Dan McFarland has handed Ulster a massive boost on the eve of their crunch PRO14 clash at Leinster by signing a new two-year deal.
McFarland has masterminded an upturn in the province's fortunes since leaving the Scotland international set-up to become Ulster's head coach two and a half years ago.
He guided Ulster to a PRO14 final at the end of last season - their first in seven years - when they were beaten by tomorrow night's opponents.
On the back of 10 wins in a row, Ulster hold a 10-point PRO14's Conference A lead over Leinster.
The Blues have two games in hand as the sides prepare to clash at the RDS.
“I’m delighted to be signing again with Ulster," said McFarland. "I have thoroughly enjoyed the last two and a half years working and learning with some really good people, and I’m looking forward to continuing to help drive on our improvement as a group and as individuals.
“As a group, we are extremely ambitious in our aim to be consistently competing for championships.
"With exciting young talent continuing to emerge out of our Academy system, joining forces with the proven talent within our squad - many of whom have been recently recognised at international level - I look forward to what the weeks and months ahead hold as we take on our next challenges in the domestic league and in Europe this season.”
Ulster Rugby CEO, Jonny Petrie, added: “I’m extremely pleased to see Dan extend his commitment to Ulster Rugby, giving us the opportunity to continue to build on the fantastic work that he has done in his time here so far.
“It is plain to see, both on and off the field of play, the ethos that he has instilled in the group, and that is being borne out both in our performances and our results – a team of which the people of Ulster can be rightly and fiercely proud.
“I’m looking forward to working with Dan in the coming years, to see where we can take this. It’s an exciting prospect".
