Front row powerhouse for Ulster
Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:00
Coach Matt Williams has named a very strong Ulster side, most notable in the pack, to take on Connacht at Ravenhill on Friday night in a crucial Magners League fightback game.
The front row welcomes back Ulster Captain Rory Best who will line up alongside Springbok BJ Botha and former Irish International Justin Fitzpatrick, the three-man powerhouse will do their best to put pressure on the Connacht scrum from the starting whistle.
Stephen Ferris also returns to the side and the former Friends School pupil and firm fans' favourite will be eager to continue his fine form after a strong Autumn International series with Ireland. The Lisburn lad had this to say about the game:
"We have to have a mentality that this is a must-win game. Yes, there is a lot of rugby to be played in the league before the end of the season, but we want to be winning all our games. Connacht can be very physical and they have surprised a few teams this season, including Leinster, so we cannot assume that we are going to get things all our own way. The breakdown will prove crucial and I think if it is anyway dry we must get quick ball up front and get our backs away. It is important we concentrate on ourselves and get the team gelling together as it did in the win against Munster."
Ferris is joined in the back row by recent Ulster Captain David Pollock and new South African recruit Robbie Diack; the back row will be coming up against an experienced Connacht back row including former Irish International Jonny O'Connor.
In the backs Irish International Paddy Wallace joins Darren Cave in the centre, Cave, who greatly impressed in the Portugal game will be hoping to replicate his try-scoring antics against Connacht. Fijian Flyer Timoci Nagusa is joined by former Ireland A speedster Mark McCrea who starts his first competitive game for his province this season.
The halfback pairing of Ian Humphreys and Cillian Willis worked well against Munster in October and Humphreys is all too aware of the threat that Connacht present:
"Connacht are a very good team and they like to battle hard, so we are in no doubt that it is going to be a tough encounter. There isn't much different in terms of points between the two sides so we really want a good result to build on our win against Munster."
Williams has also named a very strong bench with Kieron Dawson and Matt McCullough covering the back row and Tom Court and Nigel Brady named as front row cover.
Ulster: 15 Bryn Cunningham, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Mark McCrea, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Cillian Willis, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 David Pollock, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 Brendan Botha, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Justin Fitzpatrick.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Tom Court, 18 Matt McCullough, 19 Kieron Dawson, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Paul Steinmetz, 22 Simon
Danielli.
Date: Friday, November 28
Venue: Ravenhill
Kick-off: 19.30 GMT
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Touch judges: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Trevor Collins (Ireland)
TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)
