Matt Williams will be installed as Ulster's new head coach early in January after agreeing a two-and-a-half-year deal to succeed Mark McCall. The Ulster players were informed of Williams's appointment yesterday after the former New South Wales, Leinster and Scotland coach accepted Ulster's offer over the Christmas after returning home to Sydney following his interview for the vacancy last Thursday week in Belfast.
The news that Williams will fill the void created by McCall's honourable decision to resign on November 12th in the aftermath of their opening 32-14 defeat at home to Gloucester in the Heineken European Cup will come as a welcome relief to both the Ulster branch and the Ulster squad.
Although they recovered sufficiently two weeks later to beat Connacht in a basement meeting of the Magners League, a result potentially critical vis-à-vis qualifying for next season's European Cup, that remains their only win in their last 12 competitive matches.
Indeed, it has continued a rather steady decline which has seen the Magners League champions of two seasons ago win just five of their last 23 competitive matches.
They are bottom of the league and their European Cup pool - in which they have lost all four games to date - and have an estimated 18 players out of contract at the end of the season, and the wounds are still festering in a divided dressingroom over the manner of McCall's departure.
Their lack of representation on the Ireland team had long been a source of strength, but increased recognition in the last two years would seem to have brought a degree of "internationalitis".
Williams has a huge task on his hands but, despite an unfulfilling two years with Scotland, has shown his pedigree at Irish provincial level with Leinster.
After an initially productive stint as backs coach, Williams galvanised an underachieving Leinster by revolutionising their professionalism and guided them to a record, 19-match winning streak from the start of the 2001-2002 season, which included a memorable 14-man victory over Munster in the inaugural Celtic League final at Lansdowne Road.
Unlucky to be drawn away to Leicester in the quarter-finals after just one defeat - away to Toulouse - Leinster were again hit by an injury to their first-choice outhalf, Nathan Spooner, the following season when reaching the European Cup semi-finals only to lose to Perpignan at Lansdowne Road.
Still, the positives far outweighed the negatives in Williams's time there, and he has the type of ultra-positive personality and technical expertise to help turn around Ulster's fortunes.
The move means uprooting his wife and three children - all of whom were due to start the Australian school year at the end of January - and Williams's agent, John Baker, paid tribute to Ulster's negotiating skills last night.
"It's been a pleasure to deal with Ulster and their chief executive, Michael Reid. They really wanted their man and did everything to facilitate him."
Meanwhile Ian Dowling who sustained a knee injury late in the second half of the Magners League game against Connacht last Thursday, will be sidelined for six to eight weeks. It means he will miss the European Cup games against Clermont Auvergne and London Wasps and the league trip to Edinburgh.
