# Dan Soper

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**Daniel Soper** is a [rugby union](/source/Rugby_union) coach from New Zealand who has been assistant coach at [Ulster](/source/Ulster_Rugby) since 2021.

Born in [Alexandra](/source/Alexandra,_New_Zealand),[3] he played for Otago Sharks, setting a club scoring record of 260 points in 1997,[4] and represented [North Otago](/source/North_Otago_Rugby_Football_Union) in the [National Provincial Championship](/source/National_Provincial_Championship_(1976%E2%80%932005)).[5] He first came to Northern Ireland in 1998 to play for [Banbridge RFC](/source/Banbridge_RFC),[3] and had a season in Italy, playing for [Petrarca Padova](/source/Petrarca_Rugby) in the [1999–2000 Heineken Cup](/source/1999%E2%80%932000_Heineken_Cup). Returning to Northern Ireland, he played and coached at [Ballynahinch RFC](/source/Ballynahinch_RFC) and Banbridge RFC while working as a schoolteacher at [Wallace High School, Lisburn](/source/Wallace_High_School,_Lisburn),[3] [Sullivan Upper School](/source/Sullivan_Upper_School),[5] [Ballyclare High School](/source/Ballyclare_High_School), and [Royal Belfast Academical Institution](/source/Royal_Belfast_Academical_Institution).[3]

In club rugby, he coached Ballynahinch to the "grand slam" of the [Ulster Senior Cup](/source/Ulster_Senior_Cup_(rugby_union)), the [All-Ireland Cup](/source/All-Ireland_Cup_(rugby_union)) and the [Ulster Senior League](/source/Ulster_Senior_League_(rugby_union)) in 2009.[5] He became head coach of Banbridge in 2010, and led them to two promotions in the [All Ireland League](/source/All-Ireland_League_(rugby_union)).[6] In schools rugby, he coached future Irish international [Darren Cave](/source/Darren_Cave) at Sullivan Upper,[6] and led the RBAI rugby team, featuring future internationals [James Hume](/source/James_Hume_(rugby_union)) and [Michael Lowry](/source/Michael_Lowry_(rugby_union)), to three consecutive [Ulster Schools' Cup](/source/Ulster_Schools'_Cup) titles between 2015 and 2017.[3] He also coached the Ulster under-18 schools team.[5] He joined Ulster as skills coach ahead of the [2018–19 season](/source/2018%E2%80%9319_Ulster_Rugby_season),[5] and was promoted to assistant coach, in place of the departing [Dwayne Peel](/source/Dwayne_Peel), before the [2021–22 season](/source/2021%E2%80%9322_Ulster_Rugby_season).[7] When McFarland left midway through the [2023–24 season](/source/2023%E2%80%9324_Ulster_Rugby_season), Soper took charge temporarily until the end of the [Six Nations Under 20s Championship](/source/Six_Nations_Under_20s_Championship), after which [Ireland under-20](/source/Ireland_national_under-20_rugby_union_team) coach [Richie Murphy](/source/Richie_Murphy) would take over until the end of the season.[8] For the 2025-26 season, he moved a transition and development role.[9]

## References

1. ["Daniel Soper"](https://www.rugbyhistory.co.nz/player/daniel-soper). *New Zealand Rugby History*. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

1. Dwyer, Paul (10 July 2015). ["Rugby: Pride restored to region"](https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/rugby-pride-restored-region) (in en-NZ). *[Otago Daily Times](/source/Otago_Daily_Times)*. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

1. Bradley, Jonathan (17 March 2020). ["'It's never about him': How Dan Soper won over the Ulster squad and guided Banbridge and RBAI to unheralded success"](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/rugby/ulster-rugby/its-never-about-him-how-dan-soper-won-over-the-ulster-squad-and-guided-banbridge-and-rbai-to-unheralded-success-39050204.html). *Belfast Telegraph*. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

1. ["_Pride restored to region"](https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/rugby/rugby-pride-restored-region) (in en-NZ). *[Otago Daily Times](/source/Otago_Daily_Times)*. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

1. ["Banbridge coach Daniel Soper 'excited' to join Ulster backroom staff"](https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/ulster-rugby/banbridge-coach-daniel-soper-excited-to-join-ulster-backroom-staff-36974870.html). *Irish Independent*. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

1. Locke, Cian (5 June 2018). ["Daniel Soper confirmed as new Ulster skills coach"](https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-20471503.html). *Irish Examiner*. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

1. ["Dan Soper: Ulster skills coach to become assistant to Dan McFarland next season"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/55924136). *BBC Sport*. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

1. ["Dan McFarland departs Ulster Rugby"](https://ulster.rugby/content/dan-mcfarland-departs-ulster-rugby), Ulster Rugby, 21 February 2024

1. Adam McKendry, ["New role will help bridge the gap with Ulster’s next generation of stars: Dan Soper"](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/rugby/ulster-rugby/new-role-will-help-bridge-the-gap-with-ulsters-next-generation-of-stars-dan-soper/a882662540.html), *Belfast Telegraph*, 22 January 2025

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dan Soper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Soper) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Soper?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.