Brian McLaughlin has named a preliminary 32 man squad for this Friday’s RaboDirect PRO12 fixture against the Dragons at Rodney Parade (kick off 7.05pm).
Darren Cave (hamstring) and Ian Humphreys (shoulder) have responded well to treatment and are fit enough to be named in the extended squad.
Jared Payne was forced off with a dead leg in the loss to the Ospreys on Sunday put is expected to shake that off despite the quick turn around between matches. Andi Kyriacou also left the field early after suffering a neck injury during a scrum.
Ulster’s 100% winning start to the season came to an end with the 32-14 defeat at the Ospreys. The squad will be looking for a greatly reduced penalty count during their second trip to Wales in a week, which would go a long way to getting the campaign back on track.
Dragons have had a less impressive opening to the season, winning just one game in four – a 23-14 success at home to Aironi in round three. The Dragons’ only reversal at Rodney Parade in their last five matches in this tournament was 13-20 to Ulster back in May.
Ulster Squad Forwards
Jerry Cronin, Conor Carey, Paddy McAllister, Declan Fitzpatrick, Adam Macklin, Andi Kyriacou, John Burns, Niall Annett, Nigel Brady, Tim Barker, Lewis Stevenson, Dan Tuohy, Neil McComb, Pedrie Wannenburg, Mike McComish, Chris Henry, Willie Faloon, Robbie Diack
Ulster Squad Backs
Paul Marshall, Blane McIlroy, Ian Porter, Ian Humphreys, Paddy Jackson, James McKinney, Luke Marshall, Nevin Spence, Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Craig Gilroy, Conor Gaston, Jared Payne, Adam D’Arcy
