One team is certain to lose their unbeaten GUINNESS PRO14 record when the Scarlets visit Kingspan Stadium tonight, with the champions going up against Les Kiss’ Ulster who have started strongly too.
GUINNESS PRO14: Friday, September 15
ULSTER (3rd, Con B) v SCARLETS (1st, Con B), Kingspan Stadium, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/TG4/BBC 2 Wales)
Team News: Ulster director of rugby Les Kiss has named his team for tonight’s showdown with the Scarlets at Kingspan Stadium. Chris Henry returns to the starting line-up and will captain the side for the round 3 fixture, which will be played five years to the day since former Ulster player Nevin Spence passed away, along with his father Noel and brother Graham.
There are three more new faces in the XV, with Luke Marshall, Kyle McCall and Alan O’Connor also selected. The latter pair will join Rob Herring, Wiehahn Herbst and Kieran Treadwell in the front five, while Sean Reidy and Matthew Rea, who replaces Jean Deysel in the originally selected side, will accompany the skipper in the back row.
South African Deysel had to pull out yesterday after suffering minor eye trauma in training. His withdrawal means Ballymena clubman Rea will make his second successive start for the province after lining out at blindside flanker in Treviso last Saturday.
John Cooney, who was man-of-the-match in last weekend’s win over Benetton Rugby, will line out at scrum half with Christian Lealiifano again named as his half-back partner. Marshall comes in to wear the number 13 jersey, outside Stuart McCloskey in an all-Ireland international midfield.
There are no changes to the back-three as Andrew Trimble, who crossed for two tries against the Italians last weekend, continues on the right wing alongside Jacob Stockdale and full-back Louis Ludik.
Ballymena clubmen John Andrew, Andrew Warwick and Clive Ross are named among the replacements with fellow forwards Rodney Ah You and Robbie Diack. Paul Marshall, Peter Nelson and Tommy Bowe, with 386 appearances between them, will provide experienced back-line options for Kiss and his coaching team.
In injury news, centre Callum Patterson sustained a knee injury playing for Ballymena last Saturday and is receiving treatment. Charles Piutau (hamstring) and Marcell Coetzee (knee) carried injuries through last week. Both players are expected to return against the Dragons next Friday. Ireland winger Craig Gilroy (lower back), Ross Kane (elbow) and Schalk van der Merwe (shoulder) remain on the province’s injury list.
Meanwhile, Scarlets supremo Wayne Pivac has named his team to take on Ulster in the third round of the PRO14, with three of the region’s British & Irish Lions included in the matchday 23.
Captain Ken Owens returns to lead the side as he prepares for his first appearance in a regional jersey since the emphatic victory over the Ospreys at Parc y Scarlets in May. The Test Lion slots into the front row alongside international props Rob Evans and Samson Lee, while Jake Ball returns after last week’s break to partner Irish lock Tadhg Beirne.
The back row of Aaron Shingler, Will Boyde and John Barclay, who were so effective in last weekend’s 41-10 success away to Zebre, remain unchanged. The only change in the back-line is the return of Lion Leigh Halfpenny, prompting Jonny McNicholl to move across to the right wing.
Centre Jonathan Davies, who was named Lion of the 2017 Series having played every minute of every Test against the All Blacks, is poised to return to action with the Scarlets as a replacement.
ULSTER: Louis Ludik; Andrew Trimble, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Christian Lealiifano, John Cooney; Kyle McCall, Rob Herring, Wiehahn Herbst, Kieran Treadwell, Alan O’Connor, Chris Henry (capt), Sean Reidy, Matthew Rea.
Replacements: John Andrew, Andrew Warwick, Rodney Ah You, Robbie Diack, Clive Ross, Paul Marshall, Peter Nelson, Tommy Bowe.
SCARLETS: Leigh Halfpenny; Johnny McNicholl, Hadleigh Parkes, Scott Williams, Steff Evans; Rhys Patchell, Gareth Davies; Rob Evans, Ken Owens (capt), Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Tadhg Beirne, Aaron Shingler, Will Boyde, John Barclay.
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Wyn Jones, Werner Kruger, David Bulbring, Josh Macleod, Jonathan Evans, Rhys Jones, Jonathan Davies.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Vincenzo Schipani (Italy), Kieran Barry (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Alan Falzone (Italy)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 6/5; Draw: 16/1; Scarlets to win: 8/11
Pre-Match Quotes: Luke Marshall (Ulster) – “It’ll definitely be poignant. It’s crazy to think it was five years ago (that Nevin, Noel and Graham passed away), it feels like it was last week!
“Remembering Nevin and the tragedy of him, his brother and his dad losing their lives, it’s poignant no matter what time of the year, whether it’s the anniversary or not. It will be emotional, but we have to respect the Scarlets and put our minds on the game, and not let it affect us team-wise.
“It’s a challenge. We know most people will have us as underdogs, the Scarlets have two bonus point wins from their opening two games and they’re defending champions. You just have look at their squad and the quality they have, in the back-line particularly, to get an idea of what to expect.
“We’re looking forward to it. We have a point to prove as people are probably doubting us. We need to prove them wrong and go out and get a result.”
Wayne Pivac (Scarlets) – “We talked about getting off to a better start than last year. We expected to as a group as we’ve been together a while here now as a group. We expected to get a better start and have done that but there’s still plenty to work on.
“It’s well documented how we want to play the game. We adjust our play slightly in terms of where we attack from depending on the weather. You can only play what’s in front of you.
“Friday is definitely a step up and it’s two unbeaten teams. We have the utmost respect for Ulster, they have a lot of strike power. It’s going to be a good test for us at the Kingspan. That’s what the players want. They want to come up against world class players and you want to challenge yourself against the best.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Ulster – Points: John Cooney 16; Tries: Andrew Trimble 2; Scarlets – Points: Rhys Patchell 29; Tries: Johnny McNicholl 3
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Ulster – Played 2, Won 2, 9 Points; W 42-19 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), W 21-14 v Benetton Rugby (away); Scarlets – Played 2, Won 2, 10 Points; W 57-10 v Southern Kings (home), W 41-10 v Zebre (away)
PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
Saturday, September 6, 2014 – Scarlets 32 Ulster 32, Parc y Scarlets
Friday, February 27, 2015 – Ulster 25 Scarlets 20, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, September 12, 2015 – Scarlets 12 Ulster 22, Parc y Scarlets
Sunday, February 21, 2016 – Ulster 20 Scarlets 21, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, September 16, 2016 – Ulster 19 Scarlets 8, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, January 6, 2017 – Scarlets 16 Ulster 13, Parc y Scarlets
MATCH FACTS:
– Ulster have won their last three GUINNESS PRO14 encounters since slipping up at the Ospreys at the end of April
– The Ulstermen have lost just once at Kingspan Stadium in the Championship since the Scarlets beat them there by a single point in February 2016: 15-14 to Munster in round 7 last season
– The Scarlets have won their last nine PRO14 matches, while another victory would equal their best ever sequence in the competition, set in 2015
– The Scarlets have lost only one of their last eight clashes with Irish provinces: 45-9 to Leinster at the RDS in March
– When the two sides met last season the home team were triumphant on both occasions, while the Scarlets’ only victory in Belfast since September 2008 was 21-20 in February 2016
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