Chris Henry signs new two-year deal with Ulster

Ulster have signed back-row forward Chris Henry to a two-year contract extension which keeps him at Kingspan Stadium until June 2019.

The 32-year-old, who has won 24 caps for Ireland, has represented the province on 155 occasions, scoring 10 tries.

Henry only recently returned to playing for Ulster after undergoing shoulder surgery but director of rugby Les Kiss is delighted he will be staying with the province.

"Chris has been a key player for Ulster Rugby for a number of years and he represents everything that is good about the organisation," Kiss said.

"His integrity, commitment, passion and good humour are contagious qualities that make him a fantastic person to have within our squad.

"He has been unfortunate with injuries and illness over the past couple of seasons but he has worked extremely hard to get back onto the pitch and I've no doubt that he'll be a massive asset for us over the next couple of seasons."

Henry is optimistic about what he can achieve with the province over the next two and a half seasons and is keen to assist in the development of the next wave of Ulster players.

Henry said: "Les [Kiss] is determined to build a successful future for Ulster Rugby and I want to be part of that vision. I believe that the squad depth is improving year-on-year, with Bryn's [Cunningham] ongoing retention and recruitment of players leaving us in a strong position over the next few seasons.

"We have a core group of experienced players and have a developing pathway of talented youngsters coming through. I want to deliver on the pitch for Ulster but I also want to ensure that I'm assisting the academy players, who have aspirations to play professional rugby."