Thirty seven days after we announced his arrival we finally see Stefan Terblanche in a team list!
Ulster have included new signing Stefan Terblanche in their provisional squad ahead of Friday’s Heineken Cup round 3 fixture against Aironi at Ravenhill (kick off 7.30pm).
The South African fullback arrived in Belfast over the weekend and is in contention to play some part against the Italians. The 36 year old has been drafted in on a short term deal as cover for Jared Payne who has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Declan Fitzpatrick is again ruled out with a neck injury suffered in the Glasgow game two weeks ago. Ruan Pienaar came through his 20 minute cameo against Scarlets on Friday unscathed and is back in contention for a starting place.
The Ulstermen shared a pool with Aironi in last season’s tournament and picked up 10 points from the two games, scoring ten tries in the process. They are well aware that the same may be required if they are progress to the quarter finals for the second consecutive year.
This season, Ulster currently sit in third place after two rounds, two points behind Clermont Auvergne and four behind leaders Leicester. Friday’s opponents Aironi are yet to register a point in this year’s competition.
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, Paddy 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
There ain’t going to be a lot of changes to the side that featured against Scarlets and a similar effort is going to be required if Ulster are to rescue anything out of this topsy turvy season.
The improvements against Scarlets, when Ulster recycled quick ball and showed a bit of imagination in the backs, were a step in the right direction, even if they were far from perfect in their execution, but these are skills that have to be forged in the heat of battle!
These back to back matches against Aironi offer Ulster the perfect chance to further develop their new “heads up” style of rugby and it will be interesting to see how players and coaches respond, first at Ravenhill and then in Monza?
With our “Galáctico” of stars mostly available (well maybe Galáctico is just a little too expansive for our band of god fearing mercenaries – medium sized Nebulae is perhaps more fitting) we should be beating the likes of Aironi fairly comfortably through brute force and ignorance and playing that fairly limited game with an extra sprinkling of aggression we managed to put 10 tries past them last season.
This time round I’d like to see a bit more finesse in the mix, something a bit less predictable, executed at pace and with precision. A style we can develop over the seasons and something that allows us to seamlessly slot in the quick witted and talented, but comparatively titchy, little feckers we’re bringing through the Academy.
Hopefully they have been lining up as the seniors against the Ravens this week and they have tried to develop a faster paced style, as they certainly can play it. Witness 13 months ago as a comparatively titchy Ravens side rip a strong Leinster A apart before the joy of rugby was beaten out of them!
Likely Ulster (15-9): Adam D’Arcy, Andrew Trimble, Darren Cave, Nevin Spence, Craig Gilroy, Ian Humphreys, Ruan Pienaar. (1-8): T0m Court, Rory Best, John Afoa, Johann Muller (capt), Dan Tuohy, Stevie Ferris, Willie Faloon, Pedrie Wannenburg. (16-23): Andi Kyriacou, Paddy McAllister, Adam Macklin, Louis Stevenson, Chris Henry, Paul Marshall, Ian Whitten, Stefan Terblanche.
Likely Ravens: The rest plus some more players from Ballymena, Hinch, Dungannon and Quins!
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