Harrison - Ulsterman in a Bath shirt
Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:02
When Justin Harrison steps out at Ravenhill on Friday to face Ulster it will seem like little has changed for the former Australian international, except for one small thing, he will be wearing a Bath shirt.
"I have given a bit of thought to this scenario," said the second row forward about the pre-season encounter between Ulster and Bath.
Harrison, a 33-year-old veteran of 34 Tests for the Wallabies, joined the European Challenge Cup champions, Bath, from Ulster at the end of the last European season.
"It will be hard facing Ulster jerseys instead of playing with them," he said, adding: "However, I am pleased my first experience in Bath colours will be in familiar surroundings for me.
"It is a nice anecdote that I will be playing back at Ravenhill where I gave my best."
Harrison is aware that a long season awaits with Bath and he is looking forward to challenges ahead of him.
"The move to Bath has gone well so far. I wanted an opportunity to still play top professional rugby. Coming to the Guinness Premiership is a big challenge for me and my time at Ulster was a great experience for me and was very rewarding.
"For me it was about looking for a change, a new opportunity and a chance to expose myself to a lot of risk."
At 6'7" (201cm) Harrison can more than hold his own, but he expects stiff competition this season for a starting berth.
"There are a large number of international standard players here, particularly in the second row. The challenge for me is about getting as physically fit as possible for a season that will be physically demanding and be mentally prepared that if there are setbacks along the way that I handle them as best I can."
A Bath strong squad will be facing the Belfast contingent on Friday night.
The Bath side boasts British and Irish Lion lock Danny Grewcock, as well as England stars Lee Mears and Matt Stevens.
Ulster coach Matt Williams announced a 23-man squad from which he will select his starting 22.
The squad includes five of the six new signings and will be captained by Kieron Dawson.
New signing Timoci Nagussa will be hoping to start for his new club and the Fijian international is excited about the prospect of playing at Ravenhill.
"The friendlies will be a great chance for me to get into my game before the real season starts," Nagussa said.
"I am looking forward to the Queensland game and the chance to play a Southern Hemisphere side, I think that will be a really great fast paced match. All the guys are talking about the Bath game as their former captain Justin Harrison has now signed for the side, they are all looking forward to that one."
Matt Williams was pleased to name Nagussa in the extended squad.
"He is a very fast player, he has a lot to learn and has only been here in Belfast for just over a week but so far we have been very impressed with him both as a person and a player, it will be a steep learning curve for him here but we are very pleased with him so far."
Also hoping to run out to the Ravenhill Roar for the first time will be new signings Clinton Schifcofske, Ed O'Donoghue, Robbie Diack and Cillian Willis.
All the new players have settled in well to the squad and Friday will be a chance for them to prove to the Ulster management and supporters what they are capable of against a strong Bath side.
Three Ulster Rugby Academy players are also featuring in the squad.
Ian Whitten, Chris Cochrane and Willie Fallon have been training with the senior squad all through the pre season months and have impressed Williams.
"It is great to get the younger players from the Academy to train with us and to expose them to the senior squad and the level that the seniors play at. We will try and 'blood' them against Bath and expose them to a quality side to see how they get on.
"They need to know how big a jump it is to the professional standard, they are three good young players and the Academy players really are the future of the club."
Bath were third in the Guinness Premiership in May, as well as winning the European Challenge Cup, securing the club's place in the Heineken Cup alongside the Ulstermen this season.
With the former Ulster captain, Harrison having moved to Bath, it will be interesting viewing to watch Harrison play against his former team mates.
Teams:
Ulster:
Forwards: Justin Fitzpatrick, Nigel Brady, Tom Court, Ed O'Donoghue, Matt McCullough, Kieron Dawson (captain), Robbie Diack, Neil Hanna, Jarlath Carey, Carlo Del Fava, Chris Henry, Willie Faloon, Thomas Anderson.
Backs: Cillian Willis, Niall O'Connor, Timoci Nagussa, Rob Dewey, Darren Cave, Chris Cochrane, Clinton Schifcofske, Paul Marshall, Bryn Cunningham, Ian Whitten.
Bath:
Forwards: David Barnes, Duncan Bell, David Flatman, Aaron Jarvis, Pieter Dixon, Rob Hawkins, Justin Harrison, Stuart Hooper, Danny Grewcock, Daniel Browne, Jonny Faamatuainu, James Scaysbrook, Peter Short.
Backs: Scott Bemand, Michael Claassens, Shaun Berne, Robbie Kydd, Tom Cheeseman, Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, Alex Crockett, Rhys Crane, Jack Cuthbert, Joe Maddock, Michael Stephenson.
Date: Friday, August 15
Venue: Ravenhill, Belfast
Kick-off: 19.30 (18.30 GMT)
With thanks to Ulster Rugby
