Rugby: Ulster to welcome former Director of Rugby back to Belfast
Ulster have confiormed they will host Super Rugby side Queensland Reds in a one-off challenge match in early 2025.
As part of the club’s centenary celebrations next season for Ravenhill, Ulster will take on the Australian side at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday February 7th 2025 at 7.35pm.
The match, which is part of a wider European tour by the Brisbane-based team, will see the return of Ulster’s former Director of Rugby, and now Queensland Reds Head Coach, Les Kiss.
“Personally, I can’t wait. I have great memories of my own time at Ulster and players like Iain Henderson, a Lions player in his own right," Kiss said.
“The stadium is an intimidating place to play. I can’t think of a better experience for our players than to meet when the fans are singing ‘Stand Up for the Ulstermen’ on a cold Friday night.”
There will also be another familiar face for Ulster supporters, as fan-favourite former prop, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, will return to Belfast after spending the 2022/23 season with the province before he joined the Reds.
Next season’s fixture will be the third time the two sides have met, with Ulster having first faced the Reds back in 1986 at Ravenhill, with the Australian visitors winning a tight match by six points to four.
The two teams would not clash for another 22 years until a Reds Development team were beaten 24-0 by Ulster in a pre-season friendly at the province’s home ground in 2008.