McCall Looking For Border Win

Ulster Coach Mark McCall has resisted the temptation to make wholesale changes to his team which was beaten by Munster last weekend in Ravenhill. In what was seen as a very disappointing performance, McCall has made just two changes to the Starting XV that will take on bottom side Scottish side The Borders in Netherdale in the Celtic League.

Neil Doak loses out to Kieran Campbell at scrum half, while Andrew Maxwell comes onto the right wing instead of Tommy Bowe, who gets a well earned rest following his busy couple of weeks with the Irish squad and takes his place on the bench.

Hooker Nigel Brady returns to the bench having recovered from an eye injury he picked up during the Heineken Cup game in Gloucester. One other change on the bench sees the
inclusion of former Irish under 21 player Scott Young in the 22 for this first time since Ulster played Leinster in September.

This is a must win game for Ulster, coming after successive defeats. In reality, the talent in the squad and coach belies their current table position and a lack of experience has probably cost them in at least three games this season where they should have won.

Ulster will be looking for a series win as they have both won (against Edinburgh) and lost (to Glasgow) this season in their travels across to Scotland. The borders are in a worse situation then Ulster, with no wins to their credit throughout the Celtic league.

Ulster:

15 – Bryn Cunningham
14 – Andrew Maxwell
13 – Jonny Bell
12 – Paul Steinmetz
11 – Tyrone Howe
10 – Adam Larkin
9 – Kieran Campbell
1 – Simon Best
2 – Paul Shields
3 – Rod Moore
4 – Rowan Frost
5 – Matt McCullough
6 – Andy Ward (Captain)
7 – Neil Best
8 – Campbell Feather

Replacements :

16 – Nigel Brady
17 – Ronan McCormack
18 – Gary Longwell
19 – Gary Brown
20 – Neil Doak
21 – Scott Young
22 – Tommy Bowe