Ulster's Ex-Reds to face old mates
Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:53
Ulster coach Matt Williams named his 22-man squad from which he will select his starting line up to take on the Reds at Ravenhill on Friday.
Included in the line up are two former Reds players, Ed O'Donoghue and Clinton Schifcofske.
Both players arrived with Ulster during the pre-season build-up and proved themselves on the pitch against Bath last weekend.
O'Donoghue has settled into life in Belfast well and the strong lock is looking forward to playing against his old team-mates.
"I didn't think I would play against any Southern Hemisphere teams here in Ulster let alone the Reds, but I am really looking forward to the game," he said.
"I enjoyed the Bath game, it was tough going at times and I can definitely see why the lads talk about the Ravenhill factor on match night, the crowd were brilliant."
Also included in the squad are Irish Internationals Bryan Young, Rory Best, Isaac Boss and Paddy Wallace, all four players were rested last week following on from the Irish training camp in Cork the week before.
Ian Humphreys is named in the squad and the former Ballymena Academy pupil and Leicester flyhalf will be eager to be involved in his first game for the senior Ulster side.
Coach Williams is looking forward to the fixture and watching his new recruits in action again.
"Clinton [Schifcofske] has a wealth of experience and what we are looking from him is that leadership as well as knowledge about the ELVs," said the coach.
"Ed O'Donoghue is also an experienced guy who has been about a bit and is an abrasive player.
"We were pleased with the performance on Friday against Bath but we have a lot of work still to do and these friendlies are a great opportunity to see how the players are progressing and give the younger guys a chance as well.
"The Magners League is just weeks away and we are determined to make a vast improvement on our results from last season. We didn't have a good time last season. Winning the Magners League and getting to the knock-out stages of Europe isn't beyond this squad."
Ulster squad:
Forwards: Bryan Young, Rory Best, Tom Court, Ed O'Donoghue ,Carlo Del Fava, Matt McCullough, David Pollock, Robbie Diack, Neil Hanna, Jarlath Carey, Thomas Anderson.
Backs: Simon Danielli, Isaac Boss, Ian Humphreys, Paddy Wallace, Darren Cave, Timoci Nagusa, Clinton Schifcofske, Cillian Willis, Rob Dewey, Bryn Cunningham.
With thanks to ulsterrugby.com
