In-form Munster head to Ravenhill
Munster coach Tony Mcgahan has made six changes, two of those positional, for the trip to Belfast on Saturday as the defending Magners League champions clash with Ulster at Ravenhill.
Two of those changes are forced on McGahan by the injuries to Felix Jones in the game against Connacht and to Nick Williams who sustained a knee injury at training on Tuesday.
Denis Hurley switches from the wing where he has impressed in the last three games to fullback, a move that should not discommode him in the slighest while James Coughlan should prove a more than able replacement for Williams in the No.8 slot.
The other change up front sees Wian du Preez replace the injured Julien Brugnaut (groin) while McGahan’s bench has a decidedly youthful look to it drawn as it is from either Academy or Development players, the only exception being Tom Gleeson who sits out the start behind Lifeimi Mafi.
Ulster Head Coach Brian McLaughlin has made a number of changes to his team following their Boxing Day defeat.
Ulster’s four Irish squad players Stephen Ferris, Tom Court, Paddy Wallace and Andrew Trimble all return to frontline duty.
Trimble replaces Timoci Nagusa on the wing, Nagusa moving to the replacements bench. Paddy Wallace replaces Darren Cave in the centre and Ian Humphreys will play at out half, Niall O’Connor returning to the bench. Phoenix Ulster Rugby Academy player Jamie Smith retains his place at fullback.
Up front Tom Court replaces Bryan Young at loosehead, with Young moving to the replacements bench. Brady and Botha are retained at hooker and tighthead and the second row is unchanged. Ireland ace Stephen Ferris starts at blindside, with Willie Faloon at openside, and Chris Henry will once again captain the side from No.8.
“We were very disappointed after last weekend in Dublin,” said McLaughlin.
“I thought that we competed well but should have made a lot more of our scoring opportunities; we definitely deserved at least something from that game.
“It is Munster this Saturday, a home match at Ravenhill. We have to make sure we are up for the game, we have to compete and we have to make sure we beat them at Ravenhill. We have to go to town with them up front and we have to show that we are more than capable of dealing with them.
“In our last three games we have created a lot of chances. We had lots of chances against Stade away and Leinster away, against Stade at home we created chances and didn’t take some of them but we took the vital ones that gave us the victory.
“At training this week we have worked hard in certain areas of the pitch, we’ve put down patterns of play we’ll be using and it’s just a matter of us holding onto the football and making the best use of it possible.”
Looking ahead to the game, Ulster winger Andrew Trimble said: “I think any opportunity to play against another province is always a great experience.
“Munster at Ravenhill, it is just brilliant, especially after the last couple of weeks away from home when we haven’t got the results we were after. We have performed in little bits and pieces, but we haven’t got the results we wanted so this is a great opportunity to put things right in front of our home crowd at Ravenhill.”
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Jamie Smith, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Chris Henry (captain), 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Ed O’Donoghue, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Andy Kyriacou, 17 Declan Fitzpatrick, 18 Ryan Caldwell, 19 T.J. Anderson, 20 Cillian Willis, 21 Niall O’Connor, 22 Timoci Nagusa.
Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Ian Dowling, 10 Paul Warwick, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Billy Holland, 5 Donnacha Ryan, 4 Mick O’Driscoll (captain), 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Stephen Archer, 18 Peter O’Mahony, 19 Tommy O’Donnell, 20 Duncan Williams, 21 Scott Deasy, 22 Tom Gleeson.
Date: Saturday, January 2
Time: 18:00 (18.00 GMT)
Venue: Ravenhill
Referee: Alan Lewis
Assistant referees: Dudley Phillips, Brian MacNeice
TMO: Alan Rogan
