Squad news: Matt Williams named a 22-man squad ahead of their pre-season game against Queensland Reds at Ravenhill on Friday night.
Former Reds and recent Ulster recruits, Ed O'Donoghue and Clinton Schifcofske, are both named in the squad. The new Ulster signings made big impressions against Bath last weekend.
O'Donoghue said he is looking forward to playing against his old team mates. "I didn't think I would play against any Southern Hemisphere teams here in Ulster let alone the Reds, but I am really looking forward to the game," he said.
"I enjoyed the Bath game, it was tough going at times and I can definitely see why the lads talk about the Ravenhill factor on match night, the crowd were brilliant."
Irish Internationals Bryan Young, Rory Best, Isaac Boss and Paddy Wallace, are all included in the squad after being rested last week following the Irish training camp in Cork the week before. Ian Humphreys is also named in the squad.
Williams is looking forward to seeing his new players in action once more before the new season gets under way.
"Clinton has a wealth of experience and what we are looking from him is that leadership as well as knowledge about the ELVs. Ed O'Donoghue is also an experienced guy who has been about a bit and is an abrasive player.
"We were pleased with the performance on Friday against Bath but we have a lot of work still to do and these friendlies are a great opportunity to see how the players are progressing and give the younger guys a chance as well," added Williams.
"The Magners League is just weeks away and we are determined to make a vast improvement on our results from last season. We didn't have a good time last season. Winning the Magners League and getting to the knock-out stages of Europe isn't beyond this squad."
Kick-off on Friday is at 7.30pm.
Ulster Squad:
Forwards
Bryan Young; Rory Best; Tom Court, Ed O'Donoghue ,Carlo Del Fava, Matt McCullough, David Pollock, Robbie Diack ,Neil Hanna, Jarlath Carey,
Backs
Simon Danielli; Isaac Boss; Ian Humphreys, Paddy Wallace, Darren Cave, Timoci Nagusa, Clinton Schifcofske, Thomas Anderson, Cillian Willis, Rob Dewey, Bryn Cunningham, TBC.
