Guinness PRO14 Preview: Connacht v Ulster

Conference A high-flyers Ulster are hoping for a perfect restart in Dublin, but provincial foes Connacht have won two of their last three Guinness PRO14 matches and are fired up for their first outing at Irish Rugby HQ since 1989.

GUINNESS PRO14: Sunday, August 23

CONNACHT (4th, Con B) v ULSTER (2nd, Con A), Aviva Stadium, 4.30pm (live eir Sport 1/TG4/Premier Sports 1/DAZN/www.pro14.tv)

Team News: Ireland centre Bundee Aki will make his 100th appearance for Connacht on Sunday, almost six years on from his debut for the westerners away to the Ospreys.

At least two players will make their own Connacht debuts in Dublin with ex-Munster flyer Alex Wootton and Academy graduate Peter Sullivan both lining out on the wing. Australian John Porch joins them in the back-three.

Centurion Aki, who has scored four tries in Connacht’s last five matches against Ulster, combines with Tom Farrell in midfield, and Jack Carty and Kieran Marmion will direct operations from half-back.

There is a welcome return for tighthead prop Finlay Bealham. Fully recovered from the serious ankle injury he suffered against Edinburgh in February, he makes up an experienced front row unit with Denis Buckley and Dave Heffernan.

Ultan Dillane and Gavin Thornbury are the selected second rows, while captain Jarrad Butler, who now has 55 Connacht caps under his belt, Eoghan Masterson and Paul Boyle fill the loose forward positions.

Three more players come make their Connacht bows off the bench, with props Jordan Duggan and Jack Aungier and ex-Munster back rower Conor Oliver now at head coach Andy Friend’s disposal.

Meanwhile, Billy Burns, a member of Ireland’s 2020 Guinness Six Nations squad, will lead out Ulster for the team’s return to action following a six-month interruption due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

He is joined at half-back by John Cooney, and the talented pair will be hoping to guide the Ulstermen through to the PRO14 final series, with two points required from their remaining two regular season games.

Featuring at full-back, Jacob Stockdale will dovetail with Louis Ludik and Craig Gilroy in the back-three, while 21-year-old James Hume forms a strong-running centre partnership with Stuart McCloskey.

Up front, Jack McGrath, Rob Herring and Martin Moore will scrum down in an all-international front row, backed up by sometime skipper Alan O’Connor and Kieran Treadwell in the engine room.

South African powerhouse Marcell Coetzee helms the back row alongside Nick Timoney and Jordi Murphy, and the latter’s former Leinster and Ireland team-mate, Ian Madigan, is a notable addition to the bench.

New signings Madigan and Alby Mathewson are poised to earn their first Ulster caps as replacements, and Australian lock Sam Carter is set to make his first appearance since November, following his return from shoulder rehab.

CONNACHT: John Porch; Peter Sullivan, Tom Farrell, Bundee Aki, Alex Wootton; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Gavin Thornbury, Eoghan Masterson, Jarrad Butler (capt), Paul Boyle.

Replacements: Jonny Murphy, Jordan Duggan, Jack Aungier, Niall Murray, Conor Oliver, Stephen Kerins, Conor Dean, Tom Daly.

ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale; Craig Gilroy, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Louis Ludik; Billy Burns (capt), John Cooney; Jack McGrath, Rob Herring, Martin Moore, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Nick Timoney, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee.

Replacements: Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O’Toole, Sam Carter, Matthew Rea, Alby Mathewson, Ian Madigan, Michael Lowry.

Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher, Chris Busby (both Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)

Pre-Match Quotes: Andy Friend (Connacht) –

It has been almost six months since our last game and two months since we commenced pre-season training, so we are delighted our return has finally arrived. I’ve been delighted with how the group have reacted to the uncertainty of the last few months.

“So now we want to put into practice what we’ve been working on in that time. From the outset, we, as a management group, said we wanted to put our best foot forward in this fixture.

“We’ve selected a squad of 23 that reflects that, with a lot of quality and experience while also handing debuts to a number of our new arrivals. We’re going out there to get the win, while also working towards the new season in October.”

Dan McFarland (Ulster) –

We’ve done a lot of our training in the last six weeks inside Kingspan Stadium and it’s empty. So we’re used to being able to perform under pressure in empty stadia. But, obviously, at the weekend it will be different because it will be on TV and we’re in the Aviva.

“One of the big points for us, as you would do as an away team and they have their own crowd, you want to be taking your own atmosphere with you. It’s almost a circling of the wagons and feeding off each other and connecting with each other on the pitch.

“So that’s what we’ve focused on and we’re looking at this week as an approach to playing at an empty stadium.

“We’ve addressed that (the need to hit the ground running) in the way we’ve gone into our pre-season as best as we can, and we had a good hit-out last Saturday that was physically tough.

“But, nonetheless, it doesn’t represent playing an opposition as ferocious as Connacht are going to be at the weekend. It’s a little bit of unknown territory but we’ll be ready.”

Top Scorers – 2019/20 Guinness PRO14: Connacht – Points: Conor Fitzgerald 59; Tries: Tom McCartney, Tiernan O’Halloran, Kieran Marmion, John Porch 3 each; Ulster – Points: John Cooney 94; Tries: Matt Faddes 6

2019/20 TEAM FORM: Connacht – Played 13, Won 7, Lost 6; L 18-10 v Scarlets (away), W 41-5 v Benetton Rugby (home), W 38-14 v Dragons (away), W 24-22 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), W 20-10 v Ospreys (away), L 42-11 v Leinster (home), W 24-12 v Isuzu Southern Kings (home), L 19-14 v Munster (home), L 35-3 v Ulster (away), L 54-7 v Leinster (away), W 29-0 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 41-14 v Edinburgh (away), W 29-19 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away)

Ulster – Played 13, Won 8, Drawn 1, Lost 4; W 38-14 v Ospreys (home), L 63-26 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), W 42-17 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), W 23-14 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 22-7 v Zebre (home), L 22-16 v Munster (away), W 29-5 v Scarlets (home), L 54-42 v Leinster (away), W 35-3 v Connacht (home), W 38-17 v Munster (home), L 26-24 v Ospreys (away), W 20-10 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), D 0-0 v Benetton Rugby (away)

RECENT CHAMPIONSHIP MEETINGS:

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
Friday, December 28, 2018 – Connacht 21 Ulster 12, the Sportsground
Saturday, May 4, 2019 – Ulster 21 Connacht 13, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, December 27, 2019 – Ulster 35 Connacht 3, Kingspan Stadium

MATCH FACTS:

– Connacht have won two of their last three matches in the Guinness PRO14

– This is Connacht’s first visit to the headquarters of Irish Rugby since facing Leinster at the old Lansdowne Road in October 1989. They have won just twice at the Dublin 4 venue, both against Leinster, in 1955 and 1985

– Ulster have lost just once in the last five rounds of the Guinness PRO14: 26-24 at the Ospreys on February 15

– Ulster’s only victory at Lansdowne Road/Aviva Stadium since they won the European Cup there back in 1999 was 22-19 over Edinburgh in the semi-final of the same competition in 2012

– Ulster have won their last two clashes with Connacht, ending a run of three successive Connacht victories in the series

– This is the first time that the two provinces have met outside of Belfast or Galway