1. Connacht’s day in the sun
AND SO IT comes down to this.
Connacht are, as ever, in the role of the underdog on Saturday. Not only because they are facing the league leaders, but because Scarlets can slam the Champions Cup qualification window shut with an uncomplicated victory over Treviso.
Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO
Where there’s a home fixture out west, though, there’s a way.
Pat Lam has had his team geared towards one goal and one goal only all season long, and to achieve it, they know they have to beat Ospreys.
Rediscovering the winning feeling with last weekend’s drubbing of Zebre was an important step. So if they can set their scrum to work on the Welsh side and limit the error count from half-back, then they have a chance of causing the upset that’s needed. They won’t be lacking for intensity anyway.
2. Ulster cool their jets
10 Pro12 teams have something worth playing for this weekend, yet a team with real title ambitions and a chance of finishing top of the table have kept all of their big guns under wraps.
Ulster’s starting XV this weekend resembles a Ravens line-up. Only Chris Henry (who captains the side), Franco van der Merwe and Louis Ludik remain from the draw with Munster. It’s undoubtedly a weakened outfit, but it’s also a hugely exciting one – particularly in the back-line.
Source: Presseye/Jonathan Porter/INPHO
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The 9-10-12 axis of Paul Marshall, Ian Humphreys and Stu McCloskey isn’t a big reach down the depth chart. But the addition of Sam Arnold, who starred at 12 for Ireland’s under 20s during the Six Nations, at outside centre is an intriguing one.
As are the wingers: Michael Allen is too good of a player to be forced overseas for next term and Rory Scholes is a powerful ball-carrier with a tremendous knack of finishing opportunities.
3. Red hand province ready for the road
Among the reasons for complaining about setting Ravenhill as the venue for the Grand Final was that it gives Ulster an unfair advantage. However, the team selected by Neil Doak would suggest that he is ready take the hard road to glory.
Ulster react to last year’s playoff defeat at the RDS, a game they led 9 – 0 at one point in the second half. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
We’ve said it often, but it bears repeating. No team in five years of Celtic League play-offs has managed to win a semi-final away from home. Keeping their front-liners on ice for this weekend makes it incredibly difficult to win, but gives the northern province the best possible chance of ending that home run.