2019–20 Ulster Rugby season

The 2019–20 season was Ulster's 26th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's second season as head coach. Lock Iain Henderson was named captain in place of retired hooker Rory Best. They competed in the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Both competitions were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he later stages being played in August, September and October 2020. In the Pro14, Ulster finished second in Conference A, making the playoffs and qualifying for next season's Champions Cup. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. They finished second in Pool 3 in the Champions Cup, qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Toulouse.

Academy players who made their debuts this season included centre Stewart Moore and wing Ethan McIlroy. Ulster led the league in defence. Scrum-half John Cooney and centre Stuart McCloskey made the Pro14 Dream Team. Cooney and number eight Marcell Coetzee were nominated for European Player of the Year. Cooney was leading scorer with 180 and leading try scorer with ten, and was named Ulster's Player of the Year.

Personnel changes
New signings were Australian lock Sam Carter, from the Brumbies; Ireland and Lions prop Jack McGrath, from Leinster; New Zealand wing Matt Faddes, from the Highlanders; South African-born, Irish-qualified prop Gareth Milasinovich, from Worcester Warriors; former Ireland U20 out-half Bill Johnston, from Munster; and lock David O'Connor, from Lansdowne, joining his older brother Alan at Ulster on a development contract.

Players leaving included flanker Caleb Montgomery to Worcester Warriors, wing David Busby to the Seattle Seawolves, out-half Johnny McPhillips to Leicester Tigers, and lock Alex Thompson to Jersey Reds. Utility back Peter Nelson and wing Jack Owens were released. Centre Darren Cave retired, and so did hooker Rory Best after captaining Ireland at the 2019 World Cup. Iain Henderson was named Ulster's new captain in Best's place.

Six new players joined the academy: wing Aaron Sexton, from Bangor Grammar School; wing Conor Rankin, from Campbell College; hooker Tom Stewart, last seasons' Ulster Schools Player of the Season, from Belfast Royal Academy; Irish-qualified centre Hayden Hyde, from Harlequins academy; prop Callum Reid, from Banbridge RFC; and wing Ethan McIlroy, who joined in January 2020, from Methodist College Belfast.

Scrum coach Aaron Dundon, strength and conditioning coach Kevin Geary and GPS analyst Chris Hagan left the province's support staff.

Rugby World Cup
Three Ulster players were named in the initial Ireland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup: hooker Rory Best, captaining the team for his last tournament before retiring, lock Iain Henderson, and wing Jacob Stockdale. Flanker Jordi Murphy and hooker Rob Herring were later called up to replace the injured Jack Conan and Seán Cronin.

Season
With Iain Henderson away with Ireland at the World Cup, Rob Herring was named stand-in captain. When Herring was called up to the World Cup due to injury, the captaincy went to Billy Burns.

The pool stage of the Champions Cup was completed in January 2020, with Ulster finishing second in Pool 3 and qualifying for the quarter-finals.

The 2020 Six Nations Championship began in February 2020. Seven Ulster players, Ian Henderson, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole, Will Addison, Billy Burns, John Cooney and Jacob Stokdale, were called up for Ireland. Robert Baloucoune included in the training squad as a development player. Stockdale, Henderson, Herring and Cooney appeared in the first three games, before the tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ulster's away game against Benetton in the Pro14, scheduled for 29 February 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later recorded as a 0–0 draw. The rest of the season was suspended on 12 March. The knockout stage of the Champions Cup was also postponed.

The Pro14 season resumed in August, the regular season reduced from 21 games to 15, with matches played behind closed doors.

Scrum-half Alby Mathewson and out-half Ian Madigan joined in the summer, and were able to play in these late-season matches, but Ulster were docked a point in the Pro14 table as Madigan played two games before he was properly registered with his new club. Ulster finished second in Conference A and qualified for the playoffs. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. The knockout stages of the Champions Cup resumed in September, and Ulster went out in the quarter-finals to Toulouse.

The Six Nations resumed in October. The Ireland squad included four Ulster players, Iain Henderson, Rob Herring, Stuart McCloskey and Jacob Stockdale, and Herring and Stockdale both played in the last two matches.

Academy players Stewart Moore, Azur Allison and Ethan McIlroy made their senior debuts this season.

Ulster had the highest home attendance in the Pro14, averaging 15,295, and led the league in defence. They were fourth in attendance in the Champions Cup, averaging 17,024.

Post-season
Inside centre Stuart McCloskey and scrum-half John Cooney were named on the Pro14 Dream Team. Cooney and number 8 Marcell Coetzee made the longlist for EPCR European Player of the Year.

At the Ulster Rugby Awards, John Cooney was named Player of the Year. Marcell Coetzee won Personality of the Year, Supporters' Club Player of the Year, and Rugby Writers' Player of the Year. Tom O'Toole was Young Player of the Year.

Players in

 * 🇦🇺 Sam Carter from 🇦🇺 Brumbies
 * 🇳🇿 Matt Faddes from 🇳🇿 Highlanders
 * Bill Johnston from Munster
 * Ian Madigan from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bristol Bears
 * 🇳🇿 Alby Mathewson unattached
 * Jack McGrath from Leinster
 * Gareth Milasinovich from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Worcester Warriors
 * David O'Connor from Lansdowne

Promoted from academy

 * Robert Baloucoune
 * James Hume
 * Angus Kernohan
 * Michael Lowry
 * Zack McCall
 * Eric O'Sullivan
 * Marcus Rea

Players out

 * Alan Bennie released
 * Rory Best retired
 * David Busby to 🇺🇸 Seattle Seawolves
 * Darren Cave retired
 * Matthew Dalton released
 * Wiehahn Herbst to Bulls
 * Johnny McPhillips to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Leicester Tigers
 * Caleb Montgomery to 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Worcester Warriors
 * Ian Nagle to 🇮🇹 Zebre
 * 🇨🇦 Peter Nelson released
 * Jack Owens released
 * 🇦🇺 Henry Speight to 🇦🇺 Brumbies
 * Alex Thompson to Jersey Reds

Players in

 * Ethan McIlroy from Methodist College Belfast.
 * Tom Stewart from Belfast Royal Academy
 * Aaron Sexton from Bangor Grammar School
 * Callum Reid from Banbridge RFC;
 * Conor Rankin from Campbell College
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Hayden Hyde from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harlequins academy

Ulster 'A'
The following players, other than players from the senior squad and academy, appeared for Ulster 'A this season.

Ulster Rugby Awards
The Ulster Rugby Awards ceremony was held on 29 September 2020. Winners were:


 * Player of the Year: John Cooney (nominees: Marcell Coetzee, Alan O'Connor, Sean Reidy)
 * Personality of the Year: Marcell Coetzee
 * Supporters' Club Player of the Year: Marcell Coetzee (nominees: John Cooney, Stuart McCloskey)
 * Rugby Writers' Player of the Year: Marcell Coetzee (nominees: John Cooney, Stuart McCloskey)
 * Young Player of the Year: Tom O'Toole (nominees: Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, Michael Lowry)
 * Ulster A Player of the Year: Ethan McIlroy (nominees: Ross Adair, Hayden Hyde)
 * Academy Player of the Year: David McCann (nominees: Ethan McIlroy, Lewis Finlay)
 * Women's Player of the Year - Kathryn Dane (nominees: Vicky Irwin, Neve Jones)
 * Referee of the Year: Chris Busby
 * Dorrington B. Faulkner (Services to Rugby) Award: Ross Workman, Omagh Academicals RFC
 * Youth Player of the Year: Jack Milton, Ballyclare RFC
 * U18 Girls' Player of the Year: Ava Fannin, RFC Virginia
 * Girls Schools' Player of the Year: Lucy Thompson, Enniskillen Royal Grammar School
 * Boys Schools' Player of the Year: Nathan Doak, Wallace High School
 * Club Player of the Year: Shea O'Brien, City of Armagh RFC