After 21 years at Ulster Rugby, Jonny Bell is leaving the province to take up a new challenge as defence coach at Gloucester.
Jonny joined Ulster in 1994 straight out of school and was immediately selected for the senior team. His first match was against a South of Scotland side that contained Gregor Townsend.
Fast-forward 21 years and his final game as a coach at Ulster was also against Townsend when Ulster narrowly lost the PRO12 play-off to Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun.
His long association with Ulster has seen him lift silverware in 1999, 2003 and 2006 and as a coach he has made a big contribution to the province's success in recent seasons:
"It will be incredibly difficult to walk away" he says. "I have had a long association with Ulster and I have loved every minute of it. I am from here, it is a part of who I am and who I have been. It has molded me into the person that I am and it has had a major effect on my life. I will miss it. It is the end of this chapter - I would love to see myself coming back to Ulster some day but that is not my choice. I have made this choice now because I feel it is a good opportunity for me."
He adds: "I have given my best for Ulster as a player and as a coach and I see Ulster's future as very bright. I wont be part of that in the immediate future but I know they are determined to get success and I do believe that it will come."