Barker to start for a war of attrition? Picture by Darren Kidd|Presseye
Ulster have stripped the squad down to the bare bones, announcing only 31 players this week!
Ian Humphreys and BJ Botha came through their return game against the Scarlets unscathed last week and are named in the squad. Stephen Ferris is the only player unavailable as he is still suffering with a knee problem.
This year is the first time Ulster have reached the quarter-final stage since they won the competition back in 1999. If the Irish province win they will face either Perpignon or Toulon in a semi final in Dublin.
Ulster come into the game on the back of six straight wins while Northampton have won their previous three. Northampton also came through the pool stages of the Heineken Cup unbeaten.
The match day squad will be announced by 12 noon on Friday.
Forwards: Jerry Cronin, Declan Fitzpatrick, Tom Court, BJ Botha, Paddy McAllister, Bryan Young, Rory Best, Nigel Brady, Andi Kyriacou, Ryan Caldwell, Dan Tuohy, Johann Muller, Tim Barker, Pedrie Wannenburg, TJ Anderson, Willie Faloon, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack.
Backs: Ruan Pienaar, Paul Marshall, Ian Humphreys, Niall O’Connor, Ian Whitten, Nevin Spence, Paddy Wallace, Darren Cave, Andrew Trimble, Simon Danielli, Craig Gilroy, Jamie Smith, Adam D’Arcy.
Can’t really see many changes from last weekend with the possible exceptions of Henry/Diack in the back row and Whitten/Cave on the bench. Barker and Tuohy may be another variable.
If we’re expecting a war of attrition up front then I would start with Henry and Barker, giving a real option to speed things up in the second half with the likes of Kyriacou, McAllister, Tuohy and Diack all to be sprung for the last 30 mins.
Certainly bringing on that quartet would be enough to speed up any game, and now that I see it in writing it’s so obvious that I hope I haven’t given the game away.
The FRONTROWUNION XXIII: (15-9): Adam D’Arcy, Andrew Trimble, Nevin Spence, Paddy Wallace, Simon Danielli, Ian Humphreys, Ruan Pienaar. (1-8): Tom Court, Rory Best, BJ Botha, Johann Muller, Tim Barker, Chris Henry, Willie Faloon, Pedrie Wannenburg; (16-23): Andi Kyriacou, Paddy McAllister, Declan Fitzpatrick, Dan Tuohy, Robbie Diack, Paul Marshall, Ian Whitten, Craig Gilroy.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.