Ulster kicked off 2018 with a win over Munster at Kingspan Stadium and they will look to repeat that feat tonight in their first home game of the calendar year. Both coaches are anticipating an intense battle in front of a partisan Belfast crowd.
GUINNESS PRO14: Friday, December 21
ULSTER (3rd, Con B) v MUNSTER (2nd, Con A), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live Premier Sports 1/eir Sport 1 & 2/BBC Radio Ulster 1341 MW/RTÉ Radio 1 Extra/deferred TG4)
Team News: Ulster head coach Dan McFarland has made three changes to the starting XV for tonight’s mouth-watering GUINNESS PRO14 derby match against Munster at Kingspan Stadium. Tickets are available at ulsterrugby.com/tickets.
Two of the alterations to the side that saw off the Scarlets at the same venue last Friday are in the pack, with Rob Herring starting at hooker and taking over the captaincy, and lock Ian Nagle returning from injury to make his first start for the province.
Eric O’Sullivan and Martin Moore combine with Herring in the front row, while Kieran Treadwell will pack down beside a fully-fit Nagle in the second row. The loose forward combination of Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy and Marcell Coetzee is unchanged.
Abbey Insurance Academy winger and Ireland Sevens international Robert Baloucoune comes into the back-line, picked on the left wing for his fourth run-out of the PRO14 season. The experienced Louis Ludik and Henry Speight complete the back-three.
The half-back axis of Billy Burns, Ulster’s man-of-the-match against the Scarlets last weekend, and John Cooney is retained along with the centre pairing of Will Addison and Stuart McCloskey who have scored five tries between them so far this term.
Regular captain Rory Best, Kyle McCall and Ross Kane are named as the front row replacements, while Clive Ross and Nick Timoney provide additional forward cover. 20-year-old Academy back James Hume is recalled to the matchday squad, with David Shanahan and Johnny McPhillips also included.
Meanwhile, Munster head coach Johann van Graan has made 13 changes to the team that lost by a single point to Castres Olympique in the Heineken Champions Cup. Jaco Taute captains the province for the first time from inside centre.
Mike Haley keeps his place at full-back for the trip to Belfast, with Darren Sweetnam returning from a back injury sustained on international duty last month to start on the right wing and Alex Wootton featuring on the opposite flank.
Recent Ireland debutant Sam Arnold retains the number 13 jersey and partners Taute in midfield, with JJ Hanrahan, who scored 20 points in a man-of-the-match performance at home to Castres, and Alby Mathewson team up as the starting half-backs.
Jeremy Loughman, who recently penned a one-year contract extension, Kevin O’Byrne and Stephen Archer pack down together in the front row, while Jean Kleyn makes a welcome return from thumb surgery to partner Darren O’Shea in the engine room.
Conor Oliver, who got some game-time with Garryowen in recent weeks, makes his first start of the campaign having missed the early stages of the season with a foot injury. He is joined in the back row by Fineen Wycherley and Arno Botha.
Fit-again back rower Tommy O’Donnell takes his place among the replacements, with van Graan’s bench options also including Academy players Gavin Coombes, who turned 21 last week, and Shane Daly who is poised to make his fifth appearance of the season.
ULSTER: Louis Ludik; Henry Speight, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, Robert Baloucoune; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring (capt), Martin Moore, Ian Nagle, Kieran Treadwell, Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee.
Replacements: Rory Best, Kyle McCall, Ross Kane, Clive Ross, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Johnny McPhillips, James Hume.
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Darren Sweetnam, Sam Arnold, Jaco Taute (capt), Alex Wootton; JJ Hanrahan, Alby Mathewson; Jeremy Loughman, Kevin O’Byrne, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Darren O’Shea; Fineen Wycherley, Conor Oliver, Arno Botha.
Replacements: Mike Sherry, Dave Kilcoyne, Ciaran Parker, Gavin Coombes, Tommy O’Donnell, Neil Cronin, Bill Johnston, Shane Daly.
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Nigel Correll, Leo Colgan (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 3/10; Draw: 20/1; Munster to win: 13/5
Pre-Match Quotes: Dan McFarland (Ulster) – “Munster hurt us when we were down there in Thomond Park (losing 64-7 in September), and there were a few young fellas playing who didn’t get the best experience of representing their province.
“We want to put out a performance this Friday night at home to Munster that really demonstrates what an interprovincial game means to us. We’ve found some form, got a little momentum in Europe and we’re totally focused on what is a tricky sequence of interpro fixtures.
“Iain (Henderson) has been playing some good rugby, and he’s one of our leaders. It’s a massive loss as he recovers from surgery on his injured thumb, but we adapt to these circumstances as all teams must.
“When I was playing for Connacht, my early recollections are of a 3-3 draw with Munster, then a 3-0 loss to Munster, all in howling gales, and then a good win at Leinster. The interpros are intense affairs, brother on brother, and people say they’re almost Irish trials, and the players love that, they love that intensity.”
Johann van Graan (Munster) – “Ulster are a team who are playing really good rugby at the moment. We knew from the start of this block, we are playing quality opposition every week. First, it’s Ulster and if you look at them in the last few weeks, they are playing quality rugby, they are playing at home and they are very strong there.
“They have thumped quite a few teams up there in the last few weeks so it will be a really big challenge for us. The intensity is certainly not going to drop. The challenge for all teams, specifically in Ireland, with two Europes either side of three interpros, managing the squad to have enough legs left when we play Gloucester in round five (on January 11) is really important.
“These derbies are important, this year we have two away and only one at home and having the champions (Leinster) coming here is very important. We played pretty well last year in the first half (in Belfast) and Ulster played really well in the second half.
“We conceded a yellow card for the team on a team warning and then, unfortunately, Sammy slipped up there on (Christian) Lealifano so we’re down to 13 men at that stage. In terms of the atmosphere, it was pretty special… on New Year’s Day.
“You know, that’s why you want to be involved, for games like that. Munster versus Ulster, the three times I have been involved were big battles. There was that one (New Year’s), the draw we had last season and obviously, we played pretty well the last time we played at Thomond Park. I don’t expect anything different than a huge battle.”
Top Scorers – 2018/19 GUINNESS PRO14: Ulster – Points: John Cooney 60; Tries: David Shanahan 4; Munster – Points: Joey Carbery 45; Tries: Keith Earls, Andrew Conway 4 each
2018/19 TEAM FORM: Ulster – Played 10, Won 6, Drawn 1, Lost 3, 29 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); Munster – Played 10, Won 7, Lost 3, 34 Points; W 38-0 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 25-10 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 49-13 v Ospreys (home), L 37-13 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 64-7 v Ulster (home), L 30-22 v Leinster (away), W 25-24 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 30-26 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), W 32-7 v Zebre (away), W 44-14 v Edinburgh (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, January 2, 2016 – Ulster 7 Munster 9, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, October 28, 2016 – Ulster 14 Munster 15, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, April 15, 2017 – Munster 22 Ulster 20, Thomond Park
Monday, January 1, 2018 – Ulster 24 Munster 17, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, April 28, 2018 – Munster 24 Ulster 24, Thomond Park
Saturday, September 29, 2018 – Munster 64 Ulster 7, Thomond Park
MATCH FACTS:
– Ulster’s only defeat in their last six matches in all tournaments was 29-12 at the Scarlets in the GUINNESS PRO14 on November 23
– The Ulstermen have lost only once in Belfast since February: 22-15 to Connacht in round 6 of the PRO14
– Ulster have won just one of their last seven fixtures against fellow Irish provinces: 24-17 over Munster at Kingspan Stadium on New Year’s Day 2018
– Munster have won their last four PRO14 encounters since their 30-22 reversal to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium in round 6
– Munster have won just twice on the road in any tournament this season, both in the PRO14, at the Toyota Cheetahs in round 8 and at Zebre in round 9
– The Munstermen have not beaten a fellow Irish province on their own turf since a victory over Connacht in Galway in December 2016
– Munster have lost just one of their last ten fixtures against Ulster – on January 1, 2018, a sequence which also includes two draws
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