Having lost considerable ground in the last two rounds, Ulster know only one result will do when they visit the Arms Park this afternoon. The province welcome back Grand Slam winners Iain Henderson and Jacob Stockdale and the fit-again Craig Gilroy and Charles Piutau.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, March 24
CARDIFF BLUES (4th, Con A) v ULSTER (4th, Con B), Cardiff Arms Park, 3.15pm (live Sky Sports Arena)
Team News: Grand Slam stars Iain Henderson and Jacob Stockdale will return to provincial action this afternoon after being named in the Ulster team to play Cardiff Blues at Cardiff Arms Park.
The prolific Stockdale, who was yesterday named the 2018 Six Nations’ Player of the Championship, having scored seven tries in five outings, will start on the left wing, with Iain Henderson selected in the back row.
There are four other new faces in the starting XV from the province’s last GUINNESS PRO14 match against the Scarlets a month ago, with Rob Herring, Clive Ross, Craig Gilroy and Charles Piutau also included.
Herring will start at hooker in place of John Andrew, while props Andrew Warwick and Wiehahn Herbst will continue on either side of the front row. The second row pairing of Kieran Treadwell and Alan O’Connor is unchanged, with the latter captaining Ulster for a fourth consecutive match.
Henderson and Ross will be joined in the back row by number 8 Nick Timoney, and Johnny McPhillips and John Cooney continue at half-back. Centres Stuart McCloskey and Luke Marshall are also retained in midfield for Ulster’s second successive trip to Wales. Gilroy, Stockdale and Piutau make up a potent back-three.
Matthew Dalton, who has featured prominently for the Ireland Under-20s in recent weeks, is named on the bench alongside fellow forwards John Andrew, Callum Black, Ross Kane and Matthew Rea. Dave Shanahan, Peter Nelson and Louis Ludik are the reserve backs.
Meanwhile, Cardiff Blues boss Danny Wilson has made seven changes for their round 18 tie with Ulster – the last regular season fixture at the Arms Park in the current campaign. With the race for the play-offs intensifying, both sides will be desperate to keep on track as they chase third place in their respective conferences.
Wilson’s men are targeting a fifth straight win in the competition and have been boosted by the availability of their Wales contingent. There are nine internationals in Cardiff’s starting XV and four more on the bench.
Matthew Rees and Scott Andrews come into the front row at hooker and tighthead prop respectively, while Seb Davies joins George Earle in the second row. Josh Turnbull moves into the back row and Ellis Jenkins steps up from the bench.
Tomos Williams has overcome a knock to partner Jarrod Evans at half-back, with the dangerous duo of Willis Halaholo and Rey Lee-Lo combining in the centre. One further change sees USA captain Blaine Scully replace Aled Summerhill out wide.
CARDIFF BLUES: Matthew Morgan; Blaine Scully, Rey Lee-Lo, Willis Halaholo, Owen Lane; Jarrod Evans, Tomos Williams; Gethin Jenkins (capt), Matthew Rees, Scott Andrews, George Earle, Seb Davies, Josh Turnbull, Ellis Jenkins, Nick Williams.
Replacements: Kristian Dacey, Rhys Gill, Dillon Lewis, Ben Murphy, Macauley Cook, Lloyd Williams, Steve Shingler, Garyn Smith.
ULSTER: Charles Piutau; Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Johnny McPhillips, John Cooney; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Wiehahn Herbst, Alan O’Connor (capt), Kieran Treadwell, Iain Henderson, Clive Ross, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: John Andrew, Callum Black, Ross Kane, Matthew Dalton, Matthew Rea, Dave Shanahan, Peter Nelson, Louis Ludik.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White, Dunx McClement (both Scotland)
Television Match Official: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Cardiff Blues to win: 8/11; Draw: 14/1; Ulster to win: 11/10
Pre-Match Quotes: Rob Herring (Ulster) – “You could say that we’ve got five cup finals (with the games remaining). We’re not sitting where we need to be. I keep saying it, we can’t be worried about what results are going what way, we’ve five games and it’s how we prep for them and show up for them that matters, that’s all we can control.
“We have the responsibility to the fans and ourselves. What has happened up to now has happened. We still believe we can get to the knockout stages, we still believe we deserve to be there, we believe in what we are doing, we are working hard.
“Ultimately if we don’t get to the knockout stages then what are we doing here? So that is obviously our focus now before the end of the season. Cardiff (this week) have an experienced front row, a good bit of size to them, the whole pack is pretty big.
“We’ve done a bit of scrummaging on the 4G pitch. It’s obviously a bit different to the normal turf, I actually prefer it, as if you are technically a good side, it will suit you. I think we can be pretty good. I’m looking forward to it, you have to get things right, there’s no give, so if you’re on the front foot, that’s how it stays.
“It’s not ideal, Les (Kiss) is a good man and it was sad to see him leave (as director of rugby), and Jono (Gibbes) now too. Looking towards next season, there’s obviously a lot of uncertainty. We’ve still got Jono (as head coach) now and we’re very much results-driven until the end of the season. We have to brush away all the other things and focus on what we can control.”
Danny Wilson (Cardiff Blues) – “We’ve had four wins on the bounce and won eight of our last 10 in Europe and the PRO14 so it’s a good place to be. We knew at the beginning of the last block that if we won four games we would give ourselves the chance to go and do something. We’ve done that and now we have to take that opportunity we have created.
“The first stage of that is trying to win against a good Ulster team at the Arms Park and if we do that it keeps us right in the hunt – we desperately want to chase the Cheetahs down and get into that third spot (in the conference).
“Ulster have a lot of very dangerous individual players who collectively on their day are outstanding. I’m sure they will go as fully loaded as they can, in terms of their Irish internationals as well, because they need the wins.
“With four games left we are very aware of the type of team that’s going to come to the Arms Park. It’s going to be a real tough one but we can also come back to our recent form and our home form in general.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Cardiff Blues – Points: Jarrod Evans 97; Tries: Owen Lane 5; Ulster – Points: John Cooney 112; Tries: Craig Gilroy 8
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Cardiff Blues – Played 17, Won 9, Lost 8, 42 Points; L 20-10 v Edinburgh (home), L 37-9 v Leinster (away), L 20-19 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 17-15 v Connacht (away), L 39-16 v Munster (away), W 43-29 v Dragons (home), L 30-17 v Scarlets (away), W 37-8 v Zebre (home), W 36-30 v Connacht (home), L 40-16 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 22-17 v Dragons (away), L 14-11 v Scarlets (home), L 29-28 v Ospreys (away), W 25-20 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), W 25-18 v Munster (home), W 10-7 v Zebre (away), W 31-25 v Benetton Rugby (home); Ulster – Played 16, Won 9, Drawn 1, Lost 6, 46 Points; W 42-19 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), W 21-14 v Benetton Rugby (away), W 27-20 v Scarlets (home), W 52-25 v Dragons (home), L 27-23 v Zebre (away), W 16-8 v Connacht (home), L 25-10 v Leinster (home), W 43-36 v Southern Kings (away), W 23-22 v Benetton Rugby (home), D 32-32 v Dragons (away), L 44-16 v Connacht (away), W 24-17 v Munster (home), L 38-7 v Leinster (away), W 59-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 17-16 v Edinburgh (home), L 34-10 v Scarlets (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
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
Friday, April 7, 2017 – Ulster 24 Cardiff Blues 24, Kingspan Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– Cardiff Blues have won their last four GUINNESS PRO14 fixtures but have not won five in succession in the same season since the end of the 2009/10 campaign
– The Blues’ only home defeat in the Championship since September was to the Scarlets on New Year’s Eve
– Ulster have won only twice in the PRO14 since November, both at home, to Munster on New Year’s Day and the Southern Kings in round 14
– The Ulstermen have won just twice on the road in the Championship this season, at Benetton in September and at the Southern Kings in early November
– Ulster have lost only one of their last six encounters with Cardiff: 23-13 at the Arms Park in February 2016
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