ACROSS THE OPENING five games of Ulster’s URC campaign, Richie Murphy has named four different centre partnerships as a testing start to the new season has resulted in a midfield merry-go-round.
Tonight’s home meeting with the Ospreys [KO 7.35pm, Premier Sports/URC TV] brings the latest new combination as Ben Carson starts alongside Stuart McCloskey for the first time this season.
McCloskey is back in the team having missed games against the Bulls and Connacht with knee and ankle injuries, while 22-year-old Carson comes into the side to win just his fourth Ulster cap, and his first start at 13.
While all the provinces have been managing their resources to some degree across the early weeks of the season, Ulster’s midfield has been a revolving door.
For the opening weekend defeat of Glasgow, Stewart Moore started along Jude Postlethwaite in the centre positions.
Moore continued at 13 for the games against the Lions and Bulls in South Africa, with McCloskey and Carson swapping through the 12 jersey. Postlethwaite was unavailable for those games due to the Emerging Ireland tour while injury ruled McCloskey out of the Bulls clash.
Last weekend’s home win against Connacht saw Postlethwaite return to partner Moore as McCloskey remained sidelined. Yet there was further disruption from that 32-27 victory, with Postlethwaite only lasting 31 minutes and Moore subsequently joining the injury list with a sterno-clavicular joint problem. Postlethwaite had been a doubt for tonight’s game but is named on the Ulster bench.
As Murphy looks to build some consistency across his first full season in charge, he’ll hope those midfield issues begin to smooth out.
McCloskey’s first home appearance of the season should give the team a lift tonight, while Carson is making good strides after working with Murphy with the Ireland U20s.
The pair will aim for a strong start as Ulster look to keep an impressive home record running. For all the issues the province faced as Dan McFarland’s time ran out last season, Ulster only lost once at home in the URC and have won their last seven league games in Belfast, with defeat to Edinburgh in December 2023 their last slip. The year previously, they were beaten three times at home in the URC (Leinster, Munster and quarter-final v Connacht).
Even when consistency has been a problem for Ulster over recent years, their home record has remained impressive. That hasn’t changed under Murphy.
On the back of a testing two-game tour to South Africa, last weekend’s interpro win against Connacht was the type of match that could easily have slipped out of their grasp. Their opening win against Glasgow was another game they could have lost, but Ulster dug deep to snatch victory through a late Dave Shanahan try. Then having rushed into a 14-point lead against Connacht, by the 60-minute mark the sides were level. Yet it was Ulster who finished on top to go two from two at home this season.
That ability to hang in the fight is an encouraging sign for the Ulster head coach.
Keeping that momentum going against an Ospreys side who have just one win to their name – against the Stormers in round two – would leave Ulster is a good position ahead of games against Cardiff (away) and Leinster (home) before the international break.
And it’s a game they should be winning, with Ulster only losing one of their last 11 against the Welsh regions (v Ospreys last February).
It helps that Ulster’s early-season injury troubles are finally easing. As well as welcoming McCloskey back, loosehead Eric O’Sullivan has recovered from a shoulder injury while the return of Emerging Ireland players Cormac Izuchukwu and Harry Sheridan is a further boost.
With Ospreys dealing with their own injury crisis, eight of their starting XV tonight make their first starts of the season.
Ulster’s strong home record should make it through the weekend intact.
ULSTER: Mike Lowry; Werner Kok, Ben Carson, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Aidan Morgan, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, James McCormick, Tom O’Toole; Alan O’Connor (capt), Harry Sheridan; Cormac Izuchukwu, Marcus Rea, David McCann.
Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Kieran Treadwell and Matty Rea, Nathan Doak, James Humphreys, Jude Postlethwaite.
OSPREYS: Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Owen Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Ben Warren; Will Greatbanks, Lewis Jones; Lewis Lloyd, Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris (capt).
Replacements: Ethan Lewis, Garyn Phillips, Math Iowerth-Scott, Rhys Thomas, Dan Gemine, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Tom Florence, Max Nagy.
Referee: Andrea Piardi [FIR]
