Rugby:Ian Humphreys has been passed fit to face Leicester tomorrow night for Ulster's win-or-bust meeting with the Tigers at Ravenhill. The outhalf had been expected to miss the sell-out clash with a hamstring injury with Ruan Pienaar slotting in to the number 10 role.
Humphreys’s selection against his former club means Pienaar will remain at scrumhalf with Paul Marshall having to make do with a place on the bench. Pedrie Wannenburg, a slight doubt with an ankle problem sustained last weekend, is also available while Paddy Wallace comes into the side having recovered from a series of hand injuries.
“Ravenhill is a great place to play rugby," said Humphreys. “In the past, if Leicester Tigers were coming to Ravenhill, people would come to watch Leicester Tigers. Now they are coming to watch us. The atmosphere will be brilliant. I know how good the Leicester fans are from my time there, and ours are on a par.
“They will turn out in force whatever the weather, get right behind the team and sing songs all night long . . . it’s quite an old stadium and the fans just get louder and louder as the game goes on. I love playing there. It’s like being at a packed Welford Road.”
Beaten 20-9 at that venue, and with a trip to Clermont to come, the Pool Four leaders know anything less than a win is likely to spell the end of their Heineken Cup campaign but coach Brian McLaughlin believes are capable of getting the job done.
“The whole team has performed well in recent weeks but we have worked on a few things in training this week to ensure that we are in peak condition and are raring to go,” McLaughlin said. “The game at Welford Road in round two was very tight and we were really disappointed to come away with nothing.
“To beat Leicester, you have to beat them up front. They play a game based on their set-piece, and that aspect of the game will be crucial for us.”
Ireland international Geordan Murphy will captain the visitors from fullback in an unchanged backs division. After his match-winning performance against Wasps last weekend, in which he scored all 29 of Leicester’s points, Billy Twelvetrees will again deputise for the injured Toby Flood with Anthony Allen filling in for Manu Tuilagi alongside him in the Tigers midfield.
Up front, the Leicester coach Richard Cockerill has changed his entire frontrow with Marcos Ayerza, Rob Hawkins and Martin Castrogiovanni coming in for Boris Stankovich, George Chuter and Dan Cole.
Murphy has predicted “an arm wrestle” with the stakes so high for both sides..
“Ravenhill is a fortress for them, they have beaten pretty much every top side at home,” Murphy said.
“Ulster are very successful at Ravenhill, especially on a Friday night. Traditionally it’s wet and windy and the wind howls through the ground, making it difficult for opposition goalkickers who don’t know the ground.
“It will be no different to any final or any game as big as that; we are going to have to put in a very good performance up front, be defensively sound to stop them scoring tries and kick our goals. It will be an arm wrestle, and hopefully we get a bit of luck.
“It has turned out to be a very tight and difficult group. I knew when I saw the draw that it was going to be very difficult to get out of the pool.
“Ulster are a very, very strong side at home and Clermont are also very difficult to beat. Clermont’s bonus point (in Belfast) could be costly, and so could our lack of a bonus against Aironi.
“We have to go to Ulster and get a win. To have the group in our control, we have to go and get two wins in the final two games.
“Things have gone reasonably well for us recently, but the schedule has also taken its toll on us physically. A few guys will be out for the Ulster game, and while that is a bit of a nightmare, there is nothing you can do.
“They will be missed, but that is the way the cookie crumbles. We just have to get on with things and do as good a job as possible.
“The strength in depth seems to be there and we have some pretty good players who have come in and done a good job, so we have just got to keep grinding out wins.”
Meanwhile, Connacht have announced that skipper Gavin Duffy, lock Michael swift and centre Dave McSharry all came through today’s training session without incident and will be available for selection for Saturday’s daunting trip to take on French giants Toulouse. The province will name their team at noon tomorrow.
Ulster:S Terblanche; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; I Humphreys, R Pienaar; T Court, R Best, J Afoa; J Muller (capt), D Tuohy; S Ferris, C Henry, P Wannenburg. Replacements:N Brady, C Black, A Macklin, L Stevenson, W Faloon, P Marshall, I Whitten, A D'Arcy.
Leicester:G Murphy; H Agulla, M Smith, A Allen, A Tuilagi; B Twelvetrees, B Youngs; M Ayerza, R Hawkins, M Castrogiovanni; S Mafi, G Parling; T Croft, J Salvi, T Waldrom. Replacements:G Chuter, B Stankovich, D Cole, E Slater, B Woods, S Harrison, J Staunton, S Hamilton
