The 2019–20 season was Ulster's 26th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's second season as head coach. Lock Iain Henderson was named captain in place of retired hooker Rory Best. They competed in the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Both competitions were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he later stages being played in August, September and October 2020. In the Pro14, Ulster finished second in Conference A, making the playoffs and qualifying for next season's Champions Cup. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. They finished second in Pool 3 in the Champions Cup, qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Toulouse.
Academy players who made their debuts this season included centre Stewart Moore and wing Ethan McIlroy. Ulster led the league in defence. Scrum-half John Cooney and centre Stuart McCloskey made the Pro14 Dream Team. Cooney and number eight Marcell Coetzee were nominated for European Player of the Year. Cooney was leading scorer with 180 and leading try scorer with ten, and was named Ulster's Player of the Year.
Events
Personnel changes
New signings were Australian lock Sam Carter, from the Brumbies; Ireland and Lions prop Jack McGrath, from Leinster; New Zealand wing Matt Faddes, from the Highlanders; South African-born, Irish-qualified prop Gareth Milasinovich, from Worcester Warriors; former Ireland U20 out-half Bill Johnston, from Munster; and lock David O'Connor, from Lansdowne, joining his older brother Alan at Ulster on a development contract.
Players leaving included flanker Caleb Montgomery to Worcester Warriors, wing David Busby to the Seattle Seawolves, out-half Johnny McPhillips to Leicester Tigers, and lock Alex Thompson to Jersey Reds. Utility back Peter Nelson and wing Jack Owens were released. Centre Darren Cave retired, and so did hooker Rory Best after captaining Ireland at the 2019 World Cup. Iain Henderson was named Ulster's new captain in Best's place.
Six new players joined the academy: wing Aaron Sexton, from Bangor Grammar School; wing Conor Rankin, from Campbell College; hooker Tom Stewart, last seasons' Ulster Schools Player of the Season, from Belfast Royal Academy; Irish-qualified centre Hayden Hyde, from Harlequins academy; prop Callum Reid, from Banbridge RFC; and wing Ethan McIlroy, who joined in January 2020, from Methodist College Belfast.
Scrum coach Aaron Dundon, strength and conditioning coach Kevin Geary and GPS analyst Chris Hagan left the province's support staff.
Rugby World Cup
Three Ulster players were named in the initial Ireland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup: hooker Rory Best, captaining the team for his last tournament before retiring, lock Iain Henderson, and wing Jacob Stockdale. Flanker Jordi Murphy and hooker Rob Herring were later called up to replace the injured Jack Conan and Seán Cronin.
Season
With Iain Henderson away with Ireland at the World Cup, Rob Herring was named stand-in captain. When Herring was called up to the World Cup due to injury, the captaincy went to Billy Burns.
The pool stage of the Champions Cup was completed in January 2020, with Ulster finishing second in Pool 3 and qualifying for the quarter-finals.
The 2020 Six Nations Championship began in February 2020. Seven Ulster players, Ian Henderson, Rob Herring, Tom O'Toole, Will Addison, Billy Burns, John Cooney and Jacob Stokdale, were called up for Ireland. Robert Baloucoune included in the training squad as a development player. Stockdale, Henderson, Herring and Cooney appeared in the first three games, before the tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ulster's away game against Benetton in the Pro14, scheduled for 29 February 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later recorded as a 0-0 draw. The rest of the season was suspended on 12 March. The knockout stage of the Champions Cup was also postponed.
The Pro14 season resumed in August, the regular season reduced from 21 games to 15, with matches played behind closed doors.
Scrum-half Alby Mathewson and out-half Ian Madigan joined in the summer, and were able to play in these late-season matches, but Ulster were docked a point in the Pro14 table as Madigan played two games before he was properly registered with his new club. Ulster finished second in Conference A an qualified for the playoffs. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. The knockout stages of the Champions Cup resumed in September, and Ulster went out in the quarter-finals to Toulouse.