New deals for Craig Gilroy, Nick Timoney

Editor

Ireland international wing Craig Gilroy and Academy back-row forward Nick Timoney have both put pen to paper on extended deals at Ulster.

Gilroy has agreed an extension that will keep him at the PRO14 outfit until 2021, while Timoney has been rewarded with a senior contract.

On signing the new deal, Gilroy commented: "As a young rugby player growing up supporting Ulster, it was a tremendous honour to represent this Province. There's no better feeling than running out at Kingspan Stadium and scoring tries for Ulster so I am delighted to agree a long term deal to stay here, with hopefully my best rugby years to look forward to."

Timoney made his Ulster senior debut against Cardiff in April 2017 and earned two more caps at the tail end of last season, then stormed into the 2017/18 campaign with a brace of tries in a Man of the Match display against Dragons. The 22-year-old has made 12 appearances so far this season.

"It's been a really exciting time for me recently, between getting to play regularly and now moving up to a full contract," said Timoney.

"I feel like I have fitted in well here at Ulster and I want to keep progressing and be a real asset to the team."

Commenting on the announcement of the contract extensions, Ulster's Operations Director Bryn Cunningham, said: "Both Craig and Nick are quality young players who have been in fantastic form this season, and I'm delighted that they are both committed to being a part of our future plans.

"It has been evident for a long time just how good Craig is, and for him to rack up over 150 appearances for Ulster by the age of 26 is quite remarkable. Like us, I'm sure our supporters are very excited that he will be continuing to pull on the Ulster jersey with his peak years still ahead of him.

"Nick has blistering pace for a back row player and has a tremendous work ethic. He has really enhanced his skills since he entered our Academy and he has shown that he is more than capable of playing at PRO14 and Champions Cup level. We're hugely excited to see how he continues to improve."