PRO12 - ULSTER v SCARLETS

At Ravespan Stadium, 7:05pm. Live on BBC Sport NI/BBC Wales

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU, 27th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Cammy Rudkin (SRU), Shane Kierans (IRFU)
Citing Commissioner: Eddie Walsh (IRFU)
TMO: Charles Samson (SRU)


The last time the Ulstermen started a PRO12 campaign with three straight victories was in season 2012/13, where they did not lose their first match until round 12.

Ulster have lost just once at Kingspan Stadium since early January: 20-21 to Scarlets on 21 February.

Scarlets have won only one of their last six Guinness PRO12 fixtures: over Newport Gwent Dragons on “Judgement Day” in April.

Scarlets only victory in their last twelve visits to an Irish province in any tournament was in Belfast in February.

Scarlets won both matches against Ulster in the Guinness PRO12 last season but have never won three in a row against the Irish province.

Overall Guinness PRO12 head to head record:
Played 27, Ulster won 14, Scarlets won 11 and 2 games drawn.

ULSTER MATCH DAY SQUAD
15 C Piutau
14 C Gilroy
13 S Olding
12 S McCloskey
11 L Ludik
10 P Jackson
9 R Pienaar

1 C Black
2 R Herring (captain)
3 R Ah You
4 P Browne
5 A O'Connor
6 C Ross
7 S Reidy
8 R Diack

Replacements (16-23): J Andrew, A Warwick, R Kane, F van der Merwe, I Henderson, A Lloyd, L Marshall, R Lyttle.

SCARLETS MATCH DAY SQUAD
15 A Thomas
14 L Williams
13 Jonathan Davies
12 H Parkes
11 S Evans
10 R Patchell
9 G Davies

1 W Jones
2 K Owens (capt)
3 W Kruger
4 J Ball
5 D Bulbring
6 L Rawlins
7 James Davies
8 J Barclay

Replacements: R Elias, L Garrett, P Edwards, T Beirne, W Boyde, Aled Davies, S Williams, S Hughes.

I thought it was high time we started conversing. Let us converse

Ulster should win this by less than 7 on paper. Looking at the teams though, Scarlets were rubbish against Edinburgh (who themselves have been rubbish) and Ulster have yet to be properly tested.

I expect Scarlets to come out fully charged and Ulster to maybe be a bit more complacent. If Ulster get Jackson back I will still favour them otherwise I feel Scarlets may sneak it.

May as well get it in now... Goodnight Scarlets.

Scarlets have become a bit of a bogey team for us and I am never confident against them. If they click they can be devastatingly effective and have the backline to take on anyone.
We should have a few of the internationals back but they will be rusty so will need to hit the ground running, or at least jogging. I won't even attempt to call this one as it's all on the day and who turns up wanting the win more.
I am however confident of a good match with Ben Whitehouse in control. He's quickly become my favourite Pro12 ref and lets the players decide the outcome. That's even though he's obviously going to be biased because he's Welsh which is worth 5 to 7 points to the Scarlets (please note, for all the dimwits, the little face is added as this is meant in jest)

I can only see one result and that result is a win for Ulster. The Scarlets will certainly lose, IMO, but maybe we'll get a losing bonus point. We miss Phil John, Rhys Priestland, Steve Shingler, George Earle, Harry Robinson, George North and Regan King.

Dear god

Whitehouse was probably the top ref last season even above Owens. Still frustrating that a WRU official is in control of a Welsh team but until the SRU and FIR can provide 3-4 refs it will have to keep happening.

Hazel Sapling wrote:Whitehouse was probably the top ref last season even above Owens. Still frustrating that a WRU official is in control of a Welsh team but until the SRU and FIR can provide 3-4 refs it will have to keep happening.

I'd pick Whitehouse any time whether it was a Welsh side or not. Great ref who lets the game flow as best he can, very much in the Owens mould.

Hopefully Jackson and Henderson return for this game along with Ah You. I also want to see what I believe is our strongest centre pairing in McCloskey and Marshall, even if McCloskey has looked a little off form.
Scarlets are under a bit of pressure and will throw everything at us. The results don't show it but they do have a very good backline. If they can manage to get their backline to click, and match us up front, they could prove a serious challenge.
With home advantage I think Ulster will win a tight game. I'm not expecting a stroll. I will be very happy with a 4 point win, delighted with a bonus point win, gutted if we lose.

Ah, I miss my Ulster buddies - you really need to cheer up though gents.

The season has only just got underway and the team is looking good.

Hazel Sapling wrote:Whitehouse was probably the top ref last season even above Owens. Still frustrating that a WRU official is in control of a Welsh team but until the SRU and FIR can provide 3-4 refs it will have to keep happening.

Ben Whitehouse hails from the Ospreys region and Dan Biggar is a mate of his, as such I would be very suprised if he showed any bias towards the Sarlets who are the Ospreys biggest rivals!

Seagultaf wrote:

Hazel Sapling wrote:Whitehouse was probably the top ref last season even above Owens. Still frustrating that a WRU official is in control of a Welsh team but until the SRU and FIR can provide 3-4 refs it will have to keep happening.

Ben Whitehouse hails from the Ospreys region and Dan Biggar is a mate of his, as such I would be very suprised if he showed any bias towards the Sarlets who are the Ospreys biggest rivals!

Doesn't really matter - you either want refs from a neutral country or you don't. I think it's usually just an excuse to yap about the mistakes refs make, and make them sound more sinister than simple misjudgment.

Personally, I would suspect rather than being unbiased because he's mates with an Osprey, Ben Whitehouse will be fair because he's an excellent ref - one of the best in the Pro12.

mikey_dragon wrote:Dear god

He's great isn't he? reminds of the old poster Neil jenkins sock, wugbee etc who'd change his name every month or so. Yet he was an Ospreys "fan"
As for Whitehouse, I knew i'd seen him before. He reffed my lads U10's game last year, looked all official in his WRU gear and giving the proper signals but was great with the kids tbf..

George Carlin wrote:Ah, I miss my Ulster buddies - you really need to cheer up though gents.

The season has only just got underway and the team is looking good.

Oi, where have you been, we've had to do our own match posts while you've been swanning about the forum

This has the potential to be a good game, being Belfast though we are likely to have a downpour for 5 hours before the game and it becomes a real up the jumper affair

Any luck Frank Mitchell will say it'll rain and we'll be grand

Jackson and Trimble expected to make a return as well as Piutau and Gilroy from their short term injuries. So far so good

Ulster team

Ulster team added to topic header

Ulster's backline is ridiculous. If they get a good back up 9 developed, they could argue with the Toulon's and Racing's of the world for top backline of Europe.

Scarlets: A Thomas, L Williams, Jonathan Davies, H Parkes, S Evans, R Patchell, G Davies, W Jones, K Owens (capt), W Kruger, J Ball, D Bulbring, L Rawlins, James Davies, J Barclay.

Replacements: R Elias, L Garrett, P Edwards, T Beirne, W Boyde, Aled Davies, S Williams, S Hughes

marty2086 wrote:Ulster team

Close to our strongest starting backline, although Jackson might be a bit rusty (no pun intended ). Not close to being our strongest starting pack, and just hope the line-out is much improved from last week. Great to see Henderson back, but wouldn't expect too much from him on his return.

Its actually good to see some rotation in the forwards, think we have had a tendency in the past to flog guys like vDM and they are running on empty come the end of the season

Henderson off the bench should hopefully make an impact against a tiring Scarlets

marty2086 wrote:Its actually good to see some rotation in the forwards, think we have had a tendency in the past to flog guys like vDM and they are running on empty come the end of the season

Henderson off the bench should hopefully make an impact against a tiring Scarlets

I agree, marty, although we need our key players for the more challenging games, such as v Scarlets. I was speaking more of our backrow. No Henry, Wilson or Coetzee, and with Henderson staring his first game from the bench. Hopefully Reidy and Ross will rip up trees while Diack concentrates on the saplings.

Scarlets: A Thomas, L Williams, Jonathan Davies, H Parkes, S Evans, R Patchell, G Davies, W Jones, K Owens (capt), W Kruger, J Ball, D Bulbring, L Rawlins, James Davies, J Barclay.

Replacements: R Elias, L Garrett, P Edwards, T Beirne, W Boyde, Aled Davies, S Williams, S Hughes.

Munchkin wrote:

marty2086 wrote:Its actually good to see some rotation in the forwards, think we have had a tendency in the past to flog guys like vDM and they are running on empty come the end of the season

Henderson off the bench should hopefully make an impact against a tiring Scarlets

I agree, marty, although we need our key players for the more challenging games, such as v Scarlets. I was speaking more of our backrow. No Henry, Wilson or Coetzee, and with Henderson staring his first game from the bench. Hopefully Reidy and Ross will rip up trees while Diack concentrates on the saplings.

We have nothing but challenging games over the next few months, after Scarlets we have Glasgow, Ospreys, Connacht, Bordeaux, Exeter, Munster then a trip to Edinburgh where we don't always perform so best getting some of the guys games early to sharpen them up for when we need them down the line

Henry and Coetzee won't be around until New Year so the back row guys need to be playing and its clear Wilson can't play every game. Ideally we could do with some of the young backrowers coming in and staking a claim

marty2086 wrote:

Munchkin wrote:

marty2086 wrote:Its actually good to see some rotation in the forwards, think we have had a tendency in the past to flog guys like vDM and they are running on empty come the end of the season

Henderson off the bench should hopefully make an impact against a tiring Scarlets

I agree, marty, although we need our key players for the more challenging games, such as v Scarlets. I was speaking more of our backrow. No Henry, Wilson or Coetzee, and with Henderson staring his first game from the bench. Hopefully Reidy and Ross will rip up trees while Diack concentrates on the saplings.

We have nothing but challenging games over the next few months, after Scarlets we have Glasgow, Ospreys, Connacht, Bordeaux, Exeter, Munster then a trip to Edinburgh where we don't always perform so best getting some of the guys games early to sharpen them up for when we need them down the line

Henry and Coetzee won't be around until New Year so the back row guys need to be playing and its clear Wilson can't play every game. Ideally we could do with some of the young backrowers coming in and staking a claim

If we are to have a hope of reaching top 2, we need to be putting away the bottom and mid-table sides, and winning our home games against the top sides. Some challenges are tougher than others. Home games should be less of a challenge than away games. 5 from 6 would be a great result before the PRO12 break, if we can manage to get a result against either Glasgow or Connacht away. However, I'm not underestimating the challenge of Scarlets or Ospreys at Ravers.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:Scarlets: A Thomas, L Williams, Jonathan Davies, H Parkes, S Evans, R Patchell, G Davies, W Jones, K Owens (capt), W Kruger, J Ball, D Bulbring, L Rawlins, James Davies, J Barclay.

Replacements: R Elias, L Garrett, P Edwards, T Beirne, W Boyde, Aled Davies, S Williams, S Hughes.

If the Scarlets are looking to Aled Thomas and Rawlins as the men to stop the rot, then things must be getting pretty desperate at PYS!

Ulster vs Europes best backline. Should be a cracker!

Munchkin wrote:
If we are to have a hope of reaching top 2, we need to be putting away the bottom and mid-table sides, and winning our home games against the top sides. Some challenges are tougher than others. Home games should be less of a challenge than away games. 5 from 6 would be a great result before the PRO12 break, if we can manage to get a result against either Glasgow or Connacht away. However, I'm not underestimating the challenge of Scarlets or Ospreys at Ravers.

I think its the perfect time to do it, maybe next week it'll be Henderson at 6 with Ross on the bench and Wilson at 8, I think we have enough about us to at least target 6 from 6 and it should be the attitude we take.

Back rows the one area we are really lacking depth and need to manage the few we have left standing at the minute

marty2086 wrote:

Munchkin wrote:
If we are to have a hope of reaching top 2, we need to be putting away the bottom and mid-table sides, and winning our home games against the top sides. Some challenges are tougher than others. Home games should be less of a challenge than away games. 5 from 6 would be a great result before the PRO12 break, if we can manage to get a result against either Glasgow or Connacht away. However, I'm not underestimating the challenge of Scarlets or Ospreys at Ravers.

I think its the perfect time to do it, maybe next week it'll be Henderson at 6 with Ross on the bench and Wilson at 8, I think we have enough about us to at least target 6 from 6 and it should be the attitude we take.

Back rows the one area we are really lacking depth and need to manage the few we have left standing at the minute

It will be the attitude, I'm certain. The reality is that we will lose games throughout the season, barring a miracle, and 1 loss from 6 wouldn't be a bad return on the opening 6 games. 6 from 6 would be a fantastic result but I will settle for 5

What do you think the Scarlets best backrowers would be if all players were available?

Who's excited?
Anyone?
No?

Not really Pete

Can't see the Scarlets winning tonight. Will have to wait until next week for the first win of the season against Connacht I think.

I can only see Ulster winning and winning comfortably as well. A losing bonus point would be an overachievement for the Scarlets.

The weather forecast is good for this game. The Scarlets have no excuse now, they can't blame the weather. Maybe they can blame the ref though...

international198 wrote:The weather forecast is good for this game. The Scarlets have no excuse now, they can't blame the weather. Maybe they can blame the ref though...

Wouldn't be like the Welsh to blame an official

Ulster will have to step up a couple of gears if we're to leave the Scarlets blaming the ref

Without Regan King we are nothing. We have no hope of winning tonight.

Regan King should have followed in the footsteps of Ryan Giggs. Ryan Giggs played professional sport at the very top level until he was about 40 years old. I wonder why Regan King couldn't do the same at the Scarlets.

international198 wrote:Ryan Giggs played professional sport at the very top level until he was about 40 years old. I wonder why Regan King couldn't do the same at the Scarlets.

He (Regan King) was certainly good enough last season. I just wonder why he gave us up when it was going so well for us (the Scarlets).

I wonder where this WUM came from...

I'm not saying the Scarlets are the best team in the league. We are one of the worst teams in the league at the moment. But, the Pro12 is a top level league and was made for Regan King again this season. Why he ditched us for Jersey who knows.

Any way I can watch this in the south? I'm only in Meath for heavens sake!

Pub? Not sure to be honest clive

clivemcl wrote:Any way I can watch this in the south? I'm only in Meath for heavens sake!

I'd also be grateful for a stream if anyone has one.

Ulster are really playing some terrific rugby tonight.

11 - 0

clivemcl wrote:Any way I can watch this in the south? I'm only in Meath for heavens sake!

Have you BBC NI? I can get it on the sky box,

George Carlin wrote:

clivemcl wrote:Any way I can watch this in the south? I'm only in Meath for heavens sake!

I'd also be grateful for a stream if anyone has one.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/live/bbctwo?area=northern_ireland

No good for me, but if you are in UK...

Cheeky. Very fortunate not to be carded.