New Ulster CEO says club needs to 'move on' from Jackson and Olding
Ulster's new CEO Jonny Petrie says the club should look forward and "move on" from the off-field problems connected to Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding.
The Irish international duo were found not guilty at the end of a high profile rape trial in 2018, with the club choosing to revoke their contracts.
Last October, IRFU boss David Nucifora refused to rule out the possibility of the pair representing Ireland in the future.
However, Petrie's comments suggest they will not be making a return to Kingspan.
"I'm here to push this club forward, and this place needs to be about the rugby. And over the course of the next while, if we look to reopen old wounds and bring back to life something that's been very divisive, then that's not what this place needs to be about."
"It's one that we all need to move on from. It's been very painful for everybody at the club, and everyone involved in what was a pretty difficult situation.
"It's really important that for us to be able to be a success, that we draw the line in the sand and we move with it, and we don't reopen those wounds."
Petrie, who won 45 caps as a Scotland international, has moved to Northern Ireland as part of his new role, and says it was the huge potential of the club that lured him from Edinburgh.
""You see what this club can be, and what it has been. You see the ability to come in and make an impact, to try to get it back to what it should be, and what everyone wants it to be."
"There's such a broad level of support, people wanting to get behind it with a fantastic stadium and a great business model - but it needs a bit of love. That's something I want to be part of."