The first of the festive interprovincial derbies sees Ulster entertain Connacht at a sold-out Kingspan Stadium where Les Kiss’ men have only lost one of their last nine fixtures. Conversely, Pat Lam’s side have not won away from home in the GUINNESS PRO12 since March.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, December 23
ULSTER (5th) v CONNACHT (8th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/Sky Sports 2 HD)
Team News: With just five days between fixtures, Les Kiss has taken the opportunity to introduce six new faces into Ulster’s starting line-up for the crunch GUINNESS PRO12 derby clash with reigning champions Connacht.
Five of the changes come in the forwards after a physical Champions Cup encounter with Clermont Auvergne last Sunday afternoon. Props Andrew Warwick and Rodney Ah You come in to start in the front row alongside Rory Best, who will again captain the side from hooker.
Kieran Treadwell, who impressed off the bench in the back-to-back games against the French giants, has earned a start in the second row. Iain Henderson has been moved from blindside flanker to partner the youngster at lock.
Clive Ross and Roger Wilson have been selected in the back row alongside Chris Henry, who is retained in the number 7 jersey.
There is just one newcomer in the back-line as Jacob Stockdale, who made his European debut against Clermont last weekend, is installed on the left wing. Louis Ludik is moved to the right wing berth and Charles Piutau will continue at full-back.
Stuart McCloskey, who will win his 50th Ulster cap on Friday night, will again be joined in midfield by fellow Ireland international Luke Marshall. Ruan Pienaar and Paddy Jackson start together in the half-back positions for the third consecutive match.
Andrew Trimble was unable to train fully this week and therefore was not available for selection. Les Kiss has named an experienced replacements bench, which has accumulated 892 Ulster appearances.
The Ulstermen currently occupy fifth position in the PRO12 table, with a game in hand on the teams above them, while Connacht are also in contention for a top four spot.
Please note that the round 11 match is sold-out. With a weather warning and with heavy Christmas traffic expected around Belfast, please allow for additional journey time to and from the stadium.
Meanwhile, Connacht head coach Pat Lam has made four personnel changes to his team ahead of the round 11 trip north to Belfast.
Bundee Aki will undergo surgery this week for an ongoing ankle injury and will return in mid-February. In the absence of recognised midfielders, Danie Poolman, a try-scoring replacement against Wasps last Saturday, will start at inside centre for the first time alongside Rory Parata.
With Conor Carey added to the long list of injured props, the versatile Tom McCartney has now been named on the bench to cover loosehead prop. Dave Heffernan will start the game in the number 2 jersey, while Shane Delahunt is the reserve hooker.
James Cannon comes into the side to partner Quinn Roux in the second row and Galway man Sean O’Brien is promoted from the bench to the back row alongside Nepia Fox-Matamua and captain John Muldoon.
There remains a 6-2 split on the bench with just nine backs currently available to Lam and his coaching team. Academy back Ciaran Gaffney (pictured above) is this week named in his first senior matchday squad. The 21-year-old from Galway made 10 appearances, including nine starts, for the Ireland Under-20s between the 2014 World Rugby U-20 World Championship and the 2015 U-20 Six Nations.
ULSTER: Charles Piutau; Louis Ludik, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar; Andrew Warwick, Rory Best (capt), Rodney Ah You, Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson, Clive Ross, Chris Henry, Roger Wilson.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Callum Black, Wiehahn Herbst, Franco van der Merwe, Sean Reidy, Paul Marshall, Darren Cave, Tommy Bowe.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Rory Parata, Danie Poolman, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Quinn Roux, James Cannon, Sean O’Brien, Nepia Fox-Matamua, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Tom McCartney, JP Cooney, Ultan Dillane, Eoin McKeon, Caolin Blade, Ciaran Gaffney, Naulia Dawai.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Dudley Phillips, Nigel Correll (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 1/4; Draw: 19/1; Connacht to win: 11/4
Pre-Match Quotes: Rory Best (Ulster) – “We’ve let one (home game) slip this season (against Munster) and we can’t afford to let another one go. The longer you stay out of the top four, the more you’ve got to pick up wins away from home that people don’t expect you to win.
“Connacht are also down (the PRO12 table) a little bit (with a game in hand), but to pick up one win they might not be expecting would be great and they’ll definitely be targeting this.
“For us, home games are the priority and then scrapping for everything we can away from home. Connacht’s target, similar to ours, is to get into that top four and once you get in there you can start to look further ahead and think about home semis.
“But at the moment we’re just not there and we want and expect to be there. In that regard, it’s going to be a very important battle and one that we have to get back to the performances we produced at Cardiff and Clermont at home.
“For us, it’s about mentally switching on. Everything you do (wrong) has a knock-on effect and the top teams will capitalise on it. Conceding those (nine) tries to Clermont in the two games, it’s just a bit of mental lapse. We should be mentally stronger than that. With Joe (Barakat) now gone and Les (Kiss) stepping more into that (defence) role, it’s about getting clarity now. But we’ve now one of the best defensive coaches working on it.”
Pat Lam (Connacht) – “This week has probably been the most challenging I’ve had at Connacht Rugby with all the injuries, sickness and the group only coming together yesterday (Thursday).
“Losing both Bundee (Aki) and Conor (Carey) to long-term injuries is a big blow especially with our injury crisis at prop and in midfield. With 21 injuries in our squad, it’s an opportunity for the next player still standing to come in and nail his role in our structures and systems.
“With the named squad not even training once together this week, there has been a huge emphasis once again on the classroom learning and mental preparation. I was really proud of the boys with the work they put in last week and the character they showed in adversity to grind out a big win.
“We’ll be looking for the same again this Friday night, albeit in a much tougher environment at a sold-out Kingspan Stadium and against a quality side like Ulster. We know we don’t have a good record up in Belfast but that just means this is a huge opportunity for us to create something special as a group. We’re really looking forward to the challenge.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Ulster – Points: Paddy Jackson 44; Tries: Robert Lyttle 3; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 52; Tries: Niyi Adeolokun 4
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Ulster – Played 9, Won 6, Lost 3, 28 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); Connacht – Played 9, Won 4, Lost 5, 20 Points; L 41-5 v Glasgow Warriors (home), L 32-11 v Ospreys (home), L 17-8 v Scarlets (away), W 28-15 v Edinburgh (home), W 30-25 v Ulster (home), L 24-13 v Leinster (away), L 21-16 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), W 18-7 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 47-8 v Benetton Treviso (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, April 11, 2014 – Ulster 58 Connacht 12, Ravenhill
Friday, December 26, 2014 – Ulster 13 Connacht 10, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, April 11, 2015 – Connacht 20 Ulster 27, the Sportsground
Saturday, December 26, 2015 – Connacht 3 Ulster 10, the Sportsground
Friday, April 1, 2016 – Ulster 18 Connacht 10, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, October 7, 2016 – Connacht 30 Ulster 25, the Sportsground
MATCH FACTS:
– Ulster’s 35-23 victory over Cardiff Blues in the Welsh capital in round 10 of the GUINNESS PRO12 ended a three-match losing run in the Championship
– The Ulstermen’s only defeat in their last nine fixtures in Belfast was by a single point to Munster in the PRO12 on October 28
– Connacht have suffered just one reversal in their last four fixtures: 32-17 to Wasps in Coventry in round 3 of the Champions Cup
– Connacht have not won away from home in the PRO12 since a visit to Edinburgh on March 4
– Connacht beat Ulster 30-25 in Galway in round 6 and have not recorded back-to-back victories over the Ulstermen since the 1997/98 season, while they have not been victorious in Belfast since November 1960
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