But this
year, it all begins in Ravenhill against the French…
Eur-up for a fight
Castres
will not roll over. While we all know that, it’s worth pointing it out. There
is no room for complacency anywhere in the Heineken Cup – as Toulouse rudely
found out in Scotland last year. Underestimate sides at your peril.
It’s not
just the opposition that could worry us. Our fine home record is one which we
will undoubtedly want to keep. Eleven games unbeaten in the Heineken, the
pressure is on to make that twelve. And then thirteen. And then fourteen.
But Ulster
have soaked up all of the pressure they’ve faced so far, and that is why they
are unbeaten. Cardiff away was proof of that. Ulster will need all the guts and
skill they had that night to come away with five points tomorrow.
But five
points will be the last thing on Mark Anscombe’s mind at the moment. Indeed, if
offered, I’m sure he would snatch at a scrappy one point win. Momentum is what
you need in the Heineken Cup, and any kind of win will get that ball rolling.
And once the Ulster ball is rolling, it’s very hard to stop.
So to the
game itself and it will prove to be a big game in Ulster’s season.
In the
PRO12 you can afford a couple of slip ups. The Scarlets have already lost twice
and are only a point behind us (albeit with one more game played than us). In
the Heineken Cup, once you lose, you’re on the back foot.
Ulster
MUST win.
This year
we don’t have Aironi to fall back on. In the last two years, we had them as a
ten-pointer. This year, none of the teams would fall into that category. It’s a
competitive pool.
It’s a bit
of a disappointment though, that Castres will come with a weakened side. Their
best team was on show last week at the Stade Pierre-Antoine against Clermont –
the team playing tomorrow has 9 changes. It is rather clear where the French
side’s priorities lie, and while it is good for us, it is upsetting for fans
that there won’t be two full strength sides going at each other.
On a
positive note, we say a big welcome back to Pedrie Wannenburg who will start at
number 8 for the visitors. A loyal servant of Ulster Rugby for two years, he
will be received with open arms – unless he scores against us!
In the
match, they will come with a very strong scrum. It’s a typical French trait –
strong scrums and drop-kicking backs. With the way our front row has been
performing, I should sincerely hope this would not be an issue for us. Court,
Best and Afoa form one of the top scrummaging front rows in the entire rugby
world, let alone the Northern Hemisphere and it should negate the French
effort.
And after
mentioning the drop-kicking trait of the French, I have to highlight a Castres
player who is no doubt their key man. Romain Teulet, playing at full-back can
hit the target from anywhere inside the opposition half and Ulster will need
the penalty count to be low. Very low.
And on the
bench they have a certain Rory Kockott, who is so good, we were linked with him
as a replacement for Isaac Boss. Thank goodness we got someone else…
Yes, Ruan
Pienaar is back at Ravenhill for the first time this year (hooray!) and is
ready to continue his fine form he showed for the Springboks. Despite the fact
he will begin tomorrow’s game on the bench, we will undoubtedly see him in
action in the second half.
We will be
looking to put four tries away against Castres, be sure of that. But Ulster’s
backline will have to show a lot more exciting play than what they did against
Connacht. They were subdued for most of the night by a solid Connacht defence
and will want to be let loose in the Heineken Cup. I’m hoping this will set up
for a try-fest now!
So, we
begin. I’m predicting Ulster will get off to a good start against a strong
French side and this will set them up nicely for Glasgow next week. Deny them
the losing bonus point? Yes. Bonus point for us? Hard to call. Ah, go on, it’s
the Heineken Cup! Prediction – Ulster
by 24 (TBP).
Ravenhill,
8pm
ULSTER
15. Jared
Payne, 14. Tommy Bowe, 13. Darren Cave, 12. Paddy Wallace, 11. Andrew Trimble,
10. Paddy Jackson, 9. Paul Marshall, 8. Stephen Ferris, 7. Chris Henry, 6. Iain
Henderson, 5. Dan Tuohy, 4. Johann Muller (capt.), 3. John Afoa, 2. Rory Best,
1. Tom Court.
Subs: 16.
Rob Herring, 17. Callum Black, 18. Adam Macklin, 19. Lewis Stevenson, 20. Mike McComish, 21. Ruan Pienaar, 22. Luke Marshall, 23. Craig Gilroy.
CASTRES
15. Romain
Teulet, 14. Marcel Garvey, 13. Seremaia Bai, 12. Daniel Kirkpatrick, 11. Marc
Andreu, 10. Pierre Bernard, 9. Thierry Lacrampe, 8. Pedrie Wannenburg, 7. Yannick
Caballero, 6. Piula Faasalele, 5. Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 4. Matthias Rolland, 3. Michael
Coetzee, 2. Mathieu Bonello, 1. Yannick Forestier.
Subs: 16. Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17. Gregory Marmoiton, 18. Mihaita
Lazar, 19. Iosefa Tekori, 20. Antonie Claassen, 21. Rory Kockott, 22. Paul
Bonnefond, 23. Thomas Sanchou.
Referee:
Andrew Small (RFU)
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