A third victory in a row will be Ulster’s target in Parma on Sunday as they look to stay within range of the GUINNESS PRO12’s top four teams.
GUINNESS PRO12: Sunday, February 26
ZEBRE (12th) v ULSTER (5th), Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, 1.30pm local time/12.30pm Irish time (live Sky Sports 3 HD/Eurosport Italia)
Team News: Les Kiss has named a strong Ulster squad for this GUINNESS PRO12 trip to play Zebre at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, which will see Tommy Bowe reach a special milestone for the province.
Bowe, who made his Ulster debut against Connacht back in April 2004, will earn his 150th cap against the Italians after being named on the right wing.
Jared Payne has recovered from a kidney injury he picked up while on international duty in November and is selected among the replacements. The versatile Ireland back will be joined on the bench by Hughes Insurance Academy player David Busby, who could make his senior debut.
In all, Kiss has made nine changes to the side that recorded a 37-17 bonus point win over Glasgow at Kingspan Stadium last weekend.
Six of those changes come up front and will lead to an all-new front five. Rob Herring will captain the Ulstermen from hooker and will make up the front row along with Andrew Warwick and Wiehahn Herbst. Robbie Diack and Alan O’Connor are paired together as the starting locks for the first time.
Clive Ross is picked at blindside flanker and will be joined in the back row by Chris Henry and Sean Reidy, who will start at number 8 after Marcell Coetzee was unable to travel due to illness.
In the back-line, Ruan Pienaar and Peter Nelson will continue their half-back partnership, while Stuart Olding has recovered from an elbow injury and will link up with Luke Marshall in midfield.
Charles Piutau is also back from injury to take his place on the left wing, opposite Bowe, while Jacob Stockdale – a double try scorer against Glasgow – will line out at full-back.
Callum Black, John Andrew and Ricky Lutton, who all started in the pack last week, are named among the replacements along with Kieran Treadwell and Roger Wilson. Scrum half Paul Marshall will join Payne and Busby as back-line cover in the matchday squad.
Following the trip to Parma, Ulster will have back-to-back home clashes with Italian opposition. First up is a Friday night match against Benetton Treviso on March 3 (kick-off 7.35pm), with a return fixture against Zebre scheduled for Saturday, March 11 (kick-off 6.05pm). Tickets are available from ulsterrugby.com/buytickets.
Meanwhile, Zebre boss Victor Jimenez welcomes back flanker Johan Meyer and centre Tommaso Castello who both missed last week’s 42-7 defeat at the Scarlets through injury.
Zebre have 11 players in the Italy squad to play England, but Conor O’Shea has released centre Tommaso Boni and forwards Federico Ruzza and Josh Furno for club duty this weekend.
There are nine changes in personnel from the game in Llanelli, with Dion Berryman, Matteo Pratichetti and Guglielmo Palazzani returning in the back-line. There is a completely new front row in Bruno Postiglioni, Oliviero Fabiani and Guillermo Roan, while Valerio Bernabo will captain the side from the second row and Dennis Bergamin – a permit player from Fiamme Oro Rugby – and Meyer link up with Ruzza in the back row.
South African hooker Sidney Tobias, who has previous experience with Western Province and the Blue Bulls, is poised for his European rugby debut after getting his first call-up to a Zebre matchday squad.
ZEBRE: Dion Berryman; Mattia Bellini, Tommaso Boni, Matteo Pratichetti, Lloys Greeff; Serafin Bordoli, Guglielmo Palazzani; Bruno Postiglioni, Oliviero Fabiani, Guillermo Roan, Gideon Koegelenberg, Valerio Bernabo (capt), Dennis Bergamin, Johan Meyer, Federico Ruzza.
Replacements: Sidney Tobias, Andrea de Marchi, Bartholomeus le Roux, Josh Furno, Davide Fragnito, Carlo Engelbrecht, Tommaso Castello, Simone Balocchi.
ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale; Tommy Bowe, Luke Marshall, Stuart Olding, Charles Piutau; Peter Nelson, Ruan Pienaar; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring (capt), Wiehahn Herbst, Robbie Diack, Alan O’Connor, Clive Ross, Chris Henry, Sean Reidy.
Replacements: John Andrew, Callum Black, Ricky Lutton, Kieran Treadwell, Roger Wilson, Paul Marshall, Jared Payne, David Busby.
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Eddie Hogan O’Connell (Ireland), Elia Rizzo (Italy)
Television Match Official: Charles Samson (Scotland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Zebre to win: 14/1; Draw: 45/1; Ulster to win: 1/33
Pre-Match Quotes: Rob Herring (Ulster) – “It’s amazing what two good wins (over Edinburgh and Glasgow) can do and we really needed that. The change in the camp at the moment is massively exciting and massively positive and we just want to keep building on those performances.
“If we’re honest, we haven’t performed as well as we should have when we go and play away at Zebre (including a 13-6 loss in September 2014) so that’s been a massive challenge for us.
“It’s something we want to put right this weekend and it’s something we’ve talked about quite a bit. Hopefully you’re going to see a full 80-minute performance. We know if we go through our processes and turn up with the right attitude and just keep ticking away we can get the win.
“It’s always nice to have it (a top four finish) in your own hands but now that we don’t have that control, it actually drives you that little bit extra. We can’t afford to be complacent any more this season.
“If we want to reach the top four and achieve silverware then we don’t have many more chances. As a squad, we’ve been honest about what we need to do to win the PRO12 title. I can’t see us being complacent any more this year.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Zebre – Points: Carlo Canna 66; Tries: Dries van Schalkwyk, Giovanbattista Venditti 4 each; Ulster – Points: Paddy Jackson 65; Tries: Jacob Stockdale 6
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Zebre – Played 13, Won 1, Lost 12, 9 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), L 31-24 v Scarlets (home), L 23-12 v Benetton Treviso (away), L 24-19 v Edinburgh (home), L 70-6 v Leinster (away), L 40-10 v Ospreys (home), L 42-7 v Scarlets (away); Ulster – Played 14, Won 9, Lost 5, 43 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)
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:
– Zebre have not won since beating Edinburgh at BT Murrayfield in October, while their only home win in Parma since Christmas 2015 was against the Newport Gwent Dragons in May
– Ulster have won their last two GUINNESS PRO12 fixtures, both at home to Scottish opponents, Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors
– The province’s only away victory since September came on a trip to Cardiff Blues in round 10
– Zebre’s only previous victory over the Ulstermen was 13-6 in Parma in September 2014 (the only occasion that Ulster have lost a game in Italy)
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