Connacht and Ulster will both be looking to bring the curtain down on 2018 in winning fashion tonight. The Sportsground clash will see the hosts chasing their third straight win over the Ulstermen, while the visitors are aiming to win an away interprovincial tie for the first time in three years.
GUINNESS PRO14: Friday, December 28
CONNACHT (4th, Con A) v ULSTER (2nd, Con B), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4/eir Sport 1&2/Premier Sports 1/RTÉ Radio 1/Galway Bay FM/BBC Radio Ulster 1341 MW)
Team News: Ireland international Quinn Roux and promising 24-year-old back row Sean O’Brien are among four changes to the Connacht team that lost narrowly to Leinster in Dublin. Front rowers Shane Delahunt and Conor Carey are also named in the starting XV.
Loosehead Denis Buckley is joined by Delahunt and Carey in the first line of the westerners’ pack, while Roux partners Gavin Thornbury in the second row, and O’Brien comes in at blindside flanker with captain Jarrad Butler reverting to the number 8 position.
Jack Carty, the man-of-the-match against Leinster, continues at half-back alongside Caolin Blade. With Tiernan O’Halloran still sidelined, Darragh Leader starts again at full-back with Kyle Godwin, who was a late inclusion last time out, and Cian Kelleher retained on the wings.
Limerick native and former Ireland Under-20 international Stephen Fitzgerald, who has joined Connacht from Munster in a three-month loan deal this week, takes his place among the replacements. Fitzgerald’s younger brother Conor, a member of the Connacht Academy this season, made his senior debut in October.
Meanwhile, Ulster won the first of their three successive interprovincial derbies last weekend, overcoming Munster 19-12 at Kingspan Stadium, and three of their four changes for tonight’s game against Connacht are in the back-line.
Johnny McPhillips, Abbey Insurance Academy youngster Angus Kernohan and Darren Cave are all handed starting berths, with McPhillips coming in to partner John Cooney at half-back, and Cave joining fellow Ireland international Will Addison in midfield.
Kernohan, who only turns 20 in March, starts on the left wing in a back-three anchored by the experienced Louis Ludik. Lining out on the right wing is Henry Speight who will be making his final Ulster appearance before returning to Australia.
Nick Timoney is the final change, making up a powerful back row unit with Jordi Murphy and Marcell Coetzee, the province’s man-of-the-match against Munster. Rob Herring continues as captain, flanked by Academy prop Eric O’Sullivan and Martin Moore in the front row, with Ian Nagle and Kieran Treadwell again manning the engine room.
25-year-old prop Tommy O’Hagan is set to earn his first Ulster cap if called upon from the bench. Adam McBurney, Ross Kane, Clive Ross and Greg Jones are the additional forward options, with David Shanahan, Peter Nelson and Stuart McCloskey providing the back-line cover.
CONNACHT: Darragh Leader; Cian Kelleher, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, Kyle Godwin; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Shane Delahunt, Conor Carey, Gavin Thornbury, Quinn Roux, Sean O’Brien, Colby Fainga’a, Jarrad Butler (capt).
Replacements: Dave Heffernan, Peter McCabe, Dominic Robertson-McCoy, Ultan Dillane, Paul Boyle, James Mitchell, David Horwitz, Stephen Fitzgerald.
ULSTER: Louis Ludik; Henry Speight, Will Addison, Darren Cave, Angus Kernohan; Johnny McPhillips, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring (capt), Martin Moore, Ian Nagle, Kieran Treadwell, Nick Timoney, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee.
Replacements: Adam McBurney, Tommy O’Hagan, Ross Kane, Clive Ross, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Peter Nelson, Stuart McCloskey.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Manuel Bottino (Italy), Eddie Hogan O’Connell (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Connacht to win: 4/9; Draw: 14/1; Ulster to win: 9/5
Pre-Match Quotes: Andy Friend (Connacht) – “These interpro fixtures are massive occasions and when they take place over the Christmas period, they bring that increased level of excitement. We know there will be a big home crowd in the Sportsground and we’ll need to be up for the occasion with Ulster coming to town.
“This block of fixtures is hugely important in the context of our season, but we’re not looking beyond Ulster on Friday evening. Quinn and Sean are fit and ready to go and they come back into the side. They have been two of our top performers this season, so they will give us increased options.
“In the front row we also have Shane and Conor coming in. These are two other players who have been going really well over the past few weeks.
“We have some real depth in these positions so it’s great for us, as coaches, to have these options and to bring in fresh legs and know that they are ready to go. Ulster are coming off the back of a great win over Munster and I’m sure they will come to the Sportsground full of confidence.”
Dan McFarland (Ulster) – “I do not think, in Galway, a similar performance (to last week’s against Munster) would be good enough. We have to show more physicality at the start of the game than we did last Friday. It was not that we were not physical at the start of the game, they ‘out-physicalled’ us.
“I think they came to bash our runners because the guys had done such a good job in the Scarlets game and that is what it looked like. We didn’t really get the momentum on the ball, the speed of the ball, that we needed to play the game we wanted to play. I think the same thing will happen in Galway.
“It is Christmas time at the Sportsground, the crowd will be up for it, the players will be loving it, we will have to try and dampen down their spirits, certainly with matching their physicality first off.”
Top Scorers – 2018/19 GUINNESS PRO14: Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 89; Tries: Cian Kelleher 4; Ulster – Points: John Cooney 60; Tries: David Shanahan 5
2018/19 TEAM FORM: Connacht – Played 11, Won 6, Lost 5, 32 Points; L 27-26 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-13 v Zebre (home), L 17-10 v Edinburgh (away), W 33-20 v Scarlets (home), L 20-3 v Leinster (home), W 22-15 v Ulster (away), L 22-17 v Ospreys (away), W 33-12 v Dragons (home), W 31-14 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), W 21-17 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), L 33-29 v Leinster (away); Ulster – Played 11, Won 7, Drawn 1, Lost 3, 33 Points; W 15-13 v Scarlets (home), W 30-29 v Edinburgh (home), W 28-7 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), D 39-39 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), L 64-7 v Munster (away), L 22-15 v Connacht (home), W 36-18 v Dragons (home), W 15-10 v Benetton Rugby (away), L 29-12 v Scarlets (away), W 16-12 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 19-12 v Munster (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, April 1, 2016 – Ulster 18 Connacht 10, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, October 7, 2016 – Connacht 30 Ulster 25, the Sportsground
Friday, December 23, 2016 – Ulster 23 Connacht 7, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, October 6, 2017 – Ulster 16 Connacht 8, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, December 23, 2017 – Connacht 44 Ulster 16, the Sportsground
Friday, October 5, 2018 – Ulster 15 Connacht 22, Kingspan Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– Connacht’s five-match winning run in all competitions ended with their narrow 33-29 defeat to Leinster at the RDS last weekend
– Connacht’s only loss in Galway since the opening game of the season was to Leinster in the GUINNESS PRO14 on September 29
– Ulster’s only reversal in any competition in their last seven encounters was to the Scarlets in Llanelli in the PRO14 on November 23
– Ulster’s record away from home in the PRO14 this season is an even won two, drawn one and lost two
– The Ulstermen have not been victorious away from home at a fellow Irish province since they visited the Sportsground on St. Stephen’s Day 2015
– Connacht have won their last two matches against Ulster but have not won three in succession against them since the mid-1950s
– The two provinces have met on 93 occasions, Ulster winning 73, Connacht 16 and four games drawn
This website uses cookies.
Read More