Ulster maintained their perfect start to the season by beating the Emirates Lions and next face an Irish interprovincial derby with Connacht at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
This will be the second interprovincial of the season, after Connacht’s loss to Munster at Thomond Park last week.
Dan McFarland’s side have reeled off four successive bonus-point wins but they have failed to win on their previous five visits to this venue and have also lost their last five games against fellow Irish provinces – a record they need to curb if they want to win the Irish Shield this season.
Connacht suffered a late 20-18 defeat to Munster last week but will have been buoyed by their performance and beat Ulster 26-20 at the Aviva last August.
However, their patchy form so far this season pales in comparison to Ulster’s strong start and a performance similar to the one at Thomond will be needed if they are to come away from Dublin with at least four points to their name.
While Connacht have triumphed in just nine of their 37 meetings with Ulster, the last six have been shared with three wins apiece.
Team News
Connacht
15. Tiernan O’Halloran (194)
14. John Porch (43)
13. Sammy Arnold (20)
12. Tom Daly (52)
11. Mack Hansen (4)
10. Jack Carty (163) (C)
9. Kieran Marmion (190)
1. Matthew Burke (27)
2. Dave Heffernan (148)
3. Finlay Bealham (163)
4. Niall Murray (20)
5. Ultan Dillane (118)
6. Eoghan Masterson (112)
7. Conor Oliver (24)
8. Paul Boyle (61)
16. Shane Delahunt (104)
17. Jordan Duggan (16)
18. Jack Aungier (17)
19. OisÃn Dowling (10)
20. Jarrad Butler (77)
21. Caolin Blade (134)
22. Conor Fitzgerald (38)
23. Diarmuid Kilgallen (2)
Ulster
(15-9) Ethan McIlroy, Robert Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Billy Burns, Nathan Doak;
(1-8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson (Capt.), Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, David McCann.
Replacements: Brad Roberts, Andrew Warwick, Ross Kane, Kieran Treadwell, Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Mike Lowry, Ben Moxham.
Odds
Connacht 7/5
Draw 17/1
Ulster 8/13
Where To Watch
The game will kick-off at 5:15 pm on Saturday evening and will be available to watch live on Premier Sports, URC TV and TG4.
