AFTER BEING OVERLOOKED for Ireland’s November internationals, it has now been confirmed Rodney Ah You injured his thumb against Leinster and has had surgery to repair the problem.
The three-time capped prop sustained the injury during last week’s inter-pro defeat at Kingspan Stadium and didn’t travel to South Africa with the Ulster squad earlier in the week.
Ah You was forced to go under the knife and will now be sidelined for a period of six weeks, ruling him out of three Pro14 games and, most significantly, the Champions Cup double-header against Harlequins in December.
The former Connacht tighthead had featured in all nine of Ulster’s games this season and the news comes as a blow to Les Kiss, who is preparing his side for Saturday’s clash with the Southern Kings.
Ulster have travelled to South Africa with a squad of 25 for the final game of this block of fixtures having lost their last two outings against Leinster and La Rochelle.
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While Ah You won’t be involved, his loss his offset somewhat by the availability of Schalk van der Merwe who could make his much-anticipated debut for the province against his former club at the Wolfson Stadium [KO 1pm, BBC NI].
📷 After a tough morning of training in Port Elizabeth we had the opportunity to go on safari this afternoon 🦁🐘🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/WHwNSgsxrd
Jean Deysel didn’t travel with a shoulder injury which Kiss insists isn’t serious while Luke Marshall, who missed out on inclusion in Joe Schmidt’s squad, is expected to shake off a minor problem to be involved.
Craig Gilroy, Charles Piutau, Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Christian Lealiifano and Andrew Trimble should all complete a strong backline as Ulster look to get back on track following a disappointing couple of weeks.
“It’s a long flight, a long trip and it’s going to be a tough game this weekend,” Bowe said.
“But hopefully we’ll come back with the right result. We know what a big game this is for us, a potential banana skin, but we’re quietly confident that we can pull out a good performance.
“The last two weeks have been very disappointing, particularly last weekend, so hopefully we’ll put things back together and go into the break playing some good rugby.”
Ulster squad in South Africa:
Forwards: John Andrew, Callum Black, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Wiehahn Herbst, Ross Kane, Adam McBurney, Alan O’Connor, Matty Rea, Sean Reidy, Clive Ross, Kieran Treadwell, Schalk van der Merwe, Andy Warwick.
Backs: Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, John Cooney, Craig Gilroy, Christian Lealiifano, Louis Ludik, Luke Marshall, Peter Nelson, Charles Piutau, Jonny Stewart, Andrew Trimble.
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Blow for Ulster as Ireland international Ah You faces period on the sidelines
AFTER BEING OVERLOOKED for Ireland’s November internationals, it has now been confirmed Rodney Ah You injured his thumb against Leinster and has had surgery to repair the problem.
The three-time capped prop sustained the injury during last week’s inter-pro defeat at Kingspan Stadium and didn’t travel to South Africa with the Ulster squad earlier in the week.
Ah You was forced to go under the knife and will now be sidelined for a period of six weeks, ruling him out of three Pro14 games and, most significantly, the Champions Cup double-header against Harlequins in December.
The former Connacht tighthead had featured in all nine of Ulster’s games this season and the news comes as a blow to Les Kiss, who is preparing his side for Saturday’s clash with the Southern Kings.
Ulster have travelled to South Africa with a squad of 25 for the final game of this block of fixtures having lost their last two outings against Leinster and La Rochelle.
While Ah You won’t be involved, his loss his offset somewhat by the availability of Schalk van der Merwe who could make his much-anticipated debut for the province against his former club at the Wolfson Stadium [KO 1pm, BBC NI].
Jean Deysel didn’t travel with a shoulder injury which Kiss insists isn’t serious while Luke Marshall, who missed out on inclusion in Joe Schmidt’s squad, is expected to shake off a minor problem to be involved.
Craig Gilroy, Charles Piutau, Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, Christian Lealiifano and Andrew Trimble should all complete a strong backline as Ulster look to get back on track following a disappointing couple of weeks.
“It’s a long flight, a long trip and it’s going to be a tough game this weekend,” Bowe said.
“The last two weeks have been very disappointing, particularly last weekend, so hopefully we’ll put things back together and go into the break playing some good rugby.”
Ulster squad in South Africa:
Forwards: John Andrew, Callum Black, Robbie Diack, Chris Henry, Wiehahn Herbst, Ross Kane, Adam McBurney, Alan O’Connor, Matty Rea, Sean Reidy, Clive Ross, Kieran Treadwell, Schalk van der Merwe, Andy Warwick.
Backs: Tommy Bowe, Darren Cave, John Cooney, Craig Gilroy, Christian Lealiifano, Louis Ludik, Luke Marshall, Peter Nelson, Charles Piutau, Jonny Stewart, Andrew Trimble.
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