Pictured above: Ulster flanker Kieron Dawson, who spent ten years at London Irish, will line out against his former club in Reading tomorrow (kick-off 3.30pm). Hoping to help Ulster win their first ever game on English soil, Dawson knows his side's Heineken Cup lives depend on the next two weekends.

Speaking about the superb facilities at the Madejski Stadium, he said: "The Madejski is a fantastic stadium. They hotel we are staying in is part of the complex so it is just a walk out in the morning.

"The surface is fantastic and the acoustics of the stadium mean that the noise the crowd generates is thrown back onto the pitch so the atmosphere will be superb no matter how many people are in it.

"It will be great for the lads and if you can't play rugby on that surface then you shouldn't be a professional player! We should just use that."

Over 3,000 Ulster supporters are planning to make the trip to the Madejski tomorrow, with a number of ex-pats living in the London region also set to roar on Mark McCall's men.



Ulster prop and captain Simon Best, who is set for his first start of this season's Heineken Cup, passes a ball at Newforge in front of his front row colleague Justin Fitzpatrick. Best is confident that the province can end a run of nine straight defeats in England.

He said: "It is a must-win game and we have no more second chances in this competition. All the squad are aware of that and that extra bit of pressure on ourselves will hopefully have a position impact.

"We're all very focused on it and understand what is at stake. With the experience the guys have now, we don't want to be known as nearly men again for another season.

"The Leinster game (last weekend) was very important to us in that we got back together as a team after a month away. It was difficult to take a lot structure-wise from that game because of the conditions. But the main thing was getting back together and being able to start on Monday morning fresh and the three-day preparation this week has been very positive for us."



Ulster and Ireland winger Tommy Bowe has missed six games for his province and country since injurying his hamstring in Ulster's thrilling 30-3 Heineken Cup defeat of Toulouse in October.

Bowe missed Ulster's European clash with Llanelli, their Magners League meetings with Borders and Leinster, and Ireland's three Guinness Autumn Tests, but is now back fully fit and itching for his return in the white of Ulster.

The 22-year-old speedster admitted: "It's been very frustrating to be out as I want to be playing games. I've only played two half games and three quarters of another one and I haven't finished a match yet this season.

"It wasn't the best time to get an injury. I tried to get fit for the internationals, but it didn't happen. Everybody gets injured and I have been very lucky that I have not had any serious injuries.

"This is a must-win game," he added. "We were in the same position last year, but threw it away at Saracens in a game where we should have got a victory. We now have a chance to change that record and take the team to new levels."



Ulster and Ireland utility back Paddy Wallace will make only his twelfth Heineken Cup start in Reading tomorrow. The 27-year-old, who has been starring at inside centre for Ulster this season, is pictured alongside his midfield partner Paul Steinmetz.

A former All Black, Steinmetz is a very influential figure in the Ulster back line, thriving alongside the young talents of Bowe and Andrew Trimble and also offering a goal-kicking option.



Andrew Trimble has spent the past four weeks rehabbing his hamstring, after he felt it tighten during the second half of Ireland's 32-15 defeat of South Africa at Lansdowne Road.

After some thorough sprinting and fitness sessions, the Ballymena clubman is now good to go and will line out on the left wing against 'Irish tomorrow. He said: "Before the injury, I felt like I was gaining a bit of momentum and really starting to peak but to get injured and take a step back, I am going to have to start all over again at the weekend.

"You have to get a bit of form back and get a bit of confidence. I have to take confidence from my own ability and assure myself that I am going to pick off where I left off. It is going to be a massive occasion and I'm really looking forward to it."



Ulster coach Mark McCall has admitted London Irish "are probably the most difficult side that we have come against to analyse." The former Ireland centre said: "It's not absolutely certain what their best starting XV is and what their best combinations are. That in itself offers an element of intrigue from our point of view.

"Their combinations play slightly differently and they defend slightly differently. They are unpredictable and if they are on song, they are on song in a big way," he conceded. "We watched them beat Northampton two weeks ago, and everything went their way and they played really well.

"But it also seems this year when they go behind, sometimes they don't have the ability to get back into games so it is important for us to start the game very well, try and impose ourselves and build up a lead."



Ulster out-half David Humphreys has started this season's Heineken Cup in excellent form, scoring 15 points against both Toulouse and Llanelli. The former Irish international has accumulated a total of 532 points in his 53 Heineken Cup games to date.

Humphreys played five games for London Irish in the 1997/98 Challenge Cup, helping them to wins over Stade Francais, Dax and Farul Constanta.

**All photos by Oliver McVeigh of Sportsfile**