Ulster endured a tumultuous 2023/24 season in which they lost head coach of more than five years Dan McFarland, while chief executive Jonnie Petrie, in that role since 2019, departed in March.
McFarland, who had been the longest serving head coach at the club, was a steady hand after taking over in 2018.
December wins over Leinster and Racing 92 had appeared to set Ulster on an upward trajectory but the sword fell after a string of poor results at the start of the year.
In hindsight, there was an element of fire-fighting going on behind the scenes and new personnel at the top were deemed necessary.
The victory over then Top14 leaders Racing was their only win in four Champions Cup outings and they were eighth in the URC standings when McFarland left.
Assistant coach Dan Soper took charge prior to Richie Murphy's arrival at the end of the Ireland U20s Six Nations campaign in March and he was made permanent in mid-May.
There were a couple of unconvincing yet morale-boosting home wins over Cardiff and Benetton in April that set Ulster up with a shot at Leinster in their second last league game and after winning that, there was a real feel-good factor around the place.
While they lost to Munster and Leinster in their final two games, there was a sense that something had been salvaged from what threatened to be a disastrous year.
They finished sixth in the table and secured qualification for the Champions Cup.
Operating under financial constraints, Ulster lost marquee signing Steven Kitshoff, who returned to Stormers. In addition, Billy Burns moved south to Munster and incoming Aidan Morgan, an Ireland-qualified Kiwi, is an unknown quantity.
But Murphy, who brought in Jimmy Duffy to replace Dan Soper as forwards coach, has proven he is able to get the best out of young players. He won back-to-back Grand Slams with the Under-20s, reached the World Championship final, and went unbeaten in last spring’s Six Nations.
He has persuaded a number of Leinster academy players, including son Jack, Wilhelm de Klerk and Sam Berman, who all stood out at U20s, to move north and how they develop over the next two to three years will be important for the province’s mid-term future.
Keeping Iain Henderson fit is even more important for the coming season. After losing Kitshoff, he’s the main man in the pack and has to lead from the front.
There’s real excitement about Cormac Izuchukwu after his end to last season. The Offaly man toured with Ireland in South Africa last summer without seeing any game time.
There are enough seasoned competitors in the backline - John Cooney, Stuart McCloskey, James Hume, Jacob Stockdale and Mike Lowry - to match most URC teams, but how they deal with the loss of Burns will be crucial.
The seven-cap Ireland international was an excellent facilitator for that backline. Fans can expect ups and downs throughout the season.
Ulster start their campaign at home to champions Glasgow on Saturday night (7.45pm).
Last season: Finished sixth in the regular season with 54 points, five points behind Stormers. They lost 43-20 to Leinster in the quarter-final. In Europe they lost three of four games in Pool B of the Champions Cup and crashed out of the Challenge Cup with a heavy defeat to Clermont in the quarter-final.
Total titles: 1 (2006)
Head coach: Richie Murphy (first full season as head coach)
Richie Murphy: "We have a young squad especially behind those frontline players, our plan is to play a good brand of rugby using the best of that squad that we have and hopefully what will happen is that the fans will see enough in relation to the team going out every week and trying to play the best rugby they can so the fans can get behind them.
"We almost got there towards the back end of last season, there were things in our game we weren't happy with, but they will have seen the route we want to go down."
Key player: Dynamic back row Cormac Izuchukwu (above), who joined Ulster senior ranks in 2021, hit the best form of his career in the second half of last season. Accomplished in the lineout and with a turn of pace in the loose, the Offaly man helped Ulster finish comfortably in the play-off places. He played 16 times for the province last season scoring one try.
The 24-year-old made 165 metres off 77 carries.
Such was his impact that Andy Farrell took him on the South Africa tour but that was more for experience and he didn’t make a matchday squad.
If Richie Murphy can get the best out of the former Sevens international he’ll have a big say in their fortunes.
Werner Kok was a left-field signing for the club but his finishing ability has always been impressive. He scored 11 tries in 20 games for the Sharks last season.
One to watch: Murphy says this season will see a youthful Ulster squad compete and James McNabney (above) will be among those looking to step up to the plate.
The powerful back row player played a big part in the Ireland U20s Grand Slams in 2022 and 2023, when they all reached the World Championship final.
He made two appearances for Ulster last season and moved to a senior contract over the summer.
Players in: Ulster had all their recruitment done prior to the end of last season but took Ireland Sevens player Zac Ward (above) on a short-term trial.
Ireland-qualified out-half Aidan Morgan joined to replace Billy Burns, while Sharks winger Werner Kok was the most high-profile signing. Scrum-half Michael McDonald returned from his loan spell at Connacht, while Jack Murphy, Sam Berman, Wilhelm de Klerk moved to the province’s academy from Leinster.
Players out: There was a large clear-out towards the end of last season with Steven Kitshoff’s return to the Stormers the headline move.
The double World Cup winner cut short his contract to return home. Billy Burns (above) made the move south to join Munster, while Will Addison switched to Sale. Luke Marshall and Angus Curtis retired, while Greg Jones, James French, Shea O’Brien and Dave Ewers moved on.
Champions Cup opponents: Toulouse (a), Bordeaux (h), Leicester (a), Exeter (h)
