The festive interprovincial fare begins tonight at Galway plays host to Connacht’s eagerly-awaited clash with Ulster at the Sportsground where more than just pride will be on the line.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, December 23
CONNACHT (5th, Con A) v ULSTER (3rd, Con B), the Sportsground, 7.35pm (live TG4/BBC 2 Northern Ireland)
Team News: Connacht head coach Kieran Keane has made seven personnel changes and two positional switches for tonight’s GUINNESS PRO14 showdown with Ulster at the Sportsground.
The westerners’ derby match against Ulster is the first in a series of festival interprovincial clashes which also include trips to Leinster and Munster on New Year’s Day and January 6 respectively.
Tiernan O’Halloran, who has signed two-year contract extension with Connacht, is back in the side at full-back. He links up in the back-three with Niyi Adeolokun and Matt Healy, who scored four tries in Connacht’s European win over Brive last weekend. Jack Carty and Kieran Marmion form the half-back pairing.
Up front, Denis Coulson comes in at loosehead prop in place of the injured Denis Buckley. He is joined in the front row by hooker Shane Delahunt and Finlay Bealham at tighthead. In a notable inclusion in the back row, flanker Jarrad Butler returns from the knee injury he picked up in the victory over Munster in October.
Connacht have installed additional terracing at the Sportsground to accommodate the ticket demand for the Christmas fixture, and Keane says he expects the home crowd will be have a bearing on the game. “The crowd have been massive for us so far this season and the place will be in festive spirit on Saturday. That has a huge impact on players. That can create an eight or 10-point turnaround,” he said.
“Just look how the players responded last week (against Brive in the Challenge Cup) and the night we played Munster (in October). We want to recreate that atmosphere and that performance again on Saturday night.”
Meanwhile, Darren Cave will become the sixth Ulster player to reach a double century of caps when the Ulstermen line out against Connacht. The 200-cap Holywood man, who made his first appearance for the province against the Border Reivers in April 2007, will start at inside centre alongside Louis Ludik.
In the back-three, Andrew Trimble, one of the try scorers against Harlequins last week, returns to the starting XV on the left wing, with Craig Gilroy retained on the right and Jacob Stockdale shifting to full-back in place of Charles Piutau.
Peter Nelson is named to start at out-half, alongside in-form scrum half John Cooney, who will make his first return to Galway since joining Ulster from Connacht last summer.
In the pack, there are starts for Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy pair Matthew Dalton and Nick Timoney in the second row and number 8 respectively. The 19-year-old Dalton is set for his first senior after two recent appearances off the bench.
Robbie Diack joins Dalton in the engine room, with captain Iain Henderson and Sean Reidy making up the back row with Timoney. In the front row, props Andrew Warwick and Wiehahn Herbst will scrum down either side of hooker John Andrew.
Former Ireland Under-20 out-half Johnny McPhillips, who has featured prominently in the Ulster ‘A’ team’s recent British & Irish Cup wins, is in line for his first senior appearance as he is included among the replacements.
Paul Marshall and Robert Lyttle will provide the additional back-line cover, while Adam McBurney, who scored four tries for Ulster ‘A’ against Hartpury last weekend, Schalk van der Merwe, Ross Kane, Matthew Rea and Clive Ross are the forward options on the bench.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeleokun, Bundee Aki, Tom Farrell, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Kieran Marmion; Denis Coulson, Shane Delahunt, Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane, Quinn Roux, Eoghan Masterson, Jarrad Butler, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Tom McCartney, Peter McCabe, Conor Carey, James Cannon, Naulia Dawai, James Mitchell, Eoin Griffin, Darragh Leader.
ULSTER: Jacob Stockdale; Craig Gilroy, Louis Ludik, Darren Cave, Andrew Trimble; Peter Nelson, John Cooney; Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Wiehahn Herbst, Matthew Dalton, Robbie Diack, Iain Henderson (capt), Sean Reidy, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: Adam McBurney, Schalk van der Merwe, Ross Kane, Matthew Rea, Clive Ross, Paul Marshall, Johnny McPhillips, Robert Lyttle.
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Joy Neville, Kieran Barry (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Connacht to win: 4/7; Draw: 19/1; Ulster to win: 6/4
Pre-Match Quotes: Quinn Roux (Connacht) – “There is always a bit of extra spice in the interpros whether it’s home or away. It’s always a big occasion for the players. But it’s also a good spectacle for the people to come and watch two teams going at each other.
“I am really looking forward to the weekend and what it will bring. John (Cooney) has really stepped up and taken his opportunity at Ulster. He has been playing really well. Hopefully he doesn’t play that well this weekend! We will try and make it a bit tough for him. But he has been playing really well and fair play to him.
“You always want to play well against Irish opposition and put your hand up if you can. But you can only do that if you really play well and stick to what we do well and hopefully get a result. That’s a good way of putting up your hand, that’s what we will try and do.
“There are a big few weeks coming up for people who want to put their hand up. If you get the opportunity to play, you need to take advantage of it and step up to the challenge.”
Darren Cave (Ulster) – “It’s cool to get 200, it’s been a long time coming. I’m not getting too carried away with it. I haven’t played as much rugby as I would have wanted to this year, and I want to try and do my bit to help the team win.
“We’ve a lot of backs but it has been quite frustrating. This is only my seventh game of the season. It’s always hard playing one week and then not the next. I haven’t played since the Kings game (in November), that’s seven weeks.
“Ideally, you’d like to play a few in a row but we have so many players that you don’t get those opportunities. You can’t use that as an excuse. You have to do what you can, contribute, and hope that you help the team to go well. If you’re doing that then you’ll play.
“It’s been frustrating at times, it’s not about me though. The last few weeks have been two great results (against Harlequins in Europe) and there’s been a buzz around that. That’s why it’s important that we keep that momentum going over Christmas and into the New Year.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 63; Tries: Tiernan O’Halloran, Shane Delahunt, Tom Farrell 3 each; Ulster – Points: John Cooney 65; Tries: Andrew Trimble 5
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Connacht – Played 10, Won 3, Lost 7, 18 Points; L 18-12 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 21-8 v Dragons (away), L 17-15 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 36-27 v Scarlets (away), L 16-8 v Ulster (away), W 20-16 v Munster (home), W 23-15 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 36-30 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 24-10 v Zebre (away); Ulster – Played 10, Won 7, Drawn 1, Lost 2, 35 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)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, April 11, 2015 – Connacht 20 Ulster 27, the Sportsground
Saturday, December 26, 2015 – Connacht 3 Ulster 10, the Sportsground
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
MATCH FACTS:
– Connacht have lost their last two GUINNESS PRO14 matches, both away from home, at Cardiff Blues and at Zebre, but gained maximum league points from their back-to-back Challenge Cup encounters against Brive over the last two weekends
– Connacht have won their last four matches at the Sportsground in all competitions since Cardiff Blues beat them there in the PRO14 on September 23
– Ulster are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions since their 25-10 reversal at home to Leinster in round 7 of the GUINNESS PRO14
– The Ulstermen have not been defeated away from home since their trip to La Rochelle in the Champions Cup on October 22
– Connacht have won just one of their last eleven meetings against Ulster: 30-25 in Galway on October 7, 2016
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