Dan McFarland’s Ulster squad landed in South Africa on Thursday with a clear determination to maintain the positive momentum built up from two opening home victories over the Scarlets and Edinburgh.
GUINNESS PRO14: Sunday, September 16
ISUZU SOUTHERN KINGS (7th, Con B) v ULSTER (4th, Con B), Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, 2.15pm local time/1.15pm Irish time (live Premier Sports/eir Sport 2/SuperSport 1)
Team News: There are three changes to the Ulster team that edged out Edinburgh right at the death, as Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor and Sean Reidy are all recalled to the starting pack, while the starting backs are set for their third consecutive run-out together.
Tighthead O’Toole, who turns 20 next Sunday, has recovered from a concussion suffered against the Scarlets in round 1 and takes his place in the front row alongside Andrew Warwick and captain Rob Herring. O’Connor joins Kieran Treadwell in the engine room, with Reidy, Marcell Coetzee and Nick Timoney selected as the back row trio.
Billy Burns and John Cooney, the province’s goal-kicking hero against both the Scarlets and Edinburgh, continue in the half-back positions, while Darren Cave and Stuart McCloskey, who has made a strong start to the new season, are again paired together in midfield.
Craig Gilroy, who became Ulster’s record try scorer in PRO14 Rugby last weekend with his 51st try, is named on the right wing and Henry Speight is on the opposite flank. Will Addison, who set a new Ulster record with 28 carries against Edinburgh, continues full-back.
Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan and Wiehahn Herbst will provide front row cover, with Jean Deysel and Matthew Rea listed as the other forward replacements. The Ireland Under-20-capped trio of David Shanahan, Angus Curtis and Angus Kernohan, who have been on bench duty for the opening two rounds, will again provide cover for the backs.
Meanwhile, Isuzu Southern Kings head coach Deon Davids has made four personnel changes and one positional switch to the side that went down 27-22 to the Dragons at Rodney Parade in the second round.
Full-back Michael Botha, who missed the game in Newport with a groin injury, is fit to wear the number 15 jersey with the versatile Yaw Penze shifts to the right wing. Michael Makase is the player to lose out, while Rudi van Rooyen makes way for Godlen Masimla at scrum half.
The Kings’ most-capped player, Schalk Ferreira will make his first start of the season at loosehead prop and John-Charles Astle, the former Mont-de-Marsan lock, joins Schalk Oelofse in the engine room as the second change up front.
Speaking ahead of the Kings’ first home game of the new season, Davids said: “We’re really looking forward to playing in front of our home crowd. The guys showed some enthusiasm on the road, but were rusty in the first game, and last week we had a very slow start. So now we just have to keep building on the positive stuff.”
ISUZU SOUTHERN KINGS: Michael Botha; Yaw Penxe, Harlon Klaasen, Berton Klaasen, Bjorn Basson; Masixole Banda, Godlen Masimla; Schalk Ferreira, Michael Willemse (capt), Luvuyo Pupuma, Schalk Oelofse, John-Charles Astle, Stephan de Wit, Martinus Burger, Andisa Ntsila.
Replacements: Alandre van Rooyen, Xandre Vos, Justin Forwood, Bobby de Wee, Ruaan Lerm, Rudi van Rooyen, Martin du Toit, Ntabeni Dukisa.
ULSTER: Will Addison; Craig Gilroy, Darren Cave, Stuart McCloskey, Henry Speight; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring (capt), Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Marcell Coetzee, Sean Reidy, Nick Timoney.
Replacements: Adam McBurney, Eric O’Sullivan, Wiehahn Herbst, Jean Deysel, Matthew Rea, David Shanahan, Angus Curtis, Angus Kernohan.
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Ruhan Meiring (South Africa)
Television Match Official: Johan Greeffe (South Africa)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Isuzu Southern Kings to win: 9/2; Draw: 18/1; Ulster to win: 1/7
Pre-Match Quotes: Kieran Treadwell (Ulster) – “There’s a good buzz around camp. We’ve got wins against two good teams and we’ve played pretty well for large parts of those games. It’s taken us a while to break them down but to get those victories right at the death shows a lot about the character of the squad and although it’s quite early in the season, we can take confidence from that.
“We have some big characters in the team who have delivered for us but it’s a full squad effort. The non-23 have done a great job in preparing the team and they deserve a lot of the credit too.
“The challenge for us is to kick on and continue the winning momentum. We look at it on a week by week basis – we go out there and prepare for each team individually and we go out there with the mentality that if we prepare well we can get results.
“I don’t think there’s ever an easy game in this league – they are all tough teams to come up against. Last season the Kings gave us a real scare over here so we know we’re in for a battle. We know they are dangerous and they have got better this season from what we’ve seen. They have bags of pace out wide so it will be up to us to mitigate against that and try to control things.
“It’s very rare that you get that time together as a squad in this type of environment so we will make the most of it. With so many new players and coaches this season, it will be particularly useful as it allows more time for meetings and analysis throughout the trip.”
Berton Klaasen (Isuzu Southern Kings) – “We are excited to play at home. We always get a lift from playing in PE. When we travel overseas the stadiums are often much smaller than ours here back home, and that can, at times, be intimidating.
“Our previous encounter at home to Ulster last season was a close and tough one (losing 43-36). I’m certain that they will come out all guns blazing, and we are aware that they are a real quality team. We are going to have to step it up this weekend.”
Top Scorers – 2018/19 GUINNESS PRO14: Isuzu Southern Kings – Points: Masixole Banda 13; Tries: Mikey Botha, Godlen Masimla, Bjorn Basson, Michael Willemse, Yaw Penxe 1 each; Ulster – Points: John Cooney 35; Tries: Craig Gilroy, Will Addison, John Cooney 1 each
2018/19 TEAM FORM: Isuzu Southern Kings – Played 2, Lost 2, 2 Points; L 32-16 v Zebre (away), L 27-22 v Dragons (away); Ulster – Played 2, Won 2, 8 Points; W 15-13 v Scarlets (home), W 30-29 v Edinburgh (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, November 4, 2017 – Southern Kings 36 Ulster 43, Isaac Wolfson Stadium
Friday, February 9, 2018 – Ulster 59 Southern Kings 10, Kingspan Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– The Isuzu Southern Kings have lost their last six GUINNESS PRO14 matches since beating the Dragons in Port Elizabeth in March. They did, however, register two league points in their defeat at the Dragons last weekend
– Ulster are unbeaten in their last seven PRO14 encounters and are bidding to win their opening three matches for a third successive season
– The Ulstermen have won just once on the road in any tournament since last December: 32-20 in Edinburgh in April
– Ulster won all three games they played against South African opponents last season, two against the Southern Kings, a 43-36 victory at Isaac Wolfson Stadium and in the return leg in Belfast, 59-10
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