Ulster Coach Brian McLaughlin has named a 27-man squad ahead of this Friday’s Heineken Cup opener against Aironi at Ravenhill (KO 7.30pm).
The team have been working hard in training and are ready for Friday night in a confident mood having remained unbeaten so far.
The only injury concern this week is Stephen Ferris, who won’t be selected but Niall O’Connor is fit and availalble.
FORWARDS: Tom Court, Paddy McAllister, Bryan Young, BJ Botha, Rory Best, Nigel Brady, Andi Kyriacou, Tim Barker, Johann Muller, Ryan Caldwell, Dan Tuohy, Willie Faloon, Robbie Diack, Pedrie Wannenburg, Chris Henry
BACKS: David McIlwaine, Jamie Smith, Simon Danielli, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Paddy Wallace, Ian Humphreys, Niall O’Connor, Ruan Pienaar, Paul Marshall, Ian Porter
Doesn’t really tell us a lot though the interesting point I was going to make is that with Porter and Marshall both in the squad ?????????????????does this mean that they are considering Pienaar at out-half? Well, not really, ‘cos when you look round you have surplus second rows, surplus hookers, surplus centres and even surplus out-halfs so an additional scrum-half really doesn’t add up to much. Or does it?
Don’t really know what’s the problem with Humphreys and McLough’s this season, but if there was ever a game you were going to play iHumph in this would be it and maybe the injury to O’Connor last weekend brought home the realisation that iHumph needs to get some quality game time under his belt as he’s going to be needed sooner or later.
So this week I’m going to select the team that should play and not necessarily the one that I think will play so here goes: -
(15-9) Smith, Trimble, Cave, Wallace, Danielli, Humphreys, Pienaar. (1-8) Court, Best, Botha, Muller, Barker, Wannenburg, Faloon, Diack. (16-23) Kyriacou, Young, McAllister, Caldwell, Henry, Porter, Whitten, McIlwaine.
What’s your XXIII? Let us know below.
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5 Responses to “Aironi Squad – Who’ll join Pienaar this week?”
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Wallace at out-half.
Whitten at 12.
Humphreys on the bench.
Wouldn’t start a player with no match fitness in such a game, particularly one so notoriously inconsistent. Wallace and Whitten are a reasonable pairing for grinding out a lead so we can comfortably cut about and hunt tries with time to go – at which point, we go to Pienaar/Humphreys/Wallace and hope everything’s firing. That would be sexual.
NOC is rested to get over his sprained ankle properly in time for his part in the attempt to bore Biarritz to death.
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I’m surprised you rugger experts can’t read between the lines. I am getting bored spelling out the team every week and receiving nothing but abuse so this week I am only going to tell you the answer to the question on everyone’s lips, who is playing 10.
And the answer is IAN HUMPHREYS. It is the only and logical choice.
Feel free to bring on the abuse if you are prepared to grovel when the team is announced.
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No Marshall? Poor decision
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I’ll go with your team as my optimum choice Ed. I hope your right!
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You may well be right Raven, but I stand by what I posted as my favoured option. I don’t care who plays as long as it works.
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