It is over a month since Ulster last tasted victory in any competition, so it is imperative that Les Kiss’ men get back on track when hosting second-from-bottom Zebre in the GUINNESS PRO12 tonight.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, November 25
ULSTER (5th) v ZEBRE (11th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/Eurosport Italia)
Team News: Chris Henry will make his first appearance of the season for Ulster this evening in Belfast after being named in Les Kiss’ starting line-up for the game against Zebre.
The GUINNESS PRO12 round 9 tie will also see Louis Ludik return from injury to don the number 13 jersey, while Ireland backs Luke Marshall and Craig Gilroy will rejoin the province’s squad from international duty.
Almost 15,500 tickets have been sold already, but there is still limited availability at www.ulsterrugby.com/buytickets.
Marshall and Ludik are paired together in midfield by Les Kiss, with Brett Herron and Ruan Pienaar continuing in the half-back positions. Jacob Stockdale, who made an impressive try-scoring impact against Edinburgh three weeks ago, is included in an exciting back-three combination that will feature the experienced Tommy Bowe and Charles Piutau.
The fit-again Henry, who will earn his 151st Ulster cap, is named in a combative back row alongside Clive Ross and Sean Reidy, with the latter packing down at number 8.
Peter Browne and Franco van der Merwe will reignite their lock partnership, while hooker and captain Rob Herring will be joined by Kyle McCall and Wiehahn Herbst in the front row.
Gilroy, Robert Lyttle and Paul Marshall will offer no shortage of pace if called upon from the replacements bench. The front row cover will be provided by John Andrew, Callum Black and Andrew Warwick, with Dan Tuohy and Robbie Diack, who boast 318 Ulster caps between them, also included in the matchday squad.
Meanwhile, as Zebre resume their PRO12 campaign away to the Ulstermen, head coach Gianluca Guidi is without 12 Italy internationals who are preparing for Saturday’s Test against Tonga in Padua.
With their squad also stretched by eight injuries and Oliviero Fabiani’s suspension, Guidi has brought in six permit players from the Italian national league, including three starters – winger Simone Balocchi, out-half Alberto Chiesa and flanker Giovanni Pettinelli.
Italian international Mattia Bellini is back from injury to make his seasonal bow on the left wing, with New Zealand-born full-back Dion Berryman returning from a long spell on the sidelines to complete the back-three.
Second rows Gideon Koegelenberg and Valerio Bernabò are also available after missing the last three games, with Koegelenberg starting and Bernabò held in reserve. Centre Tommaso Castello will captain Zebre for the first time, and two young forwards, South Africa-born hooker Luhandre Luus (20) and flanker Giovanni Licata (19), are standing by to makes their PRO12 debuts off the bench.
ULSTER: Charles Piutau; Tommy Bowe, Louis Ludik, Luke Marshall, Jacob Stockdale; Brett Herron, Ruan Pienaar; Kyle McCall, Rob Herring (capt), Wiehahn Herbst, Peter Browne, Franco van der Merwe, Clive Ross, Chris Henry, Sean Reidy.
Replacements: John Andrew, Callum Black, Andrew Warwick, Dan Tuohy, Robbie Diack, Paul Marshall, Craig Gilroy, Robert Lyttle.
ZEBRE: Dion Berryman; Simone Balocchi, Matteo Pratichetti, Tommaso Castello (capt), Mattia Bellini; Alberto Chiesa, Guglielmo Palazzani; Bruno Postiglioni, Carlo Festuccia, Dario Chistolini, Gideon Koegelenberg, Federico Ruzza, Giovanni Pettinelli, Johan Meyer, Derick Minnie.
Replacements: Luhandre Luus, Andrea de Marchi, Guillermo Roan, Valerio Bernabò, Giovanni Licata, Carlo Engelbrecht, Maicol Azzolini, Lloyd Greeff.
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Helen O’Reilly (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Paul Adams (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 1/80; Draw: 100/1; Zebre to win: 30/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Wiehahn Herbst (Ulster) – “The break in games seems to have done everyone good. We’ve used the opportunity to get a couple of really good weeks of training in and there has been a real positive vibe among the team so now we’re focused on bringing that into the next game. A few more players who were out injured have come back into training so that also helps strengthen the squad and push everyone on.
“We’ve had some disappointing recent results but we haven’t been dwelling on them. Our emphasis has just been to focus on ourselves and address what we need to fix each week ahead of the next game.
“Zebre are very much an improving team and we saw what they are capable of when they beat Edinburgh recently. The PRO12 is a very tough competition. The standards are higher than they have ever been so you need to give every game your full attention.
“We can’t look past this weekend and we haven’t even spoken about what comes after Friday. At this stage of the season we need to take it week by week and look at the next game up. Every week presents a new opportunity for us to get back out there and put in the type of performance we know we’re capable of, so we’re all looking forward to that.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Ulster – Points: Paddy Jackson 44; Tries: Robert Lyttle 3; Zebre – Points: Carlo Canna 41; Tries: Giovanbattista Venditti 3
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Ulster – Played 8, Won 5, Lost 3, 23 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); Zebre – Played 7, Won 1, Lost 6, 7 Points; L 59-5 v Ospreys (away), L 11-6 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), L 23-21 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 49-5 v Munster (away), L 33-28 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 19-14 v Edinburgh (away), L 33-10 v Leinster (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, November 30, 2013 – Zebre 11 Ulster 19, Stadio XXV Aprile
Friday, December 20, 2013 – Ulster 13 Zebre 6, Ravenhill
Friday, September 12, 2014 – Ulster 33 Zebre 13, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, September 27, 2014 – Zebre 13 Ulster 6, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Friday, March 4, 2016 – Ulster 32 Zebre 0, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, April 16, 2016 – Zebre 17 Ulster 47, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
MATCH FACTS:
– Ulster’s only victory in their last five matches in all tournaments was 19-18 at home to Exeter Chiefs in the European Champions Cup on October 22
– The Ulstermen’s one-point defeat to Munster in their most recent outing at Kingspan Stadium ended their seven-match winning run at the venue
– Zebre’s only victory so far this season was 19-14 against Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield in round 7 of the GUINNESS PRO12
– Zebre have never won successive away games in the history of the competition and have yet to record a victory when visiting an Irish province
– Ulster’s only defeat to Zebre in eight previous meetings was 13-6 in Parma in September 2014
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