Guinness Pro12: Ulster v Glasgow Warriors (today, 3pm, Kingspan Stadium)
AS much as the international breaks affect the Irish provinces, there’s no greater relief than facing Glasgow when they are without their Scottish contingent.
The Warriors, who famously and thrillingly won the Pro12 title two years ago beating Ulster in the semi-final, provided no fewer than nine of Vern Cotter’s starting line-up, and a further four on bench, in Paris last weekend.
None of the 16 players involved with the international team, who are preparing to host Wales next weekend, have been released to the command of Gregor Townsend, meaning it is an unfamiliar side that he will bring to Belfast this afternoon.
Their long-term hopes weren’t helped by the news yesterday that number 8 Josh Strauss is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a kidney injury in Paris.
He is boosted by the return of fly-half Peter Horne, who had been out since suffering an ankle injury early in their Thomond Park defeat by Munster at the start of December.
He pairs up with Henry Pyrgos at half-back, leading a division that includes debutant Brandon Thompson at full-back and the experienced Sean Lamont on the wing.
For the hosts, Joe Schmidt has released a trio of his Six Nations squad for provincial duty, including hat-trick scorer in Rome, Craig Gilroy (below).
The Ulster winger might have known his number was up when Schmidt, instead of lavishing him with praise after touching down three times in the final 15 minutes, highlighted his defensive positioning in what the New Zealander called “a mixed bag” performance.
He is back into the Ulster side alongside fellow internationals Luke Marshall and Tommy Bowe, neither of whom were involved in Italy and were not included in Ireland’s three-day camp in Monaghan this week.
Charles Piutau hasn’t recovered in time to make the matchday 23, while Stuart Olding is ruled out with an elbow injury, meaning Marshall will pair up with Darren Cave in midfield.
It will also be a first appearance of the year for Ruan Pienaar (below), who has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury at the RDS on New Year’s Eve.
The South African scrum-half will partner Pete Nelson at half-back, with the latter having come through the full 80 minutes in last weekend's victory over Edinburgh, following a 14-month layoff.
Victory for Ulster would take them above Glasgow into fifth place in the table as they attempt to claw their way back into contention for a playoff spot.
With fourth-placed Scarlets hosting Zebre this weekend, defeat for Les Kiss’s side would almost certainly be terminal for their hopes of a semi-final place.
Up front, Marcell Coetzee, who had an impressive debut last week, retains his starting berth at number 8, with Sean Reidy and Chris Henry- who captains the side – alongside him.
Club captain Rob Herring has suitably recovered from injury to take up a place among the replacements along with fellow forwards Andy Warwick, Wiehahn Herbst, Kieran Treadwell and Robbie Diack.
Jack Owens, who has featured at wing and full-back for the Ulster A team in this season's British & Irish Cup, is in line to make his senior debut if called upon.
Meanwhile, table-toppers Munster will be in action at Ospreys later this evening without their entire Ireland contingent, as well as injured pair Jaco Taute and Jean Kleyn, who picked up injuries against Newport Gwent Dragons last week.
A shoulder injury rules Taute out, while Kleyn’s neck injury will keep him out for between 8 and 10 weeks.
The Ospreys have had seven players, including Sam Davies, released from the international squad by Rob Howley as they look to keep their own impressive run going.
Connacht host the Dragons in the late kick-off at the sold-out Sportsground, with Kieran Marmion, Finlay Bealham and Ultan Dillane all set to start, while centre Tom Farrell will be handed a debut following his move from Bedford Blues.
FIXTURES
Ulster v Glasgow Warriors: today, 3pm, Kingspan Stadium, live on Sky Sports
Ospreys v Munster: today, 5.15pm, Liberty Stadium, live on Sky Sports
Connacht v Newport Gwent Dragons: today, 7.35pm, Sportsground, live on TG4
THE TEAMS
Ulster: L Ludik, T Bowe, L Marshall, D Cave, C Gilroy, P Nelson, R Pienaar; C Black, J Andrew, R Lutton, P Browne, F van der Merwe, S Reidy, C Henry, M Coetzee
Replacements: R Herring, A Warwick, W Herbst, K Treadwell, R Diack, P Marshall, J Stockdale, J Owens
Glasgow: B Thomson; L Jones, M Bennett, N Grigg, S Lamont; P Horne, H Pyrgos; A Allan, J Malcolm, S Puafisi; B Alainu’uese, S Cummings; R Harley, S Favaro, A Ashe
Replacements: C Flynn, J Bhatti, D Rae, T Uanivi, L Wynne, G Harte, R Vernon, R Hughes
Munster: I Keatley; R O’Mahony, F Saili, R Scannell, D Sweetnam; T Bleyendall, D Williams; D Kilcoyne, R Marshall, J Ryan; D O’Shea, B Holland; D O’Callaghan, T O’Donnell, J O’Donoghue
Replacements: K O’Byrne, P McCabe, S Archer, D Foley, C Oliver, A Griesel, D Goggin, A Conway
Newport Gwent Dragons: T Prydie; A Hughes, T Morgan, A Warren, P Howard; D Jones, T Knoyle; S Hobbs, E Dee, B Harris; N Crosswell, R Landman; O Griffiths, N Cudd, L Evans
Replacements: D Harris, T Davies, L Fairbrother, C Hill, H Keddie, S Pretorius, A O’Brien, S Beard
Ospreys: D Evans; K Giles, K Fonotia, A Beck, H Dirksen; S Davies, T Habberfield; N Smith, S Baldwin, R Jones; L Ashley, R Thornton; O Cracknell, S Underhill, J King
Replacements: S Parry, P James, D Suter, T Ardron, D Baker, B Leonard, L Price, B John
Connacht: T O’Halloran; N Adeolokun, T Farrell, C Ronaldson, M Healy; J Carty, K Marmion; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham; U Dillane, Q Roux; S O’Brien, J Heenan, J Muldoon
Replacements: T McCartney, R Loughney, JP Cooney, J Cannon, N Fox-Matamua, C Blade, S Crosbie, R Parata
Leinster 37 Edinburgh 10
JOEY Carbery marked his first start since December with two tries as Leinster earned a 39-10 PRO12 bonus point win over Edinburgh at the RDS.
Back in blue following ankle surgery, Carbery pressed his Ireland claims with a lively display but flanker Josh van der Flier’s shoulder injury will cause concern for Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt.
Winger Barry Daly’s second ever try for the province was the difference at half-time, Leinster leading 8-3 despite Edinburgh having a lot of front-foot ball.
A run of tries from Carbery (two) and Daly between the 47th and 55th minutes saw Leo Cullen’s men take a firm grip on proceedings as they moved temporarily to the top of the PRO12 table.
The final quarter brought about three more tries, Duncan Weir’s lone seven-pointer for Edinburgh being sandwiched by further scores from Leinster’s man-of-the-match Dan Leavy and fellow replacement Bryan Byrne.
