RICHIE MURPHY HAS made seven changes to his Ulster side which fell to the Bulls for Saturday night’s URC Round 4 interpro against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast (8pm, TG4/Premier Sports/BBC 2).
There are four swaps in Ulster’s pack, with two changes to the front row who struggled in Pretoria last weekend.
Andrew Warwick makes his 200th appearance for Ulster at loosehead and is joined at hooker and tighthead by John Andrew and Tom O’Toole respectively.
Iain Henderson again captains his native province, joined on this occasion in the second row by Kieran Treadwell.
Nick Timoney, meanwhile, returns to make his 150th Ulster appearance in the back row alongside blindside Dave McCann and openside Sean Reffell.
At scrum-half, John Cooney replaces Nathan Doak from the start for this Ravenhill encounter, while Jude Postlethwaite has returned early from the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa to start at inside centre.
Alan O’Connor, like Warwick, is set to earn his 200th Ulster cap. The Dubliner is on the bench as part of a 5-3 split.
On Connacht’s side of the equation, Pete Wilkins welcomes back Kiwi star Josh Ioane to partner Ben Murphy at half-back, with Cathal Forde covering 10 from the bench. Jack Carty, impressive in last weekend’s victory over the Scarlets, is not involved in Connacht’s matchday 23.
Joe Joyce also returns from injury to start in the second row alongside Josh Murphy, while Seán O’Brien makes his first appearance of the season at openside.
Paul Boyle and Shayne Bolton also come into Connacht’s starting lineup having appeared off the bench at Parc y Scarlets.
Head coach Wilkins has opted for a 6-2 split on his bench with Caolin Blade and Cathal Forde providing the back cover.
Ulster
15. Ethan McIlroy
14. Werner Kok
13. Stewart Moore
12. Jude Postlethwaite
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Aidan Morgan
9. John Cooney
1. Andrew Warwick
2. John Andrew
3. Tom O’Toole
4. Iain Henderson (Captain)
5. Kieran Treadwell
6. David McCann
7. Sean Reffell
8. Nick Timoney
Replacements:
16. James McCormick
17. Callum Reid
18. Corrie Barrett
19. Alan O’Connor
20. Marcus Rea
21. Nathan Doak
22. Ben Carson
23. Mike Lowry
Connacht
15. Santiago Cordero
14. Mack Hansen
13. Piers O’Conor
12. Bundee Aki
11. Shayne Bolton
10. Josh Ioane
9. Ben Murphy
1. Denis Buckley
2. Dave Heffernan
3. Finlay Bealham
4. Joe Joyce
5. Josh Murphy
6. Cian Prendergast (Captain)
7. Sean O’Brien
8. Paul Boyle
16. Dylan Tierney-Martin
17. Peter Dooley
18. Temi Lasisi
19. Oisín Dowling
20. David O’Connor
21. Caolin Blade
22. Cathal Forde
23. Conor Oliver
For all the bluster from Murphy, Wilkins was right in saying Murphy didn’t put his best hand forward against Bulls, and had this match in mind. Definitely a stronger Ulster line up. Some interesting choices for Connacht – Carty had a good first half last week, but faded out before being subbed last week. Think he still offers a lot, but probably Forde is the better bench option. Aki/POC midfield hasn’t been tried before, so I’m curious to see how that goes. Josh Murphy mostly played at lock two seasons ago, so probably makes sense for him to return there, albeit I do think back row is his more natural position. Still, should be a good match. Ulster will be desperate for a win at home, and have picked a really strong side, so they’ll be a very stern test. Match of the weekend
@JoeVlogs: match of the weekend? 82.5k people beg to differ!!!
@Kevin: As in this match could go either way, and the recent history of the tie is that usually the home side win it, but only just. Looking at the Leinster v Munster sides, despite Leo insisting on selecting two tens on the bench, it is still Leinster’s to lose. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still want to attend it if I was in Dublin – Croke Park, world cup winners, internationals, etc. But as a contest goes, I expect a tighter, more exciting game from the later match.
@Kevin: well in fairness this game should be close and competitive. The other game has a strong likelihood of Leinster running out big winners. Hopefully not and it’s competitive too
@JoeVlogs: that’s fair enough alright. The game should be a cracker too.
@JoeVlogs: yeah Josh is an absolutely savage 6
Thought Cordero was very poor at full back against the Scarlets! For me he looks like an out and out winger! I’m surprised Mack isn’t the one being tried there as his style would be more suited, we could do with more options there internationally too! Interested to see how Paul Boyle goes, at times he looks like the best ball carrier in Ireland. but has rarely been picked to start in the past 2 years right when he was banging on the Irish door!
@Attacki Acki: Agree, I’d nearly put O Connor on the wing and Hansen to full back with Forde in midfield. Send Cordero packing. Boyle was unfortunate with injuries, but on his day he’s probably strongest ball carrying backrow on the island.
@Ray Ridge: not even the best 8 on the pitch Saturday. Timoney will outplay him in every facet. As for the best 8 the future lions captain is that
Hard place to go, would never bet against Ulster at Ravenhill. Connacht have only won twice (not double checked that) in the last 10 years. Team looks decent tho, may be the best shot they’ve had in a while.
@Thesaltyurchin: Three times including the Rainbow Cup. Not just 10 years though. It’s about 75.
How Cordero continues to be selected is beyond me, considering he hasn’t completed a tackle in the opening 3 games of the season. Not even offering a whole lot in an attacking sense either to make up for it. Hopefully he will manage to catch the ball this weekend without dropping it and nail a few tackles. Not much between the sides otherwise, maybe home advantage will be the difference.
@Ray Ridge: I would genuinely love it if he had a stormer tomorrow for no reason other than for you to be shown up for the clown that you are.
@Patrick Kennedy: I’d love it too, but he’ll have to improve quite a bit on the evidence of the first 3 games.
@Ray Ridge: he missed a whole season through injury. give the lad a break.
@Niall English: Ah Stop, a professional Rugby player out for a few months is no excuse for not being able to catch the ball and make a simple tackle. He’s being back long enough now. I’m expecting a much improved performance from this guy otherwise……. See more
@Ray Ridge: A few months? He played one game last season after doing his ACL. Ignorance on show again, well done
@Patrick Kennedy: yes he was out for a few months, besides you don’t catch the ball with your ACL. He’s had a long pre-season and 3 URC games. Long enough to be able catch a ball and make a tackle. The time for excuses is over.
@Ray Ridge: So August to June is “a few months”? Last time I checked it was 11 months.
@Patrick Kennedy: End of August to middle of May is around 9 months.
@Ray Ridge: Did his ACL during preseason at the beginning of August, played his first game the end of May. But don’t let facts get in the way of your nonsense.
@Patrick Kennedy: The 22nd of August is not the beginning of August and the 18th of May is not the end of May. Besides that’s not the point. The point is he should still be able to catch the ball. I haven’t been on a bicycle for about 20 years but I can still bloody cycle.
Another mouth watering game to look forward to