dean Macartney, Ballymena Scrum-halves Andrew Matchett, Ballymena Stephen Bell, Dungannon Kenton Hillman, Instonians Fly-halves Stuart Laing, Portadown Bryn Cunningham, Bective	Centres Maurice Field, Malone Stan McDowell, Ballymena Michael Jackson, Blackrock Wings James Topping, Ballymena Sheldon Coulter, Ballymena Jan Cunningham, TCD Andy Park, Ballymena Graeme McCluskey, Portadown Scott Carroll, Malone Fullbacks Robin Morrow, Dungannon Ross Collins, Collegians
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.

Season record

Competition	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost		PF	PA	PD		TF	TA
1997-98 Heineken Cup	6	1	0	5		95	195	-100		6	23
IRFU Interprovincial Championship	3	1	0	2		59	65	-6		4	6
Total	9	2	0	7		154	260	-106		10	29

1997–98 Heineken Cup

Main article: 1997–98 Heineken Cup

Pool 2

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Wasps	6	6	0	0	31	12	19	243	104	139	12
Glasgow	6	3	0	3	14	15	−1	132	167	−35	6
Swansea	6	2	0	4	15	16	−1	157	161	−4	4
Ulster	6	1	0	5	6	23	−17	95	195	−100	2

8 September 1997 19:00	Ulster	12 – 18	Glasgow	Ravenhill
	Pen: Laing (3) Drop: Laing	Report[9]	Try: Craig Wallace Con: Hayes Pen: Hayes (2)	Attendance: 2,100
Ulster lineup: 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Keith Gallick, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Sheldon Coulter, 12. James Topping, 13. Maurice Field, 14. Jan Cunningham, 15. Robin Morrow.

13 September 1997 14:00	Swansea	33 – 16	Ulster	St. Helen's
	Try: Gibbs H. Thomas Con: A. Thomas Pen: A. Thomas (7)	Report[10][11]	Try: Gallick Con: Laing Pen: Laing (3)	Attendance: 3,000 Referee: K. McCartney
Ulster lineup: 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Keith Gallick, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Sheldon Coulter, 12. James Topping, 13. Maurice Field, 14. Jan Cunningham, 15. Robin Morrow.

21 September 1997 15:00	London Wasps	56 – 3	Ulster	Loftus Road Stadium
	Try: Mitchell Wood King Logan (3) Greenstock Rosier Con: Rees (5) Pen: Rees	Report[12][13]	Pen: Laing	Attendance: 4,120
Ulster lineup: 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Rab Irwin, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Keith Gallick, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Maurice Field, 13. Stan McDowell, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow. Replacements: Ciaran O'Kane (for Ritchie, 12–24), Roger Wilson (for Gallick, 63), Murtagh Rea (for Longwell, 12–16; for McWhirter, 74), Bryn Cunningham (for Laing, 70), Stephen Bell (for Field, 75)

27 September 1997 14:30	Ulster	28 – 20	Swansea	Ravenhill
	Try: Penalty try Jackson McWhirter Con: Laing (2) Pen: Laing (3)	Report[14]	Try: Rees (2) Williams Con: Williams Pen: Williams	Attendance: 2,500 Referee: George Hughes
Ulster lineup: 1. Rab Irwin, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Keith Gallick, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Maurice Field, 13. Michael Jackson, 14. James Topping, 15. Robin Morrow.

3 October 1997 19:30	Ulster	21 – 38	London Wasps	Ravenhill
	Try: Jan Cunningham (2) Con: Laing Pen: Laing (3)	Report[15][16]	Try: Henderson Rosier White Greenstock Dallaglio Con: Rees (5) Pen: Rees	Attendance: 3,250
Ulster lineup: 1. Gary Lesie, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Rab Irwin, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Keith Gallick, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Maurice Field, 13. Michael Jackson, 14. James Topping, 15. Stan McDowell. Replacements: Murtagh Rea (for McWhirter, 60), Roger Wilson (for Gallick, 60).

12 October 1997 15:00	Glasgow	30 – 15	Ulster	Scotstoun Stadium
	Try: Penalty try Stott Hayes Con: Hayes (3) Pen: Hayes (3)	Report[17]	Pen: Laing (5)	Attendance: 4,000
Ulster lineup: 1. Gary Lesie, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Rab Irwin, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Keith Gallick, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Andrew Matchett, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Maurice Field, 13. Michael Jackson, 14. James Topping, 15. Stan McDowell. Replacements: Roger Wilson (for Gallick, 56), Murtagh Rea (for McWhirter, 64).

1997–98 IRFU Interprovincial Championship

Main article: IRFU Interprovincial Championship

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	BP	Pts	Status
Leinster	3	2	0	1	61	46	-	8	Champions; qualified for 1998–99 Heineken Cup
Munster	3	2	0	1	56	43	-	8	Qualified for 1998–99 Heineken Cup
Ulster	3	1	0	2	59	65	-	4	Qualified for 1998–99 Heineken Cup
Connacht	3	1	0	2	42	64	-	4	Qualified for 1998–99 European Challenge Cup

16 August 1997	Leinster	26-25	Ulster	Donnybrook
	Try: Rolland Hickie O'Mahony Con: Rolland Pen: Governey (3)	Report[18]	Try: Laing Con: Laing Pen: Laing (6)	Referee: David McHugh
Ulster lineup: 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Roger Wilson, 7. Stephen McKinty, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Kenton Hillman, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Graeme McCluskey, 12. Stan McDowell, 13. Sheldon Coulter, 14. Jan Cunningham, 15. Robin Morrow. Replacements: Rab Irwin (for Leslie).

23 August 1997	Connacht	27-17	Ulster	Galway Sportsgrounds
	Try: McEntee Murphy Charlie Con: Elwood (3) Pen: Elwood (2)	Report[19]	Try: McDowell (2) Con: Laing (2) Pen: Laing	Referee: L. Mayne
Ulster lineup: 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Roger Wilson, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Jan Cunningham, 12. Stan McDowell, 13. Sheldon Coulter, 14. Andy Park, 15. Robin Morrow.

30 August 1997	Ulster	22-12	Munster	Ravenhill
	Try: Park Con: Laing Pen: Laing (4) Drop: Laing	Report[20]	Pen: O'Gara (4)	Referee: M. White
Ulster lineup: 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stephen McKinty, 7. Keith Gallick, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Sheldon Coulter, 12. Maurice Field, 13. Jan Cunningham, 14. Andy Park, 15. Robin Morrow.

Home attendance

Domestic League					European Cup					Total
League	Fixtures	Average Attendance	Highest	Lowest	League	Fixtures	Average Attendance	Highest	Lowest	Total Attendance	Average Attendance
–	–	–	–	–	1997–98 Heineken Cup	3	2,617	3,250	2,100	7,850	2,617

Friendlies

9 August 1997	Ulster	19-41	Richmond	Palace Grounds, Armagh
	Try: Mackey Coulter Irwin Con: Laing (2)	Report[21]	Try: Chapman (3) Pini (2) Wright Quinnell Con: Pini (2)	Referee: M. White
Ulster lineup: 1. Richard Mackey, 2. Stephen Ritchie, 3. Gary Leslie, 4. Tony McWhirter, 5. Gary Longwell, 6. Stuart Duncan, 7. Stephen McKinty, 8. Andy Ward, 9. Stephen Bell, 10. Stuart Laing, 11. Scott Carroll, 12. Sheldon Coulter, 13. Michael Jackson, 14. Andy Park, 15. Jan Cunningham. Replacements: Murtagh Rea, Kevin McKee, Rab Irwin, Dean Macartney, Roger Wilson, Kenton Hillman, Michael Patton, Charlie Simpson, Bryn Cunningham, Ross Collins.

Ulster Rugby Awards

The inaugural Guinness Ulster Rugby Awards dinner was held on 20 May 1998 at the Balmoral Conference Centre. Winners were:^[22]

• Player of the year: Andy Ward
• Personality of the year: Andy Ward
• Club of the year: Ballynahinch RFC
• Coach of the year: Charlie McAleese, Dromore High School
• Youth player of the year: Diarmuid O'Kane, St Colman's College, Newry
• Schools player of the year: Andy Hughes, Royal School Dungannon
• Dorrington B. Faulkner Memorial Award: Ken Reid, former IRFU president and Ireland team manager