ULSTER BID BENVENUTO to Benetton Treviso for this evening’s Heineken Cup pool five meeting in Belfast (KO 18.00).
Mark Anscombe’s men will run out at Ravenhill as group leaders having already seen off Leicester and Montpellier and will be overwhelming favourites to make it three wins from three.
Treviso though, will surely have been left a little stung by words of club president Amerino Zatta in the wake of last week’s draw against Cardiff; a result which moved the club and coach Franco Smith to agree a parting of the ways after this double header with Ulster – six months earlier than planned.
“The problem has been going on for a while,” Zatta said midweek, “it’s something we need to face up to.”
“On the pitch we are making too many mistakes. The teams we are playing aren’t much better than us but we seem to lack that hunger that singled us out in previous years.”
Whatever about hunger, errors were certainly a central factor in their last visit to Ravenhill. The 32 – 13 defeat in September was littered with untimely defensive mis-reads and knock-ons; none more so than the spill which allowed Tommy Bowe pounce on a Paddy Jackson cross-field kick to ground Ulster’s third try of the day at a time when the visitors were in the ascendancy.
Bowe is missing for this game, as is talismanic hooker Rory Best who broke his arm against the All Blacks.
As Bowe takes up the groin specialist’s time, Jared Payne vacates the same waiting room and he has been named in today’s starting back-line which still has an exciting feel to it despite the two-time Lion’s absence.
This season’s breakthrough talent Michael Allen, who scored two tries in that 32 – 15 victory, must be content with a spot on the bench as Craig Gilroy wins the left wing berth with Andrew Trimble providing the all-round athleticism on the right flank.
Deputy
In midfield, Paddy Wallace’s comeback from a nine-month knee injury comes too late to challenge Luke Marshall, who will be joined by Darren Cave in seeking service from half-backs Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar.
Up front, Best is deputised by Rob Herring with first-choice props Tom Court and John Afoa completing the front row despite both having recently signed deals to join Premiership clubs next season.
With Iain Henderson is one of the long casualty list Anscombe is having to select around captain Johann Muller is a welcome addition to the engine room. Alongside the young international on that list are Nick Williams and Chris Henry, but in Robbie Diack and Roger Wilson, Ulster have in-form back rows who will be itching to show their worth in front of a full house in Ravenhill.
Ulster: Jared Payne, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy, Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar, Tom Court, Rob Herring, John Afoa, Johann Muller (capt), Dan Tuohy, Robbie Diack, Sean Doyle, Roger Wilson.Niall Annett, Callum Black, Declan Fitzpatrick, Neil McComb, Mike McComish, Paul Marshall, Michael Allen, David McIlwaine.
Treviso: Luke McLean, Ludovico Nitoglia, Michele Campagnaro, Alberto Sgarbi, Angelo Esposito, Mat Berquist, Edoardo Gori, Alberto de Marchi, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Lorenzo Cittadini, Antonio Pavanello (capt), Cornelius van Zyl, Alessandro Zanni, Dean Budd, Roberto Barbieri.
Franco Sbaraglini, Michele Rizzo, Ignacio Fernandez Rouyet, Paul Derbyshire, Marco Filippucci, Christian Loamanu, Tobias Botes, James Ambrosini.
