Hands up if you think Faloon should be playing!
Ulster Coach Brian McLaughlin has named a 34 man squad ahead of this weekend’s trip to Italy where Ulster will face Aironi in Round 4 of the Heineken Cup in Monza.
Ulster secured the a vital five points from last week’s encounter with the Italians at Ravenhill with tries for Adam D’Arcy, Stephen Ferris, Andrew Trimble, Ian Humphreys and Paddy Jackson. Centre Nevin Spence left the field during last week’s game with a rib injury but will be assessed throughout the week and has not been ruled out of contention for selection at this stage.
Elsewhere in the Pool, Clermont defeated Leicester at the Stade Marcel Michelin 30-12 on Sunday with no bonus points scored, making Pool 4 the tightest in the tournament at this stage with just 2 points separating the top three teams.
The Ulster starting XV and replacements will be named on Friday at 12 noon.
Forwards: Paddy McAllister, Callum Black, Tom Court, Adam Macklin, John Afoa, Jerry Cronin, Andi Kyriacou, Nigel Brady, Rory Best, Lewis Stevenson, Johann Muller (captain), Dan Tuohy, Tim Barker, Neil McComb, Stephen Ferris, Michael McComish, Pedrie Wannenburg, Willie Faloon, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack
Backs: Paul Marshall, Ian Porter, Ruan Pienaar, Ian Humphreys, Patrick Jackson, Nevin Spence, Luke Marshall, Ian Whitten, Darren Cave, Craig Gilroy, Simon Danielli, Andrew Trimble, Adam D’Arcy, Stefan Terblanche
Unavailable due to injury:
Paddy Wallace, Jared Payne, Declan Fitzpatrick
With a physical backlash expected from the Italians on their own turf it’s my expectation that McLaughs will go pretty much with the same again with the only possible change being Whitten in for Spence should Spence fail to recover.
Unfortunately I can’t see them changing the balance of the back row, which is a pity, as a couple of quick turnovers from Faloon and the game could be over after 20 minutes!
Probable Ulster (15-9): Adam D’Arcy, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Craig Gilroy, Ian Humphreys, Ruan Pienaar. (1-8): Paddy McAllister, Rory Best, John Afoa, Johann Muller (capt), Dan Tuohy, Stephen Ferris, Chris Henry, Pedrie Wannenburg. (16-23): Andi Kyriacou, Tom Court, Adam Macklin, Louis Stevenson, Robbie Diack, Paul Marshall, Patrick Jackson, Stefan Terblanche.
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