[tag=image]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... y_logo.jpg[/tag][tag=content]Firstly, I must apologise once more for the lack of a preview last week. Man flu can strike down even the best of us you know!
Meanwhile, as I was busy ingesting a whole heap of pills, we returned to action against Treviso last week and got off to the perfect start in our mid-Six Nations campaign. It may have been, as Fleg put it so accurately, “the worst 43-3 win I have ever seen”, you can never turn down a bonus point win – even if we did take 70 minutes to really hit our stride. And a belated congratulations to Craig Gilroy: 100 caps is no mean feat, especially at the age of 23.
However, to play so poorly last week and to still run out 40 point winners has to give us a bit of a confidence. And we will need it when we travel to Murrayfield tomorrow as we face an Edinburgh side in a bit of form – a win over the Ospreys last weekend was a major scalp considering they were overturned by the same opponents 62-13 in the reverse fixture. Alan Solomons has dealt with some difficult times at the start of his Edinburgh reign but now appears to be turning their fortunes around.
There were concerns that Solomons’ side would struggle to gel with all their foreign imports, however our hosts are finally hitting their stride with Tom Heathcote pulling the strings at fly-half and South African Anton Bresler and captain Mike Coman providing the bulk in the forwards. Backed by a strong Scottish contingent such as Tim Visser, Dougie Fife and Hamish Watson, Edinburgh are finally looking like a side that could leapfrog Connacht for that final Champions’ Cup spot next season.
There are still concerns, however, that this team can be bullied up front. Rory Sutherland and Stuart McInally are two players still finding their feet at this level, and is an area where could gain a distinct advantage. And while they have improved, they are still the same side that were hammered in the Liberty earlier in the season and that we managed to prevent from scoring a single point against us at the Kingspan in September.
Plus, we have been handed a huge boost with Leinster losing last weekend. We now inhabit fourth place, and with Glasgow and the Ospreys also meeting this round there is the chance we could finish as high as second in the table if results go our way. With just a handful of points separating the top five, there is huge pressure on getting the wins required to keep us in the top four and ensuring we will be in the play-offs come May, and that means we have to win these games and not see them as banana skins.
Quite simply, we have been very fortunate in that Ireland haven’t decimated us with call-ups, and now we have to capitalise on having our big stars back. Iain Henderson’s selection is a real statement of intent and now that the big man has re-signed for another three years, it’s time for him to put in a big performance and propel us to a win that further cements our place in the top four, and hopefully pushes us a little higher than fourth.
Solomons has made five changes to the team that defeated the Ospreys last week with several internationals released. Two of those, Dougie Fife and Tim Visser, come straight into the side on the wings while Tom Heathcote is promoted from the bench to start at fly-half. In the forwards the front row is unchanged but Ben Toolis and Hamish Watson are both released to play at lock and openside flanker respectively.
Two changes for Ulster, with Stuart McCloskey and Iain Henderson starting ahead of Luke Marshall and Lewis Stevenson respectively. Robbie Diack misses out due to a back injury while Ian Humphreys wins his 99th Ulster cap.
Eight games left and they all matter. Europe is over, so domestic honours are all we have to fight for and we desperately need to at least make the final to consider this season a success. A big win tomorrow could set us up perfectly for the visit of the Scarlets next week and set us up in the perfect position to push on after that. This is where we are really tested as a team.
And this is where we must excel.
Edinburgh Rugby vs. Ulster Rugby
BT Murrayfield Stadium
Friday 20th February, 19:35
Guinness PRO12 – Round 15
Live on BBC2 NI and BBC2 Scotland
EDINBURGH RUGBY
15. Jack Cuthbert, 14. Dougie Fife, 13. Sam Beard, 12. Phil Burleigh, 11. Tim Visser, 10. Tom Heathcote, 9. Grayson Hart; 1. Rory Sutherland, 2. Neil Cochrane, 3. WP Nel, 4. Anton Bresler, 5. Ben Toolis, 6. Roddy Grant, 7. Hamish Watson, 8. Mike Coman (capt.).
16. Stuart McInally, 17. Grant Shiells, 18. John Andress, 19. Ollie Atkins, 20. Hugh Blake, 21. A N Other, 22. Jade Te Rure, 23. Andries Strauss.
ULSTER RUGBY
15. Louis Ludik, 14. Craig Gilroy, 13. Darren Cave, 12. Stuart McCloskey, 11. Michael Allen, 10. Ian Humphreys, 9. Ruan Pienaar; 1. Callum Black, 2. Rob Herring, 3. Wiehahn Herbst, 4. Iain Henderson, 5. Franco van der Merwe, 6. Roger Wilson (capt.), 7. Mike McComish, 8. Nick Williams.
16. John Andrew, 17. Andrew Warwick, 18. Bronson Ross, 19. Lewis Stevenson, 20. Clive Ross, 21. Paul Marshall, 22. Luke Marshall, 23. Peter Nelson.
Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU, 48th competition game)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White, Mike Adamson (both SRU)
Citing Commissioner: Paul Minto (SRU)
TMO: David Changleng (SRU)[/tag]
Match Preview: Edinburgh Rugby vs. Ulster Rugby
Moderator: Moderators
