More than likely the player that keeps his eyes open will get the start on Saturday!
Ulster have named a 34 man squad ahead of Saturday’s winner-takes-all Heineken Cup clash against ASM Clermont Auvergne at the Stade Marcel Michelin.
Centre Darren Cave will miss the trip after he picked up a foot injury in Friday’s win over Leicester Tigers at Ravenhill. He is likely to be out for six weeks with ligament damage.
There are no other fresh injuries from the weekend and Paddy McAllister is back in contention for selection after missing the previous three games through injury. Nevin Spence has been back at training for over a week and will compete with Ian Whitten to partner Paddy Wallace in Cave’s absence.
Clermont haven’t lost at Stade Marcel Michelin since November 2009, highlighting the difficulty of the task facing Ulster. Coach Brian McLaughlin will be quietly confident in the approach to the game following a comprehensive 41-7 win over Leicester at the weekend.
Ulster are currently top of Pool 4 on 19 points, with Clermont three behind on 16. Ulster know that a win or draw in France would be enough to secure their progression to the last eight as group winners. Even a loss by less than 5 points, providing they score the same amount of tries as Clermont on Saturday, would be enough. If Clermont win by more than that margin, Ulster will then be in contention for one of the best runner-up spots, but their fate is out of their hands. If Toulouse and Harlequins win on Friday night, and Cardiff and Edinburgh win on Sunday, Ulster will have to settle for a place in the quarter finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup.
Forwards: Callum Black, Tom Court, Adam Macklin, John Afoa, Jerry Cronin, Paddy McAllister, Andi Kyriacou, Nigel Brady, Rory Best, Lewis Stevenson, Johann Muller (captain), Dan Tuohy, Tim Barker, Neil McComb, Stephen Ferris, Pedrie Wannenburg, Willie Faloon, Mike McComish, Chris Henry, Robbie Diack
Backs: Paul Marshall, Ruan Pienaar, Ian Porter, Ian Humphreys, Paddy Jackson, Paddy Wallace, Ian Whitten, Nevin Spence, Stefan Terblanche, Craig Gilroy, Simon Danielli, Conor Gaston, Andrew Trimble, Adam D’Arcy
Unavailable due to injury:
Declan Fitzpatrick, Jared Payne, Peter Nelson, Darren Cave
We’ll probably have a clearer picture on Thursday when the Ravens side is announced but more than likely it will be the same again for Ulster with Whitten coming into 13 for the injured Cave and Spence taking the bench spot.
Our fiends over on Paddy Powers are giving Ulster a rather generous 12 point start in this game at the moment, though that handicap may change, and I think it will be a lot closer than that so why not avail of their offer of a free £50 bet if you sign up through this link FREE 350 BET IF YOU SIGN UP WITH PADDY POWER THROUGH THE FRONT ROW UNION.
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