IAIN HENDERSON WILL make his first appearance of the season for Ulster when they begin their Heineken Champions Cup campaign with a Pool 3 fixture against Bath tomorrow afternoon at the Rec [KO 13.00 -- Virgin Media 1, BT Sport 2, Channel 4].
The inclusion of the newly-appointed Ulster captain is one of five personnel changes made by head coach Dan McFarland from last weekend’s Guinness Pro14 defeat to Munster.
Will Addison, Marcell Coetzee and Matthew Rea have also been selected to start, as has Billy Burns, who will be squaring off against his older brother Freddie.
Addison comes in at fullback to replace Matt Faddes, while Burns takes the number 10 shirt from Angus Curtis, who’s among the replacements.
Henderson takes over in the second row from Alan O’Connor, with Rea and Coetzee coming into the back row at the expense of Sean Reidy and Nick Timoney.
The Bath starting line-up includes England international trio Jonathan Joseph, Ruaridh McConnochie and Sam Underhill, who will each make their first appearances since returning from the World Cup.
Ulster:
15. Will Addison
14. Rob Lyttle
13. Luke Marshall
12. Stuart McCloskey
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Billy Burns
9. John Cooney
1. Jack McGrath
2. Rob Herring
3. Marty Moore
4. Iain Henderson (captain)
5. Sam Carter
6. Matthew Rea
7. Jordi Murphy
8. Marcell Coetzee
Replacements:
16. Adam McBurney
17. Eric O’Sullivan
18. Tom O’Toole
19. Alan O’Connor
20. Sean Reidy
21. Dave Shanahan
22. Angus Curtis
23. Louis Ludik
Bath:
15. Freddie Burns
14. Semesa Rokoduguni
13. Jonathan Joseph
12. Jamie Roberts
11. Ruaridh McConnochie
10. Rhys Priestland
9. Will Chudley
1. Beno Obano
2. Tom Dunn
3. Will Stuart
4. Josh McNally
5. Charlie Ewels (captain)
6. Mike Williams
7. Sam Underhill
8. Zach Mercer
Replacements:
16. Jack Walker
17. Lewis Boyce
18. Christian Judge
19. Elliott Stooke
20. Josh Bayliss
21. Chris Cook
22. Max Wright
23. Gabe Hamer-Webb
Murray Kinsella and Bernard Jackman join Gavan Casey in studio to assess the four provinces and their chances heading into the 2019/20 Champions Cup campaign.
