Ulster v Toulouse
Kingspan stadium (20.00, live on TNT Sports)
At the end of the month Ulster will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their famous European Cup triumph, so it is perhaps apposite that the visitors to Belfast should be the tournament aristocrats Toulouse, who have lifted the trophy on more occasions than any other club.
There have been many momentous games between the two clubs, not least in Ulster’s successful European campaign in that 1998-’99 season when three penalties from fullback Simon Mason and a couple of drop goals from David Humphreys saw them squeeze past Toulouse 15-13 in a quarter-final clash at the old Ravenhill, packed to the rafters on an unforgettable night.
Dan McFarland’s current Ulster side would probably take a similar result as they look to continue the momentum from excellent recent results against Racing 92 and in the URC, a home win against Connacht and a fine victory over Leinster at the RDS. It’ll be hard won that is for sure, something that McFarland touched on earlier in the week.
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“There’s a strong argument that Toulouse are unique. I don’t say that lightly. In rugby, there are so many generic ways of playing or standardised ways of playing both in defence and attack, but whenever you watch Toulouse, year in year out, they break the mould around that.
“The way they attack, and the way they build their team around that attack, are very different to most other teams and that makes it extremely exciting, but also extremely challenging, to prepare for them.”
At the epicentre is Toulouse and French captain, scrumhalf Antoine Dupont, who will play for the France Sevens team in the Olympics in Paris later in the year. For now, he is still very much part of the club side.
McFarland recalled the last time Dupont played in Belfast. “He ruined our night basically on his own with a brilliant display of kicking and a couple of breaks that led to tries. In terms of his play, he’s a very instinctive player who has a brilliant skill set. He’ll see gaps and take them, but he has the strength to be able to see off tacklers, to offload to enormous forwards or wingers who are playing off him.
“His kicking game is super. You’ve got to try and get pressure on that because he’ll bang the ball out from a ruck five yards from his own line and get it 40 metres from your line. In rugby terms, that’s priceless. He’s a super player and our guys are fully aware of that. We’ll be looking to limit his destructive ability.”
An injury to Rob Herring means that Tom Stewart starts at hooker, flanker Dave Ewers returns, so too centre James Hume, while Michael Lowry starts at fullback.
No Ulster player will be overtly thinking about Andy Farrell’s squad announcement next Wednesday when they take to the pitch at the Kingspan stadium tonight, but knock-on benefits of a good performance is understood as the Ireland head coach will be taking notes.
Nick Timoney’s five tries in his last three matches including a brace against Leinster underlines his excellent form, but in every line of the team there are players who can make a substantial downpayment on a place in the Irish squad. That’s the ancillary benefit, the primary one is to win for Ulster.
Toulouse have an outsized pack, pace and power in the backline and an ability to play the game several ways, complemented by some very gifted individuals. The home side will need the courage to play, they won’t win an arm wrestle. If they manage that, they’ll be able to plug into the raw adrenaline from the stands. This is a test like no other this season and Ulster’s performance will have to reflect that if they are to prevail.
Ulster: M Lowry; R Baloucoune, J Hume, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; B Burns, J Cooney; S Kitshoff, T Stewart, T O’Toole; K Treadwell, I Henderson (capt); D Ewers, S Reffell, N Timoney. Replacements: J Andrew, A Warwick, M Moore, A O’Connor, M Rea, N Doak, L Marshall, W Addison.
Toulouse: B Kinghorn; JC Mallia; D Delibes, P Ahki; M Lebel; T Ramos, A Dupont (capt); C Baille, P Mauvaka, D Aldegheri; R Arnold, E Meafou; F Cros, A Jelonch, A Roumat. Replacements: J Marchand, D Ainu’u, N Laulala, J Brennan, J Willis, P Graou, S Chocobares, S Bituniyata.
Referee: M Carley (England)
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