Ulster Rugby to play pre-season friendly at the home of Cavan GAA next month

The fixture on October 7, which was first exclusively reported by the Belfast Telegraph last month, will see the side play at a GAA ground for the first time.

With Ravenhill unavailable due to the ongoing work to replace the stadium's grass pitch with an artificial surface, the game will be the final tune-up before the northern province's URC season kicks off away to Zebre two weeks later.

The province's CEO Jonny Petrie has called the move a "unique opportunity."

“With upgrades of Kingspan Stadium ahead of the 2023/24 season ongoing, including the new high-performance 3G pitch, our pre-season fixture this year offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with Ulster GAA on hosting a senior men’s game in another part of the province," he said.

“Our thanks go to our friends at Ulster GAA and Cavan GAA for offering us the use of Kingspan Breffni, and their support in putting on the fixture. We hope that both our season ticket holders and supporters who regularly travel from the local area to attend games in Belfast, and those who may be new to the sport, will enjoy an entertaining afternoon.

“Together with our supporters, we are looking forward to the squad being back in action ahead of the new season in the coming weeks.”

Ulster preparations for the campaign will also see them play against Leinster in Navan on Friday September 22 before travelling to Treviso to take on Benetton on September 30.

Ravenhill's new surface will then be ready for the first home game of the 2023/24 season against the Bulls on October 29.