Ulster are relishing the opportunity to end Racing 92’s unbeaten run in this season’s Heineken Champions Cup, and giving their own hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals a huge lift.
HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP – POOL 4: Saturday, January 12
ULSTER (2nd) v RACING 92 (1st), Kingspan Stadium, 3.15pm (live BT Sport 2/beIN Sports/BBC Radio Ulster 1341 MW/Newstalk/highlights Virgin Media One)
Team News: Ireland Sevens international Robert Baloucoune will make his Heineken Champions Cup debut this afternoon after being named in the Ulster team for their huge round 5 game against Pool 4 leaders Racing 92 in Belfast.
Seated areas of the stadium are completely sold out for the mouth-watering Ulster v Racing 92 fixture, but a limited number of terrace tickets are still available at ulsterrugby.com/buytickets.
The 21-year-old Baloucoune, who returns from his two-week suspension, is joined in the back-three by Louis Ludik and Jacob Stockdale, who will earn his 50th Ulster cap. Stockdale is the tournament’s joint-top try scorer with four tries and is the only player to have scored in every round so far.
Will Addison and Stuart McCloskey are reunited in an all-Ireland international midfield, with Billy Burnsand John Cooney making their third European start together at half-back. Burns currently leads the way for assists in the Champions Cup with four.
Rory Best returns to captain the side from hooker and will pack down beside Abbey Insurance Academy prop Eric O’Sullivan and Martin Moore. Alan O’Connor, one of only two players retained from the team that lost to Leinster last weekend, partners Kieran Treadwell in the second row.
Sean Reidy, the other player who started at the RDS, will line out alongside fellow Ireland international Jordi Murphy and Marcell Coetzee in the back row. The South African powerhouse was man-of-the-match against Munster in Ulster’s last home game.
Rob Herring, Andrew Warwick, Ross Kane, Ian Nagle and Nick Timoney are the forward replacements, while David Shanahan, Michael Lowry, who has come through the return-to-play protocols this week, and Darren Cave are the back-line reinforcements.
Ulster’s 1999 European Cup-winning squad will be in attendance on Saturday and will be introduced to the crowd on the pitch just before 3pm. Supporters are encouraged to arrive early and to collect a complimentary Ulster Rugby flag upon entering the stadium. Gates will open at 1.15pm.
Meanwhile, Racing 92 coaches Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers have made three changes to the side that defeated Toulon 22-13 in the Top 14 last weekend. Teddy Thomas’ injury sees Simon Zebo move to the right wing with Brice Dulin coming in at full-back.
Maxime Machenaud swaps in for Teddy Iribaren at scrum half, partnering in-form Scotsman Finn Russell, while Ben Tameifuna replaces the injured Cedate Gomes Sa at tighthead prop. Along with tricky winger Thomas, Camille Chat and Donnacha Ryan are also notable absentees.
ULSTER: Louis Ludik; Robert Baloucoune, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Billy Burns, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, Rory Best (capt), Martin Moore, Alan O’Connor, Kieran Treadwell, Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, Marcell Coetzee.
Replacements: Rob Herring, Andrew Warwick, Ross Kane, Ian Nagle, Nick Timoney, David Shanahan, Michael Lowry, Darren Cave.
RACING 92: Brice Dulin; Simon Zebo, Virimi Vakatawa, Henry Chavancy, Juan Imhoff; Finn Russell, Maxime Machenaud; Guram Gogichashvili, Dimitri Szarzewski (capt), Ben Tameifuna, Bernard le Roux, Leone Nakarawa, Wenceslas Lauret, Baptiste Chouzenoux, Antonie Claassen.
Replacements: Teddy Baubigny, Vasil Kakovin, Georges Henri Colombe, Boris Palu, Fabien Sanconnie, Teddy Iribaren, Olivier Klemenczak, Ben Volavola.
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Jackson, Wayne Falla (both England)
Television Match Official: Geoff Warren (England)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 6/4; Draw: 18/1; Racing 92 to win: 4/7
Pre-Match Quotes: Rory Best (Ulster) – “We’re just preparing a lot better. We were trying to prepare and put some things in place, but I think, by and large, there’s a lot more stability around the place from top to bottom to start with.
“Even last Thursday when you watched training, there was a lot of intensity which we probably wouldn’t have got last year. Those are the encouraging signs that you have to keep building on, and I think we said way back in September or October, for this group, it’s about continuing to put steps forward, and along the way there will be steps back. But this is a massive opportunity to step forward.
“With the position we’re in, we have a real possibility to go through, and I think it’ll be a sign of how far we’ve come. I think the difference is we’ve looked a bit stronger getting into this position this year.
“I think this team is a lot less reliant on individual talent, and a lot more reliant on playing together as a team…making sure everyone does their bit, so that we can succeed. We’re trying to play more as a team, with a bit more width, a bit more speed. I think we’re better at holding onto the ball than we maybe were in the past.
“I think certainly our collective is our strong point rather than a scattering of world class players throughout. That’s the sort of team everyone wants to play in, it’s the one you get the most satisfaction in playing in. For me, it’s always been about the team. To be in an organisation that puts a lot of value in that, and puts a lot of value on small things, which not everyone sees, but they all add up. It’s really important to us, and Dan (McFarland) puts a lot of value in that.
“When you talk about the European Cup, and the form teams and the teams that are favourites to win it, it is hard to look past Racing, Leinster, and Saracens. That’s what we are going to come up against. That is why European rugby is so exciting. We know they are going to come here with a fully loaded team, they are going to want to come here and make sure they can almost guarantee their home quarter-final with a win here.
“But we can take the confidence from knowing it can be achieved, it has been historically achieved by this team at this ground. We cannot rely on the fact that we are going to be here, hopefully a sell-out, hoping that is going to be enough to beat a team like Racing. But really it is not.
“It is going to take, if you want, that 16th man, but it is going to take 15 men on the pitch giving absolutely everything they have and then it is going to take the bench coming on to lift the performance again to see it out.”
Current Form – Ulster – (GUINNESS PRO14): Won 15-13 v Scarlets (home), Won 30-29 v Edinburgh (home), Won 28-7 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), Drew 39-39 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), Lost 64-7 v Munster (away), Lost 22-15 v Connacht (home); (Heineken Champions Cup): Won 24-10 v Leicester Tigers (home), Lost 44-12 v Racing 92 (away); (GUINNESS PRO14): Won 36-18 v Dragons (home), Won 15-10 v Benetton Rugby (away), Lost 29-12 v Scarlets (away), Won 16-12 v Cardiff Blues (home); (Heineken Champions Cup): Won 25-24 v Scarlets (away), Won 30-15 v Scarlets (home); (GUINNESS PRO14): Won 19-12 v Munster (home), Lost 21-12 v Connacht (away), Lost 40-7 v Leinster (away)
Racing 92 – (Top 14 Championship): Won 25-9 v Toulon (away), Lost 40-17 v Clermont Auvergne (home), Won 59-7 v Agen (home), Lost 30-17 v Toulouse (away), Won 27-11 v Castres Olympique (home), Won 17-16 v Stade Francais (away), Lost 19-13 v Lyon (home); (Heineken Champions Cup): Won 14-13 v Scarlets (away), Won 44-12 v Ulster (home); (Top 14 Championship): Won 48-28 v Pau (home), Won 27-13 v Montpellier (away), Won 24-23 v Grenoble (home), Lost 16-11 v La Rochelle (away); (Heineken Champions Cup): Won 36-26 v Leicester Tigers (home), Won 34-11 v Leicester Tigers (away); (Top 14 Championship): Won 64-28 v Perpignan (home), Lost 40-7 v Bordeaux-Begles (away), Won 22-13 v Toulon (home)
Top Scorers – 2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup: Ulster – Points: John Cooney 29; Tries: Jacob Stockdale 4; Racing 92 – Points: Finn Russell 44; Tries: Juan Imhoff 4
Previous European Meetings: 1
Saturday, October 20, 2018 – Pool 4 – Racing 92 44 Ulster 12, Paris La Defense Arena
Match Facts –
– This will be the second meeting between Ulster and Racing 92, with the Top 14 club winning 44-12 in the round 2 clash at Paris La Defense Arena
– Racing are one of just three clubs to have won all four games this season, along with Toulouse and Saracens
– Ulster and Racing were the only two sides to claim maximum points in this season’s back-to-back matches, both registering bonus point victories home and away against the Scarlets and Leicester Tigers respectively
– Despite kicking from hand more often than any other side, Racing have made the most metres per game (566) and averaged the most clean breaks (13.8). Ulster have made the fourth most metres this season (474)
– No player has made more try assists this season than Ulster’s Billy Burns with four – level with Scarlets’ Gareth Davies and Joe Simpson of Wasps. Burns has provided two pass assists and two kick assists in his four games
– Racing prop Guram Gogichashvili has made 33 tackles without missing one this season, only Newcastle Falcons’ Mark Wilson (36/36) amd Montpellier’s Wian Liebenberg (34) have made more without missing one
– Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale and Racing 92’s Juan Imhoff have each scored four tries this season, no other player has scored more – they are level with Sean Maitland of Saracens and Toulouse’s Sofiane Guitoune). Stockdale is the only player to cross the try-line in every match this season
European Cup Records:
Ulster –
2017/18: Failed to qualify from Pool 1
2016/17: Failed to qualify from Pool 5
2015/16: Failed to qualify from Pool 1
2014/15: Failed to qualify from Pool 3
2013/14: Reached the quarter-finals
2012/13: Reached the quarter-finals
2011/12: Runners-up
2010/11: Reached the quarter-finals
2009/10: Failed to qualify from Pool 4
2008/09: Failed to qualify from Pool 4
2007/08: Failed to qualify from Pool 2
2006/07: Failed to qualify from Pool 5
2005/06: Failed to qualify from Pool 4
2004/05: Failed to qualify from Pool 6
2003/04: Failed to qualify from Pool 1
2002/03: Failed to qualify from Pool 6
2001/02: Failed to qualify from Pool 2
2000/01: Failed to qualify from Pool 3
1999/00: Failed to qualify from Pool 3
1998/99: Champions
1997/98: Failed to qualify from Pool B
1996/97: Failed to qualify from Pool C
1995/96: Failed to qualify from Pool B
Racing 92 –
2017/18: Runners-up
2016/17: Failed to qualify from Pool 1
2015/16: Runners-up
2014/15: Reached the quarter-finals
2013/14: Failed to qualify from Pool 4
2012/13: Failed to qualify from Pool 1
2011/12: Failed to qualify from Pool 2
2010/11: Failed to qualify from Pool 2
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