ULSTER HEAD COACH Dan McFarland has signed a two-year extension to his contract which will keep him at the northern province until the summer of 2023.

The Englishman last year steered Ulster to their first Pro14 final in seven years, and McFarland’s men have won all 10 of their games in the same competition this season, albeit their European chances have suffered with two Heineken Champions Cup defeats.

On his extension, McFarland said: “I’m delighted to be signing again with Ulster. I have thoroughly enjoyed the last two and a half years working and learning with some really good people, and I’m looking forward to continuing to help drive on our improvement as a group and as individuals.

“As a group, we are extremely ambitious in our aim to be consistently competing for championships. With exciting young talent continuing to emerge out of our academy system, joining forces with the proven talent within our squad – many of whom have been recently recognised at international level – I look forward to what the weeks and months ahead hold as we take on our next challenges in the domestic league and in Europe this season.”

Ulster Rugby CEO, Jonny Petrie, added:

“I’m extremely pleased to see Dan extend his commitment to Ulster Rugby, giving us the opportunity to continue to build on the fantastic work that he has done in his time here so far.

“It is plain to see, both on and off the field of play, the ethos that he has instilled in the group, and that is being borne out both in our performances and our results – a team of which the people of Ulster can be rightly and fiercely proud.

“I’m looking forward to working with Dan in the coming years, to see where we can take this. It’s an exciting prospect.”

Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey chat Pro14 interpros, the potential solution to the Lions’ problem, and Paul O’Connell’s appointment as Ireland’s forwards coach:

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