Round 1 | Edinburgh Rugby (H)
Friday 25th September, 7.45pm
Round 2 | Glasgow Warriors (A)
Saturday 3rd October, 7.45pm
Round 3 | Munster Rugby (H)
Saturday 10th October, 5.30pm
Round 4 | Vodacom Bulls (A)
Saturday 24th October, 12.45pm
Round 5 | DHL Stormers (A)
Saturday 31st October, 12.45pm
Round 6 | Cardiff Rugby (A)
Saturday 5th December, 3pm
Round 7 | Ospreys (H)
Friday 18th December, 7.45pm
Round 8 | Connacht Rugby (H)
Sunday 27th December, 5.30pm
Round 9 | Leinster Rugby (A)
Saturday 2nd January, 7.45pm
Round 10 | Hollywoodbets Sharks (H)
Friday 22nd January, 7.45pm
Round 11 | Connacht Rugby (A)
Saturday 30th Janaury, 7.45pm
Round 12 | Dragons RFC (A)
Friday 26th February, 7.45pm
Round 13 | Zebre Parma (H)
Saturday 20th March, 3pm
Round 14 | Benetton (A)
Saturday 27th March, 7.45pm
Round 15 | Scarlets (H)
Saturday 17th April, 7.45pm
Round 16 | Leinster Rugby (H)
Friday 23rd April, 7.45pm
Round 17 | Munster Rugby (A)
Saturday 8th May, 5.15pm
Round 18 | Lions (H)
Friday 14th May, 7.45pm
At a glance looks ok, I think its better to get the south African tour done early, and not a bad run at the end either
They seem to have changed it so that the first round of European pool games are in October (weekend of 17th) rather than in December as previously. I wonder what the reason for that is.
Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Pool Draws– Wednesday 1 July
2026/27 Match Weekends
Round 1 – 16/17/18 October 2026
Round 2 – 11/12/13 December 2026
Round 3 – 8/9/10 January 2027
Round 4 – 15/16/17 January 2027Round of 16 – 2/3/4 April 2027
Quarter-Finals – 9/10/11 April 2027Semi-Finals – 30 April / 1/2 May 2027
Lyon 2027 Finals Weekend, OL StadiumEPCR Challenge Cup Final:Friday 21 May 2027
Investec Champions Cup Final:Saturday 22 May 2027
yep
Assuming the target is 55 points to be safely in the top 8 this is my guess how we can get the min 55 points
| Round 1 | Edinburgh Rugby (H) | 5 |
| Round 2 | Glasgow Warriors (A) | 1 |
| Round 3 | Munster Rugby (H) | 4 |
| Round 4 | Vodacom Bulls (A) | 1 |
| Round 5 | DHL Stormers (A) | 1 |
| Round 6 | Cardiff Rugby (A) | 2 |
| Round 7 | Ospreys (H) | 5 |
| Round 8 | Connacht Rugby (H) | 4 |
| Round 9 | Leinster Rugby (A) | 0 |
| Round 10 | Hollywoodbets Sharks (H) | 5 |
| Round 11 | Connacht Rugby (A) | 1 |
| Round 12 | Dragons RFC (A) | 5 |
| Round 13 | Zebre Parma (H) | 5 |
| Round 14 | Benetton (A) | 4 |
| Round 15 | Scarlets (H) | 5 |
| Round 16 | Leinster Rugby (H) | 1 |
| Round 17 | Munster Rugby (A) | 1 |
| Round 18 | Lions (H) | 5 |
| 55 |
This means we need to get more of our points in the 2nd half of the season ( I have us at 23points after the first 9 games), considering injuries and 6 nations that might be harder than I think
With 10 players in the Ireland touring squad and presumably not (or partially) available to play, the first couple of games of the season are going to be tough for Ulster.
depends how many of the play, but point taken. Still overall a good thing long term, the more players in the Ireland squad, the more resources ulster gets from the IRFU right? But having said that at this stage in the short term what ulster players would be offered a central contract? McCloskey & maybe even Baloucoune are too old to get one, If Doak and Bryn kick on maybe
Nobody really knows but it seems that there are no 100% central contracts any more, or at least there won’t be after any existing ones come to their end. Instead there is a system where the IRFU pays some percentage of the player’s salary and the province pays the rest. Leinster for example are supposed to be having to pay 40% of the salary of many of their players, when it was 0% before, forcing them to let the likes of Connors and Frawley leave.
I wonder if McCloskey’s extension includes an increased IRFU percentage considering that he has recently become a very important player in the national team.
Anyway overall I agree it’s good for our players to be in the Ireland squad. Their minutes when they get into next season are just another thing for the Ulster coaches to manage. I hope we see Doak and Stewart get a decent bit of game time on this tour, and maybe even the Wards will get a sub appearance.