POOL FOUR Ulster v Stade Francais: MID-TABLE IN the French Championship and Stade Francais arrive in Belfast with a large reputation but in a season that has refused to spark readily into life.
Still, one of the giants of the competition fly in on the back of a win last week against Bayonne and meet Ulster for the 10th time.
The colourful owner of the pink-uniformed side, Max Guazzini, has watched his team win five of those meeting, but has never been able to get his hands on the main trophy. Whenever that happens – and it should have by now – there will be quite a party in Paris.
A victory this afternoon and a likely group-clinching match in Brussels (not Paris) next week should, with four wins from four, see them through comfortably.
Their desperation to win the trophy outright has added a layer of pressure, but once more they are a team bubbling with talent as Ulster seek to again hole their ambitions below the waterline.
Ravenhill Road is a difficult place to play and coach Brian McLaughlin has made a number of changes to the side that lost last week to Glasgow in the Magners League. That defeat was not good for Ulster momentum going into a win-or-bust match, but, with former Castres coach Jeremy Davidson also involved, they will have some sharper insights into what makes the mercurial French tick.
Ulster will miss Springbok prop BJ Botha, who is still injured, but Stephen Ferris is in the backrow, having recovered form an injury picked up against South Africa.
Andrew Trimble comes in on the right wing for the injured Timoci Nagusa, Ulster’s top try-scorer (two) in this competition.
“We know how good they are. We know they are a great side with great ambitions for the season,” said McLaughlin this week. “But we have the same ambitions. We have them here in Belfast and we have just got to get out to the pitch and play. We have to outplay them by being accurate and smart and taking home advantage. We have to be fearless.”
Smart this week would mean being highly disciplined. Former Leicester scrumhalf Julien Dupuy and Lionel Beauxis at outhalf bring French international experience, and Dupuy, particularly, has shown that, if asked to kick Stade to a win he can do so. It was a 79th-minute penalty that broke Bath hearts at the Recreation Ground in the last round in Stade’s 29-27 win.
Up front they are also teak-tough with Argentine loosehead Rodrigo Roncero joining French internationals hooker Ben Kayser and Sylvain Marconnet in a class frontrow. English lock Tom Palmer and backrow James Haskell add further weight and ability along with France’s Pascal Pape in the back five.
Traditionally, the outcome depends on how French teams turn up to these difficult meetings, but on paper Ulster are not in their league. A tight or wide game, which the visitors will alternate between, and Stade will excel.
That said, Ulster have done it before and to see the match in terms of a list of names can be folly. Passion, Belfast and an honest Ulster approach could easily knock the French aristocrats out of kilter.
ULSTER: C Schifcofske; A Trimble, D Cave, I Whitten, S Danelli; I Humphreys, I Boss; T Court, N Brady, D Fitzpatrick, E O'Donoghue, D Tuohy, S Ferris, D Pollock, C Henry (capt). Replacements: A Kyiacou, B Young, J Fitzpatrick, R Caldwell, W Faloon, P Marshall, N O'Connor, J Smith.
STADE FRANCAIS: H Southwell; O Phillips, M Bastareaud, G Messina, M Gasnier; L Beauxis, J Dupuy; R Roncero (capt), B Kayser, S Marconnet, A Marchois, T Palmer, J Haskell, A Burban, P Pape. Replacements: D Szarzewski, D Attoub, R Slimani, P Rabadan, M Bergamasco, N Oelschig, G Bousses, J Arias.
Referee: D Pearson(Eng).
Leading point scorers: Ulster: I Humphreys 24 points; Stade: J Dupuy 29 points.
Leading try scorers: Ulster: T Nagusa 2; Stade: O Phillips, J Arias, S Parisse, P Pare, L Beauxis, one each.
Verdict: Stade Francais to win
