Marshall And D'Arcy Sidelined For Ulster

Ulster have announced a preliminary 27-man squad to face Glasgow Warriors in Friday's crucial Heineken Cup Pool 4 clash at Ravenhill (kick-off 8pm).

Centre Luke Marshall and full-back Adam D'Arcy have both been ruled out after suffering injuries in the RaboDirect PRO12 win over the Scarlets last weekend.

Marshall will have surgery on a fractured finger. He is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks, while D'Arcy fractured his ankle.

The full-back will see a specialist later in the week when an approximate timeframe for a return to action will be confirmed.

Dan Tuohy, who suffered a recurrence of a calf injury against the Scarlets, has been named in the squad and will be monitored throughout the week.

Jared Payne missed the game against the Welsh outfit with a groin strain, but is included in the panel and could play some part on Friday night.

It is all to play for in Pool 4 although Ulster, the 2012 runners-up, are in the box seat. Mark Anscombe's men are three points clear of Castres Olympique.

Northampton Saints are five points adrift of Ulster but both sides will be wary of their away trips in round 6 to Glasgow and Castres respectively.

Glasgow are yet to register a win despite coming close on all four occasions, especially in their nail-biting back-to-back games against Castres.

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ULSTER Squad (v Glasgow Warriors) - Backs (11): Ruan Pienaar, Paul Marshall, Michael Heaney, Paddy Jackson, Paddy Wallace, Darren Cave, Michael Allen, Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble, Chris Cochrane, Jared Payne.

Forwards (16): Callum Black, Tom Court, Declan Fitzpatrick, Adam Macklin, John Afoa, Rob Herring, Rory Best, Lewis Stevenson, Dan Tuohy, Iain Henderson, Neil McComb, Mike McComish, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack, Roger Wilson, Nick Williams.

Prop Mike Ross reflected on Leinster's Amlin Challenge Cup final success at the RDS, saying: "There's less hype about it but it's a good competition to win. Many teams have won this and kicked on the next year. Hopefully with the few lads, like Jack McGrath who made his first appearance in a major final, the experience will stand them in good stead for next year."

Speaking in the aftermath of Leinster's Amlin Challenge Cup final win over Stade Francais, flanker Shane Jennings said: "There was obviously disappointment losing the three league finals. It's a huge focus for us (next week's PRO12 final). We know Ulster are a very good side, they are favourites and they're fresh and we're in for a huge game."

Speaking about Connacht's 'Grassroots to Green Shirts' initiative, the province's CEO Tom Sears said: "We like to think we're innovative in our approach, that we're looking at things slightly differently. We've shown that the production line is working with the young players coming through. The system is working, we just need a bit more investment to make sure we can get more players through."

Connacht's head of commercial and marketing Alex Saul talks about some exciting developments off the pitch for the province, including their 'Grassroots to Green Shirts' crowd-funding initiative which gives fans the chance to play their part in growing and developing the future stars of Connacht and Irish rugby.

Speaking to Rob Murphy after Connacht's 17-0 defeat at Biarritz, head coach Eric Elwood said: "We ideally wanted to come here and build on last week's performance and play rugby. But when you have conditions like that, they become a great leveller and we had to go toe-to-toe with a heavyweight in their big pack. The effort and courage of the guys was magnificent though."

Speaking after Connacht's memorable 22-14 defeat of Biarritz Olympique, head coach Eric Elwood said: "We've shown a lot of faith in the young guys - if you play well, you'll stay in the team. Mick Kearney, Jason Harris-Wright, Dave McSharry and Robbie Henshaw...they were magnificent. They looked comfortable in that environment. That's what we're about, bringing those young, indigenous players through."