URC: Glasgow Warriors vs Ulster, Saturday November 25th, Scotstoun Stadium, kick-off 7.35pm, live on Premier Sports
While Steven Kitshoff is poised for his first game-time with Ulster after arriving a week ago, the main takeaway from Dan McFarland’s much altered selection for this trip to Scotstoun is that the province’s hand has been partly forced by their growing injury list.
McFarland has made 10 alterations from the side who defeated the Lions last week and has handed Academy back rower James McNabney his first ever senior involvement with a starting spot at number eight.
Rob Herring, John Andrew, David McCann, Dave Ewers and Stewart Moore, who were all in the squad last week, have picked up knocks and with Nick Timoney as well as Marcus Rea on the list, McFarland has, not for the first time this season, dipped into the Academy.
As well as McNabney starting, cover at hooker is being provided by fellow Academy squad member Zac Solomon who if involved will also make his senior debut. Kitshoff is alongside Solomon on Ulster’s bench for this evening.
Tom O’Toole has made an earlier than expected return from his groin issue and is in the starting front row along with Eric O’Sullivan and Tom Stewart.
Iain Henderson and Reuben Crothers remain from last week’s starting eight while Kieran Treadwell returns at lock and Harry Sheridan is at flanker.
Behind the scrum Billy Burns is reunited with John Cooney in a changed halfback partnership on this, Burns’ 100th Ulster game. Will Addison is at full back after missing the last three games and Luke Marshall gets his first URC outing of the season as Stuart McCloskey sits this one out.
James Hume, Rob Baloucoune and the in-form Jacob Stockdale remain from the starting backline which fielded against the Lions for tonight’s challenging looking trip to Glasgow with both teams having won four from five.
Glasgow Warriors: J McKay, S Cancelliere, S Tuipulotu, S McDowall (capt), K Rawe, T Jordan, S Kennedy; J Bhatti, G Turner, Z Fagerson, G Peterson, S Cummings, M Fagerson, R Darge, J Dempsey.
Replacements: Johnny Matthews, Oli Kebble, Lucio Sordoni, Richie Gray, Sintu Manjezi, Sione Vailanu, Ben Afshar, Duncan Weir
Ulster: W Addison, R Baloucoune, J Hume, L Marshall, J Stockdale, B Burns, J Cooney; E O’Sullivan, T Stewart, M Moore, K Treadwell, I Henderson (capt), H Sheridan, R Crothers, J McNabney.
Replacements: Z Solomon, S Kitshoff, M Moore, A O’Connor, Matty Rea, D Shanahan, J Flannery, B Moxham.
Referee: B Whitehouse (Wales).
URC: Bulls vs Connacht, Saturday, November 25th, Loftus Versfeld, kick-off 3pm live on RTÉ
The biggest challenge of Connacht’s two-match South Africa tour awaits in Pretoria when they take on the Bulls at altitude in Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday at 3pm.
On the back of a one-point win over the Sharks, Connacht delayed their arrival in Pretoria with hopes of delivering a “hit and run” win over their opponents against whom they lost last season by 28-14.
Head coach Pete Wilkins accepts the heat without humidity is “brutal”, but is something Connacht are not going to hide from, but “embrace”.
“We will not be using it as an excuse, everyone is rearing to go.”
Connacht have prepared with “three hot weather training sessions to put the players under pressure”.
“There is some science to say it can be beneficial if you get three of those hits in, so we are trying to use everything possible to our advantage, but I think a lot of the time they might be one per cent elements. Often it is the mental aspect, and the boys need to embrace the fact that they will feel particularly tired after about 10 minutes, but they will get a second wind and come again.
“Similarly the Bulls will play in bursts, and in those first periods of each half, we expect them to come pretty hard. But no one is at full throttle for 80 minutes when you play at these venues. They will be tiring as much as we are, and we have to make sure we push the right buttons in between.”
Wilkins has made several changes to his starting XV with the return of David Hawkshaw, Cathal Forde, Diarmuid Kilgallen and captain Jack Carty, while Colm O’Reilly retains the scrumhalf berth – “a reward for some guys whose performances have merited it”, and there is a first start for New Zealander and former Leicester Tiger number eight Sean Jansen. Wilkins has opted for a bench with four forwards.
Connacht will be looking to fire “more shots” but they are up against a Bulls team that boasts some heavyweights up front, in addition to several Springboks, including fullback Willie Le Roux, Canon Moodie and Marco van Staden.
Vodacom Bulls: W le Roux, S de Klerk, S Gans, D Kriel, S Petersen, J van der Walt, Z Burger, G Steenekamp, A van der Merwe, W Louw, R Ludwig, R Nortje (C), Mvan Staden, E Louw, N Carr. Replacements: S Matanzima, JH Wessels, M Smith, J Swanepoel, C Brink, E Papier, C Smith, C Moodie
Connacht: T O’Halloran, B Ralston, D Hawkshaw, C Forde, D Kilgallen, J Carty (C), C Reilly, D Buckley, T McElroy, F Bealham, D Murray, J Joyce, O Dowling, S Hurley-Langton, S Jansen. Replacements: D Tierney-Martin, P Dooley, S Illo, N Murray, S O’Brien, C Blade, JJ Hanrahan, C Oliver.
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi
