“Playing against him, for Ulster, you knew what kind of man he is.” Marcell Coetzee took the tough decision, back in late 2020, to leave Ulster Rugby after repaying the faith they showed in him, on a couple of occasions. The South African was a marquee signing for Ulster, in 2016, but injuries meant he […]

4 years ago

“It was a measure of the man that he is and the respect that he had within the group.” In the end, the whispers and murmurings were confirmed. The Bulls did not help the cause by waving a giant Marcell Coetzee-sized flag, over on Twitter, but it only quickened the pace of proceedings. The big […]

5 years ago

“It just shows that you don’t judge a book by its’ cover.” Back in November 2012, Declan Kidney gave an Ireland debut to Iain Henderson that was overshadowed by Michael Bent arriving off the plane from his native New Zealand to line out in the green jersey too. Back then, Bent making his Ireland debut […]

5 years ago

“He’d love to hear we called him a maverick!” remarked Ian Madigan. “Well, he might start calling me Goose!” Marcell Coetzee quickly replied. John Cooney’s ears must have been burning, on Sunday evening, as two of his Ulster teammates talked him up to the high heavens. The northern province had lost, in heartbreaking fashion, at […]

5 years ago

You really have to hand it to Dan McFarland. He was not sugar-coating it today. We are three days out from Leinster defeating Ulster 27-5 in the Guinness PRO14 Final and just four days from the Ulstermen’s pick-me-up game against Toulouse. As challenges go, Ulster are right in the middle of a mighty one. McFarland […]

5 years ago

ULSTER 22-15 BATH It was not often pretty but Ulster got the job done against Bath, even if it took a reckless red card to swing the tie in their favour. Ulster led 19-15 with less than 10 minutes to go, and were just about hanging on, when sub hooker Ross Batty put in a […]

6 years ago