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Price: 75p (IR 1.05 EURO) Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The pride of Northern Ireland

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RBS RBS nATIOnS nATIOnS

Super competition in todayS totaL ruGBy
THE future of Ulster Rugby coach Brian McLaughlin, pictured, is in doubt this morning following speculation that his employers are not going to renew or extend his current one-year contract. At a time when the team is on a high after securing a place in the quarter-finals of Europes elite club competition the Heineken Cup for the second season in a row, the news that the man who has led the revival is to be ditched at the end of the season will come as a major shock. Ulster Rugby chiefs are understood to be meeting McLaughlin soon, but with rumours rife over the weekend it would appear his fate has already been sealed. McLaughlin has turned Ulsters fortunes around in the three seasons of his tenure and it had been widely expected Ulster Rugby would be announcing a further extension to his contract before Aprils Heineken quarter-final against Munster in Limerick.

FraNce v IrelaNd

Ireland eland promise promise exciting new xciting new open pen approach approach

Bombshell as Ulster set to -PAGE SPECIAL SOUVEnIR SUPPLEmEnT EIGHT-PAGE SPECIAL SOUVEnIR SUPPLEmEnT replace coach

6 6 2012 20
See Sport
PICTURE: Darren Kidd/ Presseye.com

WIN a trip to watch

Boy tells of dog attack ordeal PAGE 5

RUn RUn McNarry Elliott: on flight of fancy FOR FOR

BY SAM McBRIDE Political Correspondent
sam.mcbride@newsletter.co.uk

Irish unity unrealistic

COMMENTS made by Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness on a possible united Ireland referendum within the next five years have been described as unrealistic. DUP MLA Peter Weir said he believed that people will be able to celebrate the centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021 with the promise of another century within the United Kingdom. It is not surprising that Sinn Fein continues to campaign for a united Ireland but it is high time they realised that their campaign is unrealistic and failing to make progress, said Mr Weir. Turn to page 12

DAVID McNarry was on a flight of fancy in some of his claims about DUP-UUP talks, Tom

Elliott has said as the two men move further apart. Writing in todays News Letter, the Ulster Unionist leader says that for the sake of internal party discipline he chose a very moderate level of punishment for Mr McNarry because he had

exaggerated what was going on. However, he says that in resigning as a UUP Assemblyman, Mr McNarry over-reacted to a punishment he likened to a yellow card in football. He said that Mr McNarry who yesterday took his seat as an

independent at Stormont and again attacked Mr Elliott as the spat becomes more bitter had gone far beyond the brief given him in the interview where he revealed the inter-party talks. See pages 6 & 7