Eighteen year old Phoenix Academy players Peter Nelson and Christopher Farrell, along with 20 year old Michael Allen, will all make their first senior appearance for Ulster.
Nelson (fullback) and Farrell (outside centre) have impressed for the U20s during their pre-season friendlies and head coach Brian McLaughlin has given them a chance to impress on a bigger stage. Michael Allen played a number of games for the Ravens last year and has been handed the right wing berth by the coaching staff.
The three youngsters are joined in the backs by centre Luke Marshall, outhalf Paddy Jackson and winger Craig Gilroy, all of whom made their debuts for Ulster last season. Ian Porter will start at scrumhalf against the welsh outfit.
In the pack, Lewis Stevenson will captain the side from second row, where he is partnered by neil McComb. Paddy McAllister and Jerry Cronin will scrum down either side of Ballymena hooker john Burns. The back row has a balanced look about it with new recruit Mike McComish starting at blindside flank, Willie Faloon occupying the openside role and Robbie Diack at the base of the scrum.
The replacements bench has an equally youthful look, which includes Academy players Stuart Olding, Blane McIlroy, Ali Birch, Conor Gaston and James Simpson. Front row players Andrew Warwick, Callum Black and Adam Macklin complete the line up on the bench.
Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin says his side are hoping to put last week’s heavy defeat against Bayonne behind them: “The game in France was very disappointing. They had played two games already and we were caught a bit cold, but now we have a game under our belt against a top class outfit and we can’t let it happen again. It showed that we have work to do to get ready for the start of the season. That’s why the game against Neath is crucial for us.”
Looking ahead to Friday’s game, McLaughlin is expecting another tough encounter, “We played them last year in the British & Irish Cup and they were a very big and physical side. They are a good team and play a nice brand of rugby. From our point of view it’s a great match to take us through to the Harlequins game and the start of the new RaboDirect PRO12.”
The Ulster coach seems determined carry on last year’s strategy of giving opportunities to as many young players as possible: “We are looking again to extend our squad. Quite a few of the young guys have trained with us all summer so it’s very important that we show them that they will get rewarded if they perform. They now have the opportunity to show us what they can do on the pitch as well as in training and that’s exciting,” said McLaughlin.
“There are young guys coming through like Peter Nelson and Chris Farrell who are getting great reports coming from the U20 coaches so it will be interesting to see how they perform. You only have to look at last year and the emergence of people like Paddy Jackson, Craig Gilroy and Conor Gaston who came through very well last season and hopefully a few of these guys will do the same.”
He continued, “Pre-season has been excellent – all credit to Jonny [Strength & Conditioning Coach Jonny Davis] and Neil [Assistant Coach Neil Doak], and the Strength & Conditioning coaches. The players have worked extremely hard and are in great physical condition. It’s now just a matter of getting them match hardened in the next two games and making sure against Glasgow we are ready to play!”
Lewis Stevenson, captain for the match, is solely focussed his side, rather than the opposition. “We want to take what we have learnt in pre-season and apply it better than we did in Bayonne. It’s all about us at this stage and we’re not focussing on Neath. It’s all about taking the things we are doing in training and carrying them through to competitive matches.”
The 6’ 5” lock is looking forward to leading a youthful Ulster XV on Friday evening: “It’s challenging but it’s exciting because they are a really talented bunch of young guys. It’s up to some of the older players like me and Robbie Diack to show leadership and make sure that all that energy and enthusiasm is channelled in the right way. I’ve been really impressed with everyone the whole way through pre-season. We’ve got a great work ethic and hopefully it’s going to stand us in good stead for the first few games of the season.”
Ulster (15-9):Peter Nelson; Michael Allen, Christopher Farrell, Luke Marshall, Craig Gilroy; Patrick Jackson, Ian Porter
(1-8): Paddy McAllister, John Burns, Jerry Cronin, Lewis Stevenson (capt), Neil McComb, Michael McComish, Willie Faloon, Robbie Diack
Replacements (16-23): Andrew Warwick, Callum Black, Adam Macklin, James Simpson, Ali Birch, Blane McIlroy, Stuart Olding, Conor Gaston.
