EDINBURGH FANS ARE not travelling over from Scotland in large numbers but, you never know, they could be holding out on a train ticket to London in May.
Ulster fans have bought up huge swathes of tickets for the Aviva semi-final and find themselves in a strange position. This is their first semi in 13 years yet they find themselves as resounding favourites.
Michael Bradley has been coaching underdog teams for years and will be confident about gaining the tactical advantage over Brian McLaughlin. He also has quality talents such as Ross Ford, Tim Visser and David Denton at his disposal.
Here are the three areas that should decide who marches on to a final date in Twickenham.
Denton v Ferris
A simplistic way to approach the back row tussle but Denton and Stephen Ferris, when they were not busy in international action, have been the driving forces for their teams all season.
The exodus of talent from Scotland to the Guinness Premiership has turned out to be a (tiny) blessing in disguise for Scotland’s national teams as players such as Lee Jones and the Zimbanwean born Denton have emerged.
The Edinburgh flanker took to the international game fantastically in the Six Nations but his performances were not a patch on his opposite number this weekend – Ferris.
The Maghaberry native is firmly ensconced in the ‘world-class’ bracket and was immense, on one leg, against Munster in the quarter-final. The advantage here lies with Ulster but Denton will not be cowed.
Wing play
Craig Gilroy announced himself to the rest of the world when he tore past Denis Hurley along the sideline and flummoxed another six Munster players to score a remarkable try.
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The try was Gilroy’s third in the Heineken Cup this year. Andrew Trimble, on the opposite wing, has been doing pretty well in white too and has crossed the whitewash on four occasions.
The wings, however, are were Edinburgh match Ulster’s threat. There was a clamour for Scotland coach Andy Robinson to call up Lee Jones at the beginning on the season and the youngster gave notice of his raw pace when he got the nod.
The danger for the Ulster defence comes from Dutch-born Tim Visser, who will be eligible to play for Scotland in next season’s Six Nations. He has taken his Newcastle Falcons form and, given added responsibility as attack leader, has taken his game to the next level, and another one after that.
An Afoa-less front row
When Ulster grafted the win at Thomond Park, and with Edinburgh already victorious over Toulouse, there was no arguing that the men in white held all the aces in the front-row battle.
Three days later, J0hn Afoa received a four-week ban for his dump tackle on Felix Jones and the scales levelled out.
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Ulster still possess a hooker in the form of his life, Rory Best, and a soft-spoken Aussie that is much more comfortable at loose-head, Tom Court. Declan Fitzpatrick should enter the fray in place of Afoa and will be stable in the scrum if unspectacular in the loose.
Ross Ford is Edinburgh’s stand-out in the front row and has performed with exemplary gusto for club, country and the British and Irish Lions.
The real surprise of the Toulouse victory, however, came from Geoff Cross.
The qualified doctor usually plays second-fiddle for Euan Murray, when he is not on his Sunday sabbaticals, but was outstanding up front against the likes of Census Johnston and Jean-Baptiste Poux.
