Back-to-back wins on Welsh soil for the first time since 2012/13 is what Ulster are after as they look to complete a season’s double over the ninth-placed Cardiff Blues.
GUINNESS PRO12: Sunday, February 28
CARDIFF BLUES (9th) v ULSTER (4th), BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park, 2.30pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/S4C)
Team News: Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss has named his team for the GUINNESS PRO12 trip to play Cardiff Blues at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.
Paddy Jackson will captain the side and he will be partnered at half-back by influential Springbok scrum half Ruan Pienaar.
Sam Arnold and Luke Marshall will start together in midfield for the first time, with Craig Gilroy, Jacob Stockdale and Stuart Olding continuing in the back-three.
John Andrew, who made his first Ulster start against the Scarlets last Sunday, is retained at hooker and is joined in the front row by props Callum Black and Bronson Ross. Peter Browne and Franco van der Merwe will link up in the second row.
Nick Williams returns from injury to start at number 8, with Robbie Diack and Chris Henry operating as the other loose forwards.
Jonny Murphy, a debutant in last week’s match against the Scarlets, is in line to add a second cap after being named on the replacements bench.
Ricky Lutton and Sean Reidy, who both signed contract extensions earlier this week, are also included on the bench along with fellow forwards Kyle McCall and Roger Wilson, who won his 200th cap last time out. The reserve backs are Paul Marshall, Darren Cave and Rory Scholes.
Meanwhile, scrum half Tomos Williams and prop Bradley Thyer will make their first starts in the PRO12 when Cardiff Blues host Ulster in the Welsh capital. The two exciting Academy products have both impressed in recent league games and have now been given starting spots by head coach Danny Wilson.
There are six changes in total to the team that started the recent clash with Leinster on home soil. Wales winger Tom James is released from international duty and lines up in a new-look back-line.
The selected Blues side also features a call-up for Aled Summerhill at outside centre, while Dan Fish returns at full back.
Loosehead prop Thyer gets his chance to shine alongside recalled hooker Matthew Rees in the front row. Josh Turnbull is again released by Wales to play in the back row.
The bench includes Kristian Dacey, the final player to be released from the Welsh international set-up for the fixture, along with recalls for Lewis Jones, Jarrod Evans and Garyn Smith.
CARDIFF BLUES: Dan Fish; Blaine Scully, Aled Summerhill, Rey Lee-Lo, Tom James; Rhys Patchell, Tomos Williams; Brad Thyer, Matthew Rees, Salesi Ma’afu, Jarrad Hoeata, James Down, Josh Turnbull, Ellis Jenkins, Manoa Vosawai.
Replacements: Kristian Dacey, Thomas Davies, Taufa’ao Filise, Macauley Cook, Josh Navidi, Lewis Jones, Jarrod Evans, Garyn Smith.
ULSTER: Stuart Olding; Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Sam Arnold, Jacob Stockdale; Paddy Jackson (capt), Ruan Pienaar; Callum Black, John Andrew, Bronson Ross, Peter Browne, Franco van der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Nick Williams.
Replacements: Jonny Murphy, Kyle McCall, Ricky Lutton, Roger Wilson, Sean Reidy, Paul Marshall, Darren Cave, Rory Scholes.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones, Gwyn Morris (both Wales)
Television Match Official: Jon Mason (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Cardiff Blues to win: 5/4; Draw: 17/1; Ulster to win: 4/6
Pre-Match Quotes: Ricky Lutton (Ulster) – “Cardiff have a very good home record this year, the Arms Park has always been very difficult to go to over the years. They have a good vocal support there.
“They put in a very physical performance (last week) and Leinster had to pull out a few stops into the wind in the second half to get away with the win. Cardiff had a few chances to sneak it at the end.
“It’s incredibly competitive up there (in the top four) and even the teams a bit adrift of the top four have games in hand. One good away win or one bad home defeat like we suffered (against the Scarlets), you can find yourself sliding down the table pretty quickly or on the flip side move up it quickly.
“It’s important we take it one game at a time but at the same time we have our eye on the bigger picture – we know what is required. If we keep winning games it’s in our control.
“Our aim is to finish top of the log and get that home semi-final and that will be a good start for us. Then we can push on from there and get that silverware that we have been hovering around the last few years and haven’t got over the line.”
Danny Wilson (Cardiff Blues) – “It’s another crucial home game at a venue where we are always extremely motivated to win. We are back in front of our passionate home supporters and we were very disappointed to lose (to Leinster) last weekend. We need to bounce back with a win.
“Ulster are a good side, home or away they always perform, and they have depth to their squad, despite international call-ups.
“They are a very dangerous side and they will be motivated by the narrow loss to the Scarlets last weekend. Ulster play good open rugby so it should make for an entertaining game.
“Tomos Williams and Brad Thyer have both impressed in recent games and deserve starting positions. We’re looking forward to seeing how they both perform from the start of the game.”
Top Scorers – 2015/16 GUINNESS PRO12: Cardiff Blues – Points: Rhys Patchell 127; Tries: Josh Navidi, Tom James, Josh Turnbull 4 each; Ulster – Points: Paddy Jackson 56; Tries: Craig Gilroy 5
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, May 3, 2013 – Ulster 37 Cardiff Blues 13, Ravenhill
Friday, October 25, 2013 – Ulster 39 Cardiff Blues 21, Ravenhill
Saturday, March 29, 2014 – Cardiff Blues 28 Ulster 23, Arms Park
Friday, September 19, 2014 – Cardiff Blues 9 Ulster 26, BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park
Friday, March 27, 2015 – Ulster 36 Cardiff Blues 17, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, October 23, 2015 – Ulster 24 Cardiff Blues 17, Kingspan Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– Cardiff Blues have slipped to successive defeats in the GUINNESS PRO12, at Benetton Treviso and at home to Leinster
– The Blues’ only victory over an Irish province in their last seven such encounters was 20-16 at home to Connacht in December
– Ulster’s three-match winning run in the PRO12 came to a halt by the narrowest of margins at home to the Scarlets last Sunday
– The Ulstermen have not lost successive regular season games in the same season since December 2014
– Ulster won 19-12 against the Newport Gwent Dragons on their most recent visit to Wales and have not won on back-to-back trips to the country since the 2012/13 season
– The Blues have won only one of their last seven fixtures with Ulster: 28-23 at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park in March 2014
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