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hardest hurdle yet

Heineken Cup: 3 key battles Ulster must win against Northampton

There’s more than just a winning streak on the line.

John Afoa v Soane Tonga’uiha

ULSTER HEAD TO Franklin’s Gardens looking to add to their astonishing 100 percent record of 12 wins from 12 this season.

If they are to do that, then this battle of behemoths will be the first port of call.

We don’t expect Tom Court to make any real inroads into Brian Mujati on the other side of the scrum, but in Afoa Ulster have a tight-head capable of rubbing shoulders with anyone.

If the Kiwi can help ensure Ulster win parity at the set-piece then Mark Anscombe’s game-plan can begin to take shape.

If the Tongan gets the upper hand, then the rest of the Saints big pack can rumble forward and the running threat of Ryan Lamb and Ben Foden will have the space they need to create openings for the home side.

Chris Henry v Tom Wood

Both of these men are capable of playing anywhere across the back row and this year have proved that they can also make the jump to international standard. It’s also fair to say that both men have been somewhat shoe-horned into the openside position because of a lack of talent in the area.

Wood has become England’s finest blindside option, yet still reverts to the other side of the scrum for his club. Henry, meanwhile, has honed his craft to become a true number seven and he will hope that the extra experience in the groundhog role will pay dividends in the form of clean possession for Ruan Pienaar.

Ruan Pienaar v Ryan Lamb

Ordinarily, if a half-back is embroiled in a key battle then it would be with his opposite number. Pienaar is a different animal.

Paddy Jackson is maturing and is now much more comfortable in his skin, never mind his ability, than when he was forced into the harsh proving ground of the Heineken Cup’s final four. However,  as long as the South African is involved, he will dictate the Ulster game.

Lamb is a creative fly-half and is more than capable of turning the screw on last year’s European finalist, but only if the visiting pack are on the retreat. In Pienaar you never get the sense of a man who is in panic mode. He can turn a game with the flick of a wrist or his right boot.

Ulster will need every centimetre of that icy network of veins if they are to chalk win number 13 up on the board.

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