Iain Henderson has returned from injury and will make his 50th Ulster appearance in Friday night's Champions Cup tie against Saracens at Kingspan Stadium.
The forward has been out of action since picking up a hand injury in Ireland’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Argentina, but he has recovered in time for the start of Ulster’s European campaign.
Rory Best will captain the side and is joined in the frontrow by Callum Black and Wiehahn Herbst. Dan Tuohy and Franco van der Merwe continue in the secondrow, while Chris Henry and Nick Williams will make up the backrow alongside blindside flanker Henderson.
Halfbacks Ruan Pienaar and Paddy Jackson will start together for the first time this season, with Stuart McCloskey and Darren Cave lining out in midfield. The experienced trio of Andrew Trimble, Craig Gilroy and Louis Ludik are named in the back three.
Rob Herring, Kyle McCall and Ricky Lutton will provide frontrow cover, with the experienced Robbie Diack and Roger Wilson included as the other forwards on the bench. The backline reinforcements come in the form of Paul Marshall, Ian Humphreys and Peter Nelson.
Assessing Saracens’ challenge, Ulster number eight Nick Williams said: “They have a very physical pack, they like to play a direct style and they are always tough to play against.
“You look for a weakness in their team, but you struggle to find one.”
Saracens have won five of their six European Cup matches against Ulster, including each of their last three fixtures. The current English champions registered a 32-7 win over Toulouse in round one.
Sarries’ director of rugby Mark McCall has made two changes to his starting XV for the return to his old stomping ground, with hooker Schalk Brits replacing Jamie George and flanker Jacques Burger returning after suspension to pack down in the backrow alongside Michael Rhodes and Billy Vunipola.
“Ulster are a team that we know very well,” McCall said. “They are one of the best in Europe, and we’ve had some classic battles with them in recent years.
“I know how tough a place the Kingspan Stadium can be when it’s rocking on a European night, so to be facing them is a real challenge for us, but one that we are all very excited by.”
Reflecting on the Toulouse win, McCall added: “We have got to be delighted with how we played in that first half. I thought it was outstanding.
“Our energy was brilliant, our defence was brilliant and our attack was really good. We probably left a couple of tries out there in the first 20 minutes of the match.”
ULSTER: Louis Ludik, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar; Callum Black, Rory Best (captain), Wiehahn Herbst, Dan Tuohy, Franco van der Merwe, Iain Henderson, Chris Henry, Nick Williams.
Replacements: Kyle McCall, Rob Herring, Ricky Lutton, Robbie Diack, Roger Wilson, Paul Marshall, Ian Humphreys, Peter Nelson.
SARACENS: Alex Goode; Chris Ashton, Duncan Taylor, Brad Barritt (capt), Chris Wyles; Owen Farrell, Richard Wigglesworth; Mako Vunipola, Schalk Brits, Petrus du Plessis; George Kruis, Maro Itoje; Michael Rhodes, Jacques Burger, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: Jamie George, Rhys Gill, Juan Figallo,Alistair Hargreaves, Jackson Wray, Neil de Kock, Charlie Hodgson, Marcelo Bosch.
