Ulster Rugby: Rory Best and Stephen Ferris on Dan McFarland, the club's troubles and what's next

Ulster's mid-season tumult took a dramatic turn on Wednesday with the club confirming the end of head coach Dan McFarland's near six-year reign.

Arriving on the back of Ulster's third successive defeat, McFarland's exit may not have come as a shock to most.

But go back to the turn of the year and it would have been hard to predict the Englishman's departure would come before the end of February.

Indeed, Ulster cantered into 2024 with their chests puffed out after a stirring three-game run that included a storming bonus-point Champions Cup win over Racing and festive interprovincial scalps over Connacht and Leinster.

That's where the good vibes ended.

After their Champions Cup campaign following humbling defeats by Toulouse and Harlequins, Ulster's malaise deepened on their return from a four-week break with Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards' match-winning drop-goal effectively bringing the curtain down on McFarland's time in Belfast.

Ulster clearly possess a squad capable of delivering big results, so where did it go wrong under McFarland?

Stephen Ferris, who won a league title with the province in 2006, believes the "negativity" McFarland began to show in his media duties had filtered down to the players and fanbase.

"Sometimes, and I've been there myself, you need a change of voice," said Ferris, who likened to Ulster's 2023-24 season to a Faberge egg ("looks good on the outside, hollow on the inside").

"You listen to the same person week in, week out for years on end. There's a couple like [Saracens director of rugby] Mark McCall or [Rob] Baxter at Exeter who are a one-off, but it's good to have a new voice.

"Giving Dan McFarland a new contract when they did [in 2022] in hindsight probably wasn't the right idea."

There was a time when Ulster could confidently talk up their title ambitions without raising any eyebrows. But for Ferris, the current group are a "far cry" from the days of Johann Muller, Ruan Pienaar and John Afoa.

And while the long-term goal must be to return Ulster to a position where can challenge for trophies, the immediate concern is securing European rugby for next season, the financial importance of which was underlined by chief executive Jonny Petrie saying a behind-closed-doors match against La Rochelle in December 2022 cost the club "around £700,000".

"Usually, Ulster would put European giants to the sword and there's been big upsets, like Toulouse and Saracens," recalled Ferris.

"Fans want more of that. To take that away would make a lot of fans unhappy and there might be fewer season tickets bought for next year."

If failing to bloody the noses of Toulouse and Harlequins reflected the gulf that exists between Ulster and the European elite, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell's matchday 23 for the Six Nations opener against France being shorn of Ulster representation was evidence of where the club sit in the Irish pecking order.

Indeed, former captain Best went as far as saying Ulster would be most at risk if the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) revised their governance model.

"Ultimately, there will come a point in time, and it happened during my career with Connacht, when the IRFU will have to look and say 'is this a sustainable model?' to keep all four provinces," said Best.

"It pains me to say it but right now if you were sitting in [IRFU chief executive] Kevin Potts' position, you'd be looking to go 'if we had to lose a province, which one would it be?' It's potentially Ulster and that's the sad reality of it.

"The good thing is now that it's addressed, there's going to have to be support and we'll have to almost put Ulster Rugby on to a life support machine and make sure we figure out how we get that out and put it in intensive care.

"That's about engagement. We have to grow the game and get the sponsors involved. People will have to put their shoulder to the wheel and understand that it's going to take a bit of time.

"But it can be done. Ulster has too proud a history to let it slip away. We want to be seen as the top province, not the bottom one."

Ulster are also in the process of finding a new sponsor with their long-standing partnership with Kingspan set to end in 2025.

All that is continuing in the background. For now, reversing fortunes on the pitch is a matter of urgency for the revised coaching structure.

And while downbeat on Ulster's season to this point, Ferris believes the campaign is not beyond salvaging, although he believes the club's Irish internationals must step it up when they're in domestic action.

"The next game is against the Dragons [who are second from bottom in the URC]. After that, you look at the next game and try to build on it.

"The worrying thing in recent weeks has been some of the Ulster players played for Ireland against Italy and played very well.

"But when they've played for Ulster this season, they haven't been particularly good. It looks like they haven't got as much appetite and hunger.

"They need the energy and buzz back into the place. They need to be enjoying it. McFarland's facial expressions and demeanour were so negative in the last month. That filtered down into the guys.

"When you're doing what you love and get the best out of yourself, it's always with a smile on your face."