The 27-year-old has represented his home province on 105 occasions.

Munster received a tough draw against reigning champions Saracens in next season's Champions Cup pool stages.

The 22-year-old playmaker played seven times for Munster this season, including four starts, and kicked 29 points.

Ulster and Ireland captain Rory Best has confirmed that he will retire from professional rugby when his contract expires after the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Ulster centre Darren Cave has announced his decision to retire at the end of the season.

Jim Stokes has been synonymous with Ulster rugby for over three decades.

Leinster have brought the curtain down on the Heineken Champions Cup pool stages with the easiest of victories away to Wasps on Sunday afternoon that confirms for them an all-Irish home quarter-final against Ulster at the end of March.

Ulster Rugby chiefs have fined Coleraine RFC £5,000 following ‘sustained, vile, sexist abuse’ towards a female rugby referee in March.

Deysel joined Ulster in 2017 following a stint at Munster and made 16 appearances for the northern province.

IRFU performance director David Nucifora has not ruled out a return to the Ireland team for sacked internationals Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, should they return home to play for a province in the future.

IRFU performance director David Nucifora has not ruled out a return to the Ireland team for sacked internationals Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, should they return home to play for a province in the future.

Former Ulster rugby player Paddy Jackson has been signed to French side Perpignan.

Ulster Rugby confirmed yesterday that Daniel Soper will join Dan McFarland’s coaching ticket next season in the position of skills coach.

Stuart Olding has signed a two-year deal with Brive to end his search for a club following the termination of his Ulster and Ireland contracts.

Brive are set to play in the second tier next season following relegation from the Top 14.

Three weeks ago, on these pages, I wondered aloud why Munster weren’t in the frame for Joey Carbery.

"These have been some of the most fulfilling days of my life and I feel nothing but gratitude for them."

Sale last night announced they will not be signing Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding.

Ulster Rugby got the head coach they wanted in Dan McFarland yesterday and the province is now hopeful the former Connacht man will take the reins much sooner than the mid-January date the Scottish Rugby Union are holding him to.

Ulster have confirmed the appointment of Dan McFarland as their new head coach.

I see that Wembley is up for sale, writes Michael Moynihan.

When you had the season Ulster have endured, thoughts of moving quickly on to the 2018-19 campaign would be perfectly understandable, yet Rory Best is not done with 2017/2018 just yet, not while there is a Champions Cup place still grab.

"He could probably count on his hands how many times he has been up at Ulster Rugby in the last five years."

Brian O’Driscoll’s comments about Ulster being a “bit of a basket case” has certainly hit a raw nerve around Ravenhill.

Brian O’Driscoll’s comments about Ulster being a “bit of a basket case” has certainly hit a raw nerve around Ravenhill.

For many years there has been a concern that industry, through the research grants offered to universities, unduly influences those institutions.

For some, the very fact that Irish professional players may need dedicated programmes on respectful relationships, the meaning of consent, etc, will be seen to reflect badly on Irish sport, writes Jack Anderson

Sacked by Ulster Rugby and the IRFU, the two rugby stars acquitted of rape this month look likely to end up playing in France.

Aggravated or straightforward, they’re variations on the same malfeasance. One isn’t benign. Both are bad, writes Terry Prone

A few weeks ago, a soccer club in which I have an interest was invited to an under-10 tournament in Kilkenny, writes Michael Clifford.

They said the "vast majority of members" support this and further warn that "many" members have made it clear that failure to do so "will strongly influence their decision on season ticket renewal or their future Kingspan attendance".

An open letter to the Ireland and Ulster rugby leadership demanding that Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding never play rugby for the province or national team again has appeared in a Northern Ireland newspaper.

As someone who teaches sports law and criminal law in Melbourne, but who lived and lectured in Belfast for 15 years, I followed the trial and acquittal of Paddy Jackson, Stuart Olding, Blane McIlroy and Rory Harrison with deep and obvious interest, writes Jack Anderson.

Ulster and the Irish Rugby Football Union have said winger Craig Gilroy is now the subject of an internal review and will not be playing for his province this weekend.

The case cast light on a culture of contempt and entitlement in sport, but rugby in particular, and it would be fascinating to examine where the sympathies of Jackson’s and Olding’s team-mates lay, writes Paul Rouse

Paddy Jackson’s solicitor yesterday stated the rugby player’s priority in the wake of his acquittal on rape charges was to return to work but the Ireland fly-half will not make an immediate comeback on the field of play.

A trial ends at a verdict — if everything goes right. The legal questions in that trial frequently don’t.

The IRFU and Ulster Rugby will undertake an internal review following the acquittals of Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding.

Bring back Brian McLaughlin, all has been forgiven!

A woman who claims she was raped by Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding told police she had tried hard to pretend she was not being attacked.

Ulster's director of rugby Les Kiss is leaving his post by "mutual consent, effective immediately".

Two Ireland and Ulster rugby stars are due to go on trial accused of rape.

CJ Stander believes Johann van Graan will have headaches finalising his back-row trio for next Sunday’s all-important European Champions Cup game against Racing 92.