Ravenhill Teams/Ulster v Edinburgh:There is little surprise that Scottish international Rob Dewey has been asked to stand up for the Ulster men against his former club Edinburgh at Ravenhill tonight. Dewey replaces Paul Steinmetz at inside centre as Ulster seek to follow on from their win against Connacht last weekend, which crucially moved them a little further up the Magners Celtic league table.
Dewey, no doubt will have some knowledge of Edinburgh habits, which should come in useful as caretaker coach Steve Williams makes just two changes to the starting line up that earned the 30-13 victory at the Sportsground.
"Dewey is a powerful player and has trained well this week, I know that he's looking forward to running out at Ravenhill against his old club," said Williams.
Former Ulster Academy player David Pollock will start in the backrow lining up beside Neil Best and Roger Wilson with Kieron Dawson acting as cover on the bench. Pollack, who is just 20-years-old, made his first Heineken European Cup appearance less than two weeks ago against Bourgoin and comes in to freshen things up for Ulster.
For Edinburgh, former England coach Andy Robinson has welcomed back centre Matt Dey and stand-off Phil Godman to the starting line-up. Dey made his first appearance for the club since September when he made an impact as a replacement during Edinburgh's win over Llanelli, while Scotland international Godman has been omitted from the starting line-up for five games. Robinson has opted for experience by bringing in both players (Dey, 26, Godman, 25) for the potentially tricky trip.
Hugo Southwell is out with an injured ankle while Scottish winger Simon Webster also stays at home with a back injury, allowing Andrew Maxwell come in to claim the number 11 shirt and face up to his old club. Scotland prop Gavin Kerr also comes back to the side to reclaim the tight-head prop place.
It's a fresher looking Edinburgh side but obviously one beset by injury. Ulster will have taken something from last week and Bourgoin before that.
To reclaim lost ground they must win again.
ULSTER: M Bartholomeusz; T Bowe, A Trimble, R Dewey, S Danielli; P Wallace, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, R Best (capt), B Young, M McCullough, C Del Fava, N Best, D Pollock, R Wilson.
Replacements: N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, R Caldwell, K Dawson, K Campbell, N O'Connor, P. Steinmetz.
EDINBURGH: B Cairns; A Turnbull, N de Luca, M Dey, A Maxwell; P Godman, M Blair (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Kerr, M Mustchin, B Gissing, R Reid, R Rennie, D Callam.
Replacements: A Kelly, A Allori, C Hamilton, S Cross, B Meyer, D Blair, A Warnock.
Referee: D Rose (England).
Verdict: Home win.
