Rugby European CupOkay, so the Leicester match of three years ago at Ravenhill is running through people's minds. Back then under the guidance of Alan Solomons, Ulster did to the English giants (33-0) what they did to Toulouse in the Heineken European Cup last Saturday and the cries of "Stand up for the Ulster men" could be heard echoing out as far as the Harland and Wolff crane that sits imposingly over the Belfast docklands.
But when Ulster travelled to Welford Road for the away fixture back in 2003, Leicester had that fixed stare of the angry man about to right a wrong. Ulster departed with their tail between their legs (7-49) and learned a valuable lesson about the laws of physics. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
To Ulster's credit they are never a team that dwell too much on their glory and in Mark McCall they have a coach whose instinct is to downplay things. Tonight he faces a lively Llanelli side that came away with a 32-25 win over London Irish and four tries for the bonus point.
Leinster captain Brian O'Driscoll has picked them out as a side that could go far in the competition and with Stephen Jones at outhalf and Dwayne Peel at nine, the half-back partnership is one of the best in the tournament.
In those positions fans will see one of the duels of the match. David Humphreys and Isaac Boss, both of whom had stand-out games against Toulouse, against Jones and Peel will become a pivotal battle, the fresh-looking Humphreys now as willing to run the ball as kick and Boss not adverse to sniping activity around the fringes. His try last week was perfect opportunism.
Ulster have played Llanelli twice in previous years and lost both times, in the 1999-'00 season. Humphreys, one of the few players who has been around since the game was amateur, would have experienced Llanelli's 6-29 win at Ravenhill followed by the 20-3 defeat at Stradey Park. That arid season during which they lost all six pool matches came after their glorious win against Colomiers in the final at Lansdowne Road in 1999.
The only change from the starting line-up that beat Toulouse on Saturday is the inclusion of Andrew Maxwell on the wing following the injury to Tommy Bowe. Bowe left the field after 24 minutes with a recurrence of a hamstring injury and looks likely to be out of action for between four and six weeks, also missing the autumn internationals. Scott Young has been included on the replacements' bench.
Llanelli coach Phil Davies has made two changes to the side that defeated London Irish. Barry Davies replaces Ceiron Thomas at fullback while Deacon Manu plays at tighthead in place of Craig Dunlea. Thomas and Dunlea move to the bench where they are joined by Matthew Watkins.
"It's a very significant match for both teams," said McCall. "We want to back up our performance last week and Llanelli won't want to lose at home. The Toulouse match was a very positive display from us but it's gone now, and our preparation for Llanelli this week has been good."
The match will earn one of the sides the right to top the pool before the tournament breaks for the November internationals. No doubt, the previously unheralded Ulster backline will be watched closely by Llanelli coach Davies and captain Simon Easterby, and the way they cut Toulouse to ribbons both in the midfield and out wide will have impressed.
Both teams should go into the match with confidence high but also with a vein of disappointment from last week's displays. For all Llanelli's ability to run the ball and score tries, they conceded three late touchdowns in the last quarter of the game. Ulster went into the second half with a 33-3 lead and finished that way, despite having the French under considerable pressure underneath their posts.
The most damning statistic for McCall is Ulster have won just one of their nine previous away matches - against Benetton Treviso in the final pool match of last season. To advance from the pool that must change.
LLANELLI: B Davies; D James, R King, G Evans, M Jones; S Jones, D Peel; I Thomas, M Rees, D Manu, V Cooper, I Afeaki, S Easterby (capt), G Thomas, A Popham. Replacements: A Gravelle, C Dunlea, A Jones, N Thomas, C Stuart-Smith, C Thomas, M Watkins.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; A Maxwell, P Steinmetz, P Wallace, A Trimble; D Humphreys, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, R Best, B Young, J Harrison, M McCullough, N Best, S Ferris, R Wilson; Replacements: P Shields, S Best, T Barker, K Dawson, K Campbell, K Maggs, S Young.
Previous meetings: (1999-'00) Ulster 6 Llanelli 29; Llanelli 20, Ulster 3
Top try scorers: Llanelli - I Thomas, S Easterby, M Jones, D James one each; Ulster - D Trimble 2
Top points scorers: Llanelli - S Jones 12pts; Ulster - D Humphreys 15pts
Referee: Tony Spreadbury.
Verdict: Home win.
