Ulster v Connacht - Teams and Prediction
QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW: The first United Rugby Championship quarterfinal clash will see Ulster and Connacht of Ireland go head-to-head on Friday at Ravenhill Stadium.
The hosts, Ulster, do have the upper hand, especially given their current form.
Ulster closed out the regular season with five wins from their past five matches and secured a second-place finish in the URC table.
The home team will be looking to continue their run of wins over Connacht, having come away the victor from the last three encounters against their Intepro rival, including a tightly contested festive fixture at the Sportsground.
However, Ulster head coach Dan McFarland knows all too well about the threat that Connacht will pose to his Ulster side.
“They will come hungry,” McFarland said.
“It’s do or die in play-offs and we expect an extremely physical, intense side coming to play against us.”
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The Galway side ended their season with a defeat away to Glasgow Warriors, after a six-game winning streak, which saw them finish in seventh position in the league.
Connacht Director of Rugby Andy Friend admitted heading to Belfast will be a challenge.
However, he has faith in his team.
“Friday is the culmination of months of hard work,” Friend said, adding: “We were very clear at the start of the season that we wanted to be playing playoff football, and now that we’re here we plan on making the most of it.
“Beating Ulster in Belfast is a tough task for any team, but we’re confident in our abilities and we’ve improved a lot since our last trip up there.
“I’ve heard there’s a huge crowd travelling up to support us which always gives us a boost, so I’m sure they’ll make their voices heard.”
Fond farewell
Ulster will have extra motivation as they bid farewell to 10 players.
One of them is Springbok star Duane Vermeulen, who will don the No.8 jersey.
The popular South African international is leaving the province after a successful two-year stint in Ulster.
Jacob Stockdale makes his 100th Ulster appearance while Rob Herring equals the all-time appearance record on 299 caps.
Connacht had made four changes from the side that narrowly lost to Glasgow, with Bundee Aki and Mack Hansen returning from illness.
There are also starts for fellow international Dave Heffernan after recovering from injury, and Shamus Hurley-Langton after impressing off the bench in his last few games.
The side is captained by Jack Carty who is one of seven Connacht centurions in the starting XV, with another two among the replacements.
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Prediction
@rugby365com: Ulster by seven points
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Rob Baloucoune, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Dave McCann, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Stewart Moore, 23 Craig Gilroy
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 John Porch, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Jack Carty (captain), 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Cian Prendergast, 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 5 Niall Murray, 4 Josh Murphy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Jack Aungier, 19 Oisín Dowling, 20 Jarrad Butler, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Tom Daly, 23 Byron Ralston
Date: Friday, May 5
Venue: Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Kick-off: 19.35 (19.35 GMT)
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
*Additional source: URC
