In-form Ulster are targeting maximum points against Cardiff Blues in Belfast tonight before they tackle the GUINNESS PRO12’s leading three sides – Munster, the Ospreys and Leinster – in the concluding rounds.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, April 7
ULSTER (4th) v CARDIFF BLUES (8th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/BBC 2 Wales)
Team News: Director of rugby Les Kiss has named a strong team for the visit of Cardiff Blues to Kingspan Stadium tonight as Ulster aim for a seventh consecutive GUINNESS PRO12 win.
Rory Best returns to provincial action and he will lead the side from hooker as regular captains Rob Herring and Andrew Trimble are both named on the bench. The latter makes a welcome return having recovered from a hand injury sustained against Benetton Treviso last month.
Joining them on the bench is Hughes Insurance Academy back rower Nick Timoney, who will make his senior debut if called upon by Kiss. The 21-year-old has produced notable displays for Queen’s University, Ulster ‘A’ and the Ireland Sevens team over the past couple of seasons.
There are two other personnel changes to the Ulster starting line-up from the 27-17 victory over the Dragons a fortnight ago, with Roger Wilson and Paddy Jackson brought into the XV.
Best is the only new face in the front five, with Andrew Warwick, Wiehahn Herbst, Kieran Treadwell and Alan O’Connor all retained. Wilson’s inclusion at number 8 means that Sean Reidy moves to openside flanker, while Iain Henderson will start again on the blindside.
Jackson, who made an impressive appearance as a replacement two weeks ago, will renew his half-back partnership with Ruan Pienaar. Stuart Olding and Luke Marshall are selected in midfield and the back-three of Craig Gilroy, Charles Piutau and Jared Payne is unchanged.
Callum Black, Rodney Ah You and Robbie Diack will join Herring and Timoney as forward replacements on the bench, while Trimble, Paul Marshall and Jacob Stockdale are the back-line options.
Over 14,500 tickets have been sold for the round 19 encounter which is the province’s penultimate competitive home fixture of the season, but there is still availability in most areas – please visit ulsterrugby.com/buytickets.
Meanwhile, Cardiff Blues have made four changes for their return to PRO12 action against fourth-placed Ulster. Following their Challenge Cup exit, the Blues are determined to secure a place in the Champions Cup qualification play-offs.
Rhun Williams returns to the starting line-up for the first time since February, replacing Matthew Morgan at full-back, while Willis Halaholo steps up from the bench to reform a midfield partnership with Rey Lee-Lo.
Up front, Ellis Jenkins returns at blindside flanker with Josh Navidi switching to number 8 and former Ulster favourite Nick Williams dropping to the bench. The only other change sees Matthew Rees starting at hooker in the place of Kristian Dacey, who is rested due to a minor injury.
ULSTER: Jared Payne; Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Stuart Olding, Charles Piutau; Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar; Andrew Warwick, Rory Best (capt), Wiehahn Herbst, Kieran Treadwell, Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson, Sean Reidy, Roger Wilson.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Callum Black, Rodney Ah You, Robbie Diack, Nick Timoney, Paul Marshall, Jacob Stockdale, Andrew Trimble.
CARDIFF BLUES: Rhun Williams; Alex Cuthbert, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Blaine Scully; Gareth Anscombe, Lloyd Williams; Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees, Taufa’ao Filise, George Earle, Jarrad Hoeata, Ellis Jenkins, Sam Warburton, Josh Navidi.
Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Corey Domachowski, Kieron Assiratti, James Down, Nick Williams, Tomos Williams, Steve Shingler, Matthew Morgan.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Keith Allen (Scotland), Shane Kierans (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Stefano Roscini (Italy)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 1/8; Draw: 25/1; Cardiff Blues to win: 5/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Iain Henderson (Ulster) – “We’re definitely aiming to finish as high up the table as we can – but we’re not only trying to finish in the top four, we also want to be pushing for the top two (and a home semi-final).
“We want to try and finish the season as high as possible, we don’t want to be straggling, trying to hang in there and trying to just about get through. We want to finish the season all guns blazing as best as we can.
“Cardiff have had a couple of big games, the (European) games played last weekend won’t have been easy games for any teams involved in them, physically or mentally, win or loss. Those will definitely be influencing factors on the remaining fixtures of the season.
“A lot of times, it might seem we’re influenced by outside factors, and sometimes that is the case, but we aim to be self-driven. It is definitely crunch time for us and a few other teams trying to pull themselves into a few positions in the league, whether it be play-offs or top six.
“For not only this game but a lot of other games this week, there are a few things on the line. I think there’s a really interesting round of games coming up and we’ll definitely have our eye on a few other games, but we’ll worry about that after the result on Friday night. Until that point, we’ll only focus on ourselves.”
Danny Wilson (Cardiff Blues) – “We’ve got Ulster this weekend, which is a massive game away from home, and another big challenge, straight after that is the turnaround for Judgement Day V.
“We’re coming off the back of a disappointing result (against Gloucester) in Europe, so we’re fully focused on getting that right. We’ve trained well and looking forward to getting back out there.
“It’s now all about Ulster, which will be a really tough test, and then we will begin to look at the Ospreys.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Ulster – Points: Ruan Pienaar 100; Tries: Jacob Stockdale 8; Cardiff Blues – Points: Steve Shingler 128; Tries: Tom James 6
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Ulster – Played 18, Won 13, Lost 5, 61 Points; W 29-8 v Newport Gwent Dragons (home), W 22-11 v Benetton Treviso (away), W 19-8 v Scarlets (home), W 22-17 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 9-7 v Ospreys (home), L 30-25 v Connacht (away), L 15-14 v Munster (home), L 28-17 v Edinburgh (away), W 35-22 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 23-7 v Connacht (home), L 22-7 v Leinster (away), L 16-13 v Scarlets (away), W 24-18 v Edinburgh (home), W 37-17 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 40-17 v Zebre (away), W 19-7 v Benetton Treviso (home), W 68-21 v Zebre (home), W 27-17 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away); Cardiff Blues – Played 18, Won 8, Lost 10, 38 Points; W 34-16 v Edinburgh (home), W 24-23 v Munster (away), W 23-19 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 23-21 v Zebre (away), L 16-13 v Leinster (home), L 46-24 v Ospreys (away), L 26-15 v Scarlets (home), W 34-28 v Benetton Treviso (away), L 18-7 v Connacht (away), L 35-22 v Ulster (home), W 27-16 v Newport Gwent Dragons (home), L 15-10 v Scarlets (away), L 29-15 v Glasgow Warriors (away), L 19-13 v Connacht (home), W 57-20 v Benetton Treviso (home), W 18-17 v Edinburgh (away), L 23-13 v Munster (home), L 22-21 v Leinster (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
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
Sunday, February 28, 2016 – Cardiff Blues 23 Ulster 13, BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park
Saturday, December 3, 2016 – Cardiff Blues 22 Ulster 35, BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park
MATCH FACTS:
– Ulster have won their last six GUINNESS PRO12 matches and have not won seven in a row in the Championship since season 2012/13
– Ulster’s only home defeat in the PRO12 since February 2016 was by a single point to Munster on October 28
– Cardiff Blues have lost their last two PRO12 matches, both to Irish provinces, at home to Munster and away to Leinster
– The Blues’ only victory on a visit to an Irish province in their last eleven trips was 24-23 over Munster in Cork in September
– Ulster’s only defeat in their last five encounters with Cardiff was 13-23 in the Welsh capital in February 2016, while the Blues have not been victorious in Belfast since April 2010
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