DOUBLE DELIGHT

It’s that time of year again where we can sit back and enjoy two great games in one weekend – first up are Ulster against defending Pro12 champions the Ospreys at Ravenhill tomorrow night, and then Ireland face off against England on Sunday in Dublin.

Neither are easy matches. Ulster are still in the midst of a mini-injury crisis and will be without influential prop John Afoa for their game, while Ireland come up against arguably the in-form side in the northern hemisphere right now. Will it be an Irish double or an overseas whitewash?

We’ll have to wait and see…

Different double

Ulster have never done the domestic double over their Welsh counterparts before. By this I mean Ulster haven’t beaten the Ospreys home and away in the same season – ever. After their gritty 16-13 win earlier in the season in the Liberty Stadium, Ulster will be confident that that record will be broken this weekend.

They have broken records already this season – first away win in France, best start to the season by an Ulster side and their first win over Leinster since 2009. To add to that would be another remarkable achievement for the Ulstermen and coach Mark Anscombe.

Standing in their way is an Ospreys side who aren’t in the best form. They are on a four match streak without a win and are desperately seeking something to get them back on track. An away trip to the runaway league leaders would not have been ideal for them. That said, they have only lost once in their last ten league encounters.

What will worry Ulster most this weekend will be the number of players available. Jared Payne, Adam D’Arcy, Tommy Bowe, Chris Farrell, Paddy McAllister, Adam Macklin, Stephen Ferris, Sean Doyle, Nick Williams and Roger Wilson all miss out due to injury, while Craig Gilroy, Paddy Jackson, Rory Best, Declan Fitzpatrick, Iain Henderson and Chris Henry are all called up to the Ireland squad. Sixteen absentees.

In their place come a raft of young players eager to make their mark. Ricky Andrew is improving with every game and I for one am looking forward to seeing him play again. Chris Cochrane and Mike Allen are two to look out for in the future and Ali Birch is hoping to make his mark on the side after a decent cameo against Munster.

But the main guy to watch out for this weekend is Stuart Olding. He has impressed on many occasions for the Ireland U20s and, like Birch, had a good cameo down in Limerick. Now he has got his chance outside Ruan Pienaar with a long awaited start for his province. If he can take it, then Ulster could be in the luxurious position of two young out-halves challenging for the starting position – something which every other club in Europe would love.

The Ospreys can also boast a strong side even in the middle of a Six Nations period. The return of Alun Wyn Jones from injury will be a great boost for the Swansea side, both physically and mentally. In-form scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i is an unbelievable player too, and Ulster would be wise to keep a close eye on him at all times.

If the weather holds out then this could be a cracker. But Ulster’s young guns will have to turn up, as will their old guys. The return of Johann Muller to captain the side will be an incredible psychological boost for the home side and should have enough influence to give Ulster the victory. Against such a good defensive side in the Ospreys however, a bonus point would be too much to ask though. Prediction – Ulster by 4.

Ulster v Ospreys

Ravenhill
Friday 8^th February, 19:05
RaboDirect PRO12, Round 14

ULSTER

15. Ricky Andrew, 14. Andrew Trimble, 13. Luke Marshall, 12. Paddy Wallace, 11. Mike Allen, 10. Stuart Olding, 9. Ruan Pienaar; 1. Callum Black, 2. Rob Herring, 3. Tom Court, 4. Johann Muller (c), 5. Lewis Stevenson, 6. Mike McComish, 7. Ali Birch, 8. Robbie Diack.

16. Niall Annett, 17. Ricky Lutton, 18. Andrew Warwick, 19. Dan Tuohy, 20. Neil McComb, 21. Paul Marshall, 22. Darren Cave, 23. Chris Cochrane.

OSPREYS

15. Richard Fussell, 14. Tom Habberfield, 13. Tom Isaacs, 12. Jonathan Spratt, 11. Ben John, 10. Matthew Morgan, 9. Kahn Fotuali’i (c); 1. Ryan Bevington, 2. Scott Baldwin, 3. Cai Griffiths, 4. Ian Gough, 5. James King, 6. Morgan Allen, 7. Sam Lewis, 8. Joe Bearman.

16. Matthew Dwyer, 17. Duncan Jones, 18. Dmitri Arhip, 19. Alun Wyn Jones, 20. Lloyd Peers, 21. Arthur Ellis, 22. Ross Jones, 23. Jamie Murphy.

Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR, 15^th competition game)

Assistant Referees: Paul Haycock, Nigel Correll (both IRFU)
Citing Commissioner: Peter Ferguson (IRFU)
TMO: Simon McDowell (IRFU)

Live on BBC NI and BBC Wales

Emerald shamrocks vs. Red roses

It’s only Round Two, but this match is already being touted as the one that will decide who wins the Six Nations. It may turn out to be, but personally I feel it’s a bit early to be calling it that. As Italy proved last week (congratulations to them by the way) anything can be done in rugby. Even the mighty French can be humbled when they are off their game.

This week the game will be won in one place – the scrum. I say this every week because there is the saying that “Forwards win games, backs decide by how much”, but this week I say it because I really think it. Whoever has the dominance in the scrum will walk this match. Will Ireland have that dominant scrum?

It’s a well known fact that England have a very strong scrum. They attack their opponents with brutal strength and it usually gives them a great platform to push on from and get their victories – just look at the Scotland match last week. England’s forwards were irresistibly good.

For Ireland to have any chance of getting the win and putting themselves as the front runners in the Six Nations then they will have to at least match the English up front. Ireland have the decisive backs to make the difference if they get the front foot ball. If they do, then they will win.

I wasn’t going to back Ireland to beat Wales last weekend and they proved me wrong. However, Welsh rugby is in a poor place at the moment and they will be struggling to do well this season. This weekend I think it will be a big wake up call for the Irish – I backed England to do the Grand Slam at the beginning of the tournament and I still think they will. I really hope I’m wrong though. Prediction – England by 6.

Ireland v England

Aviva Stadium
Sunday 10^th February, 15:00
RBS Six Nations, Round 2

IRELAND*

15. Rob Kearney (Leinster), 14. Simon Zebo (Munster), 13. Brian O’Driscoll (Leinster), 12. Gordon D’Arcy (Leinster), 11. Craig Gilroy (Ulster), 10. Jonathan Sexton (Leinster), 9. Conor Murray (Munster); 1. Cian Healy (Leinster), 2. Rory Best (Ulster), 3. Mike Ross (Leinster), 4. Mike McCarthy (Connacht), 5. Donnacha Ryan (Munster), 6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster), 7. Sean O’Brien (Leinster), 8. Jamie Heaslip (c) (Leinster).

16. Sean Cronin (Leinster), 17. David Kilcoyne (Munster), 18. Declan Fitzpatrick (Ulster), 19. Donncha O’Callaghan (Munster), 20. Chris Henry (Ulster), 21. Eoin Reddan (Leinster), 22. Ronan O’Gara (Munster), 23. Keith Earls (Munster).

ENGLAND*

15. Alex Goode (Saracens), 14. Chris Ashton (Saracens), 13. Manu Tuilagi (Leicester), 12. Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), 11. Mike Brown (Harlequins), 10. Owen Farrell (Saracens), 9. Danny Care (Harlequins); 1. Joe Marler (Harlequins), 2. Dylan Hartley (Northampton), 3. Dan Cole (Leicester), 4. Joe Launchbury (Wasps), 5. Geoff Parling (Leicester), 6. James Haskell (Wasps), 7. Chris Robshaw (c) (Harlequins), 8. Tom Wood (Northampton).

16. Tom Youngs (Leicester), 17. Mako Vunipola (Saracens), 18. David Wilson (Bath), 19. Courtney Lawes (Northampton), 20. Thomas Waldrom (Leicester), 21. Ben Youngs (Leicester), 22. Toby Flood (Leicester), 23. Brad Barritt (Saracens).

Referee: Jerome Garces (France)

Assistant Referees: Nigel Owens (WRU), Pascal Gauzere (Fra)
TMO: Iain Ramage (SRU)
Assessor: Donal Courtney (IRFU)

*Predicted teams