Ulster v Connacht - Teams and Predictions
IRISH DERBY: Ulster will be boosted by the availability of three of their Ireland stars as they aim to go top of the United Rugby Championship by beating Connacht on Friday.
Dan McFarland’s men were beaten by the Westerners at the Aviva Stadium in Round 5, halting their perfect start to the season.
The return fixture was due to be played over Christmas before being postponed, but Ulster head into the rescheduled clash knowing victory would put them at least a point ahead of current leaders Edinburgh.
Ireland squad members Michael Lowry, Robert Baloucoune and Nick Timoney have all been cleared to play for their province this weekend, while Connacht welcome back centre Tom Daly from a three-month injury lay-off.
Ulster have won each of their last six matches at the Kingspan Stadium since Connacht last visited in the Rainbow Cup in April.
The Westerners were 26-24 victors on that occasion and Ulster’s only win in their last eight meetings with Irish opposition was their 20-10 triumph at Leinster in Round 6 of the URC.
That said, Connacht have not won an away match since they prevailed at Munster in May and are on a three-match losing run in all competitions. They have also not won back-to-back matches in Belfast since 1960.
Ulster have a 27-10 advantage in the head-to-head record between the sides but Connacht have won six of the last nine meetings, including a 36-11 victory in Dublin earlier this season.
“It was unbelievably disappointing for the game not to happen around Christmas,” Ulster flyhalf Billy Burns said.
“The boys were really pumped for it and we obviously owe them one from the last time we played them.
“But the game’s back on and I’m sure we’ll get a good crowd out and hopefully we can improve on the performance against the Scarlets, get another result and build some more momentum.”
Commenting on the fixture, Connacht head coach Andy Friend said: “It’s got to be about us.
“The last time we played Ulster at the Aviva, we had that hunger and physicality about us and we took the game to them and that’s what, unfortunately, you didn’t see last Saturday (in a 42-20 home defeat to Glasgow Warriors).
“It’s about us taking the game to Ulster. They’re a good team, so they don’t lose at the Kingspan very often.
“But we have shown, over the last few years, that if we do front up there and if we do play a brand of football with that physical edge to it, we actually can get wins against them.
“So, it’s about us turning up and doing that.”
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😎That is why he is the coolest import ever💯#Rugby 🏉#Rugbyunion 🌐@URCOfficial 🏆
🔗https://t.co/TVKmsxUyya pic.twitter.com/7OMAUn3SBL— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) February 3, 2022
Prediction:
@rugby365com: Ulster by five points
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Mike Lowry, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Angus Curtis, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Ethan McIlroy, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 Greg Jones, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Gareth Milasinovich, 2 John Andrew, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 Declan Moore, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Ben Moxham, 23 Rob Lyttle
Connacht: 15 John Porch, 14 Peter Sullivan, 13 Sammy Arnold, 12 Tom Daly, 11 Alex Wootton, 10 Conor Fitzgerald, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jarrad Butler (captain), 7 Conor Oliver, 6 Cian Prendergast, 5 Oisín Dowling, 4 Niall Murray, 3 Tietie Tuimauga, 2 Shane Delahunt, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Jonny Murphy, 17 Jordan Duggan, 18 Greg McGrath, 19 Leva Fifita, 20 Paul Boyle, 21 Colm Reilly, 22 Cathal Forde, 23 Oran McNulty
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 20:15 (20:15 GMT)
Referee: Andy Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (IRFU), Paul Haycock (IRFU)
TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU)
