Trimble And Marshall Back On Provincial Duty

Ireland squad members Andrew Trimble and Paul Marshall have been included in the Ulster starting line-up to play Benetton Treviso at the Stadio di Monigo on Friday (kick-off 7.05pm local time/6.05pm Irish time).

Number 8 Roger Wilson has been named as captain for the RaboDirect PRO12 encounter, with the 20-year-old Peter Nelson earning just his second start at full-back.

In total there are six personnel changes and one positional switch compared to the side that started against Zebre last Sunday.

Up front sees an all new front row of Tom Court, Rob Herring and Declan Fitzpatrick deployed in place of Callum Black, Nigel Brady and John Afoa respectively.

The second row pairing of Robbie Diack and Neil McComb will continue after impressing in the 27-25 win over Zebre.

The back row is also unchanged with Nick Williams and Mike McComish named on either side of the scrum and Wilson at the base.

Paul Marshall's inclusion alongside Niall O'Connor at half-back means Michael Heaney must be content with a place on the bench.

Outside of them, Paddy Wallace and Jared Payne, playing in midfield for the third consecutive match, will be tasked with providing much of the creativity.

With returning Ireland international Andrew Trimble named on the right wing, Michael Allen has switched to the left touchline at the expense of Chris Cochrane.

That leaves Academy player Nelson, who has made three previous Ulster senior appearances, lining out at full-back in place of Ricky Andrew.

Last weekend's starting front row are all on the bench this time out, with James Simpson and Ali Birch also providing forward cover. Heaney, Cochrane and Ireland Under-20 inside back Stuart Olding are the other replacements included.

ULSTER (v Benetton Treviso): Peter Nelson; Andrew Trimble, Jared Payne, Paddy Wallace, Michael Allen; Niall O'Connor, Paul Marshall; Tom Court, Rob Herring, Declan Fitzpatrick, Robbie Diack, Neil McComb, Nick Williams, Mike McComish, Roger Wilson (capt).

Replacements: Nigel Brady, Callum Black, John Afoa, James Simpson, Ali Birch, Michael Heaney, Stuart Olding, Chris Cochrane.

Previewing Saturday's RaboDirect PRO12 final against Leinster with Cóilín Duffy, Ulster winger Andrew Trimble said: "We really motivated for this game. People are talking about us being the best Ulster side in a few years, we had that record of 13 wins in a row at the start of the year. We want to win trophies, and there's no point having those records unless we back them up."

Connacht elite player development officer Jimmy Duffy chats about the province's latest programme, 'Grassroots to Green Shirts', which they hope will increase the number of indigenous players coming through the provincial player pathway. In the westerners' current senior squad, there are 19 players who have come through the Connacht system.

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 after the 30-11 home win over the Dragons, Connacht head coach Eric Elwood said: "We're a little bit disappointed we didn't get the bonus point, but the good thing is we got a good victory at home and we had a great crowd. We're back on the horse and it sets us up for Harlequins (next week)."

Speaking about recovering from the disappointing defeat to the Scarlets, young Leinster centre Noel Reid said: "We went over looking for a result and we didn't perform the way we wanted to. So we need a big week now of training and focusing on the things that didn't go our way - the breakdown in particular."