Rugby:Ulster's travel plans had to be changed after their scheduled flight from Belfast to Glasgow was among the numerous flights cancelled after ash clouds from a volcano eruption in Iceland drifted into UK airspace.
Brian McLaughlin’s squad will now take the ferry to Scotland in time for tomorrow night’s game against Glasgow at Firhill (7.05pm).
The province has struggled badly on the pitch in recent times as they come into the game after a run of four league defeats. The goal is to remain ahead of Connacht in the standing to secure Heineken Cup rugby next season.
The coach finalised his starting line-up and as expected Rory Best and Paddy Wallace miss the trip to Scotland through injury, while Nigel Brady and Jamie Smith come in the squad and start from the bench.
"We're travelling to Glasgow this afternoon by boat as the airports are now closed and we're about to have our Captain's Run at lunchtime,” said McLaughlin. “We had a good review of Tuesday night’s game against the Ospreys and we've got to look at our defence - we're still suffering from inconsistency around our defence.”
“For Andrew Trimble's try our defence was magnificent and for Simon Danielli's try that also came from a defensive turnover so we have to be more consistent in defence. Our set piece on Tuesday night was a lot more solid, we just have to stop giving away soft tries
“Shane Williams' try was a prime example and we gifted James Hook two tries under the posts so we must improve in this aspect of our play.
"Glasgow are another quality side and we're expecting a very tough game, it's been a quick turnaround for us, physically we're in good shape so we just have to get the boys mentally right for this very important game"
Ulster team (v Glasgow):Tom Court, Andi Kyriacou, Declan Fitzpatrick, Ed O'Donoghue, Ryan Caldwell, Stephen Ferris, Chris Henry (Capt), Robbie Diack, Simon Danielli, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Nevin Spence, Ian Humphreys, Paul Marshall. Replacements: Nigel Brady, BJ Botha, Dan Tuohy, David Pollock, Isaac Boss, Niall O'Connor, Jamie Smith