Last week’s late defeat to Edinburgh increased the pressure on Ulster as the business end of the season approaches, but tonight’s trip to the Llanelli home of the defending champions offers them a chance to bounce straight back and eat into the Scarlets’ eight-point lead over the province in Conference B.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, February 24
SCARLETS (2nd, Con B) v ULSTER (4th, Con B), Parc y Scarlets, 7.35pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/S4C)
Team News: Ulster head coach Jono Gibbes has made two changes to the team for tonight’s GUINNESS PRO14 round 16 match against the Scarlets in Llanelli.
Ulster’s record caps holder, Andrew Trimble, will earn his 229th cap, as he is recalled to the starting line-up in place of the injured Craig Gilroy on the right wing.
The only other change to the side that suffered an agonising last-gasp 17-16 defeat to Edinburgh last Friday night, which moved them down to fourth in Conference B, sees John Andrew come in at hooker.
Alan O’Connor will captain the Ulstermen for the third game in a row alongside Kieran Treadwell in the second row, while props Andrew Warwick and Wiehahn Herbst complete the front five.
Nick Timoney, who topped the PRO14 tackle count last weekend, continues at openside flanker, as does Matthew Rea at blindside and South African Jean Deysel at number 8 in an unchanged back row.
Behind the scrum, John Cooney has been released from Ireland duty to play at scrum half, while Johnny McPhillips has recovered from a shoulder knock to take his place again at out-half.
The impressive international duo of Stuart McCloskey and Luke Marshall are also retained in midfield, with Tommy Bowe and full-back Louis Ludik joining Trimble in a very experienced back-three.
Rob Herring, Kyle McCall and Rodney Ah You will provide the front row back-up and Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy player Matthew Dalton and Chris Henry are the additional forward options. Paul Marshall, who is in line for his first appearance since December, Peter Nelson and Darren Cave provide the back-line cover from the bench.
Meanwhile, Scarlets boss Wayne Pivac has selected an exciting matchday 23 as the west Wales region look to get back to winning ways and keep the pressure on Leinster, who have moved eight points clear at the top of Conference B.
Wales Under-20 winger Corey Baldwin will make his first start in the PRO14 as he lines up alongside Tom Williams and Ioan Nicholas in the back-three. Steff Hughes leads the side once again and is partnered with Australian Paul Asquith in midfield. Dan Jones and Jonathan Evans retain their places at half-back.
The pack remains unchanged from last weekend’s 20-13 loss to Leinster in Dublin, with both Ryan Elias and James Davies returning from Wales camp.
Hooker Emyr Phillips will reach a career milestone when he makes his 150th appearance for the region from the bench. In stark contrast, Ioan Hughes will make only his second appearance, while winger Ryan Conbeer is set to make his PRO14 debut as a replacement.
SCARLETS: Tom Williams; Corey Baldwin, Paul Asquith, Steff Hughes (capt), Ioan Nicholas; Dan Jones, Jonathan Evans; Dylan Evans, Ryan Elias, Werner Kruger, Steven Cummins, David Bulbring, Tadhg Beirne, James Davies, Josh Macleod.
Replacements: Emyr Phillips, Phil Price, Simon Gardiner, Lewis Rawlins, Will Boyde, Declan Smith, Ioan Hughes, Ryan Conbeer.
ULSTER: Louis Ludik; Andrew Trimble, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Tommy Bowe; Johnny McPhillips, John Cooney; Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Wiehahn Herbst, Alan O’Connor (capt), Kieran Treadwell, Matthew Rea, Nick Timoney, Jean Deysel.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Kyle McCall, Rodney Ah You, Matthew Dalton, Chris Henry, Paul Marshall, Peter Nelson, Darren Cave.
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Adam Jones, Elgan Williams (both Wales)
Television Match Official: Sean Brickell (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Scarlets to win: 8/15; Draw: 13/1; Ulster to win: 17/10
Pre-Match Quotes: Andrew Warwick (Ulster) – “To lose on the final whistle is never easy to take, but the defensive performance was very good (against Edinburgh last week). We were getting off the line a lot better and with the amount of possession they had, it was always going to be difficult.
“Jono is always pretty tough, but he has to be. I think aspects of the game were really pleasing, but our exits and restarts weren’t good enough on the night and we’ve worked on those things this week to make it right.
“We’re definitely ready for the Scarlets and training has been really good this week. We’re ready for them to fling the ball about and we have been working on our units to get around the pitch.
“I think they haven’t lost a game at home in the league since 2016, so it’s a difficult place to go. We’ll just go there, put a shift in and hope it’s enough to secure the points. We have the quality and determination to do that.”
Wayne Pivac (Scarlets) – “We have the ability to open up a bit of a gap on Ulster and push some pressure on them and they’ll know that. We know that if we don’t get the result, it closes right up.
“With Leinster (come to Parc y Scarlets) next week, it’s going to be a testing time for us. We’re working hard with the group to prepare ourselves for what’s coming.
“There’s a good buzz about the group and they’re disappointed with the last couple of results and they’re determined on getting a result this weekend. What we want is a good home crowd to turn out and get behind the team as if it was a European Cup match, because in the context of the PRO14 these next couple of weeks are very important.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Scarlets – Points: Dan Jones 65; Tries: Johnny McNicholl 6; Ulster – Points: John Cooney 107; Tries: Craig Gilroy 8
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Scarlets – Played 15, Won 11, Lost 4, 54 Points; W 57-10 v Southern Kings (home), W 41-10 v Zebre (away), L 27-20 v Ulster (away), W 28-8 v Edinburgh (home), W 36-27 v Connacht (home), W 19-18 v Ospreys (away), W 30-17 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 20-8 v Benetton Rugby (home), W 34-30 v Southern Kings (away), L 28-21 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), W 12-9 v Ospreys (home), W 14-11 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 47-13 v Dragons (home), L 22-12 v Benetton Rugby (away), L 20-13 v Leinster (away); Ulster – Played 15, Won 9, Drawn 1, Lost 5, 46 Points; W 42-19 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), W 21-14 v Benetton Rugby (away), W 27-20 v Scarlets (home), W 52-25 v Dragons (home), L 27-23 v Zebre (away), W 16-8 v Connacht (home), L 25-10 v Leinster (home), W 43-36 v Southern Kings (away), W 23-22 v Benetton Rugby (home), D 32-32 v Dragons (away), L 44-16 v Connacht (away), W 24-17 v Munster (home), L 38-7 v Leinster (away), W 59-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 17-16 v Edinburgh (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, February 27, 2015 – Ulster 25 Scarlets 20, Kingspan Stadium
Saturday, September 12, 2015 – Scarlets 12 Ulster 22, Parc y Scarlets
Sunday, February 21, 2016 – Ulster 20 Scarlets 21, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, September 16, 2016 – Ulster 19 Scarlets 8, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, January 6, 2017 – Scarlets 16 Ulster 13, Parc y Scarlets
Friday, September 15, 2017 – Ulster 27 Scarlets 20, Kingspan Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– The Scarlets have lost their last two GUINNESS PRO14 matches but have not lost three in-a-row in the competition since the start of last season
– The Welshmen have won their last seventeen home games in the Championship at Parc y Scarlets since Munster beat them there on September 3, 2016
– Ulster have won just two of their last six PRO14 fixtures, both at home, to Munster in round 12 and the Southern Kings in round 14
– The Ulstermen’s only away victory in the Championship since September was 43-36 over the Southern Kings in Port Elizabeth in round 8
– The last six matches between the two sides have been evenly split with three wins apiece and 14 league points each
– The Ulstermen have not won at Parc y Scarlets since December 2012
This website uses cookies.
Read More