In a historic first-ever international trip for the US opposition, the New England Free Jacks’ Academy team will travel to face a Development side selected by Ulster Rugby Academy Manager, Gavin Hogg, on Thursday 16 May (kick-off 3.30pm).
The fixture follows the province’s participation in the 2019 Cara Cup hosted by the Free Jacks in greater Boston, which saw Ulster claim a 43-15 victory with a line-up which included current Senior Men’s players Callum Reid, David McCann, Marcus Rea and Stewart Moore.
Similarly, on Saturday 1 June, an Ulster ‘A’ side will be given the platform to showcase their progress through the province’s Player Pathway when they take on the Ireland U20s, who claimed two successive Six Nations titles in a row in their 2022 and 2023 campaigns, also at Kingspan Stadium (kick-off 1pm).
Head of Rugby Operations and Recruitment at Ulster Rugby, Bryn Cunningham, said:
“The upcoming home fixtures for our Development and ‘A’ players are a great opportunity for our supporters to see some of our young local talent, which we are developing through our Player Pathway, take to the pitch at Kingspan Stadium.
“Playing opposition such as the New England Independents and Ireland U20s provides valuable match-day opportunities for the individuals set to be competing for an Ulster jersey in our Senior Men’s squad in the upcoming years.”
Ulster Rugby Academy Manager, Gavin Hogg, added:
“This is a big opportunity for our Ulster players being developed through our Academy, clubs and schools to compete against world-class, competitive opposition.
“The New England Independents will come into the game confident as the National Collegiate Rugby All Stars champions, and we’re all familiar with the recent success of the U20s under the leadership of Richie Murphy, which has included the involvement of many of our young Ulster players.
“We look forward to welcoming both the New England Independents and the U20s to Kingspan Stadium in the coming weeks with the backing of our home crowd.”
Ulster Development v the New England Independents <br>
Thursday 16 May, kick-off 3.30pm <br>
Kingspan Stadium
Ulster ‘A’ v Ireland U20s <br>
Saturday 1 June, kick-off 1pm <br>
Kingspan Stadium
Ticketing Info
2023/24 Season Ticket holders will enjoy free access to both of these fixtures, and have been emailed with details on how to claim their tickets.
Tickets will then be made available for general sale from 10am on Tuesday 7 May at ulster.rugby/buytickets , priced from £8 for Adults, £4 for Juniors or £20 for family tickets (2A & 2J).
Watch Live Streams
Both fixtures will also be streamed exclusively live on Ulster Rugby Live, our new home of live and on-demand action.
Visit live.ulster.rugby to sign up and place your order for either of these fixtures for just £5. You can also browse an on-demand archive of club and schools fixtures from recent months.