IRELAND INTERNATIONAL TOM O’Toole has been named to start at tighthead prop as Ulster name the team that will face the Dragons on Saturday in the URC [kick-off, 5.15pm].
David McCann is the other change to the side that will line out in Rodney Parade as he comes into start at blindside flanker.
Loosehead prop Callum Reid and hooker Rob Herring join O’Toole in the front row.
Alan O’Connor continues to captain the side after scoring a late try against Scarlets to earn a vital victory, with Matthew Dalton starting alongside him in the second-row.
Nathan Doak starts at scrum-half alongside Academy fly-half, Jack Murphy while Stuart McCloskey prepares to make his 199th appearance for the province in the centre with James Hume.
John Cooney comes back onto the bench, after it was confirmed that the long-serving scrum-half will depart for CA Brive at the end of this season.
Team news is in! 📋
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) March 21, 2025
Your Ulster side to take on @dragonsrfc tomorrow in Wales! 🐉 pic.twitter.com/yDFOf9qRdR
Ulster XV v Dragons
15. Stewart Moore (77)
14. Michael Lowry (118)
13. James Hume (97)
12. Stuart McCloskey (198)
11. Jacob Stockdale (127)
10. Jack Murphy (6)
9. Nathan Doak (82)
1. Callum Reid (23)
2. Rob Herring (247)
3. Tom O’Toole (117)
4. Alan O’Connor (Capt) (206)
5. Matthew Dalton (11)
6. David McCann (61)
7. Nick Timoney (160)
8. James McNabney (13)
Replacements:
16. John Andrew (132)
17. Sam Crean (1)
18. Scott Wilson (28)
19. Kieran Treadwell (173)
20. Reuben Crothers (7)
21. John Cooney (150)
22. Aidan Morgan (12)
23. Zac Ward (4).
Sometimes Lovern plays for the loss
@Brian Les: That really made me chuckle and I’m a pool fan!
Bore draw going on recent games between these once good clubs
This clown was a walking joke a few weeks ago, one of the main reasons klopp was being considered as one of the first coaches to lose his job this season and now Lovern is giving interviews ahaha
@AngryDave: What he says is true though. Liverpool were there for the taking at Anfield, Mourinho comes with a team of superstars and sets up like a team battling relegation.
@Let free speech live: Question for ya? What has klopp won compared to Mourinho ??
Some people forget that Ferguson line out with one striker away from home in most games, or he had his team play deep and hit teams on the counter.
In the 90′s people raved about Liverpools style and they won nought.
@AngryDave: 2 point lead after a net expenditure of £260 million more than Klopp over the past few years. You shouldn’t be comparing Mourinho with Klopp.It’s not like for like.You should be comparing him with Guardiola.Mourinho doesn’t look too great then.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2018/mar/08/jose-mourinho-jurgen-klopp-football-aesthetics-manchester-united-liverpool?CMP=fb_gu
@AngryDave: don’t compare mourinho to fergie, really clutching at straws there.
@AngryDave: Ferguson was committed to playing winning football though, Mourinho is an utter craven for whom decent football can be sacrificed at the altar of his goliath ego. He primarily prefers stopping others from winning in hopes of nicking a fortunate victory himself, and despite continually demanding millions to buy superstars, he lines them up like they’re FA Cup minnows away in the 3rd round and happily accepts bore draws because that’s better, to him, than suffering the mortal wound of going for it and risk allowing his managerial rivals to be able to say they got one over on him. Ferguson was not much more likeable but I’d happily have watched any of his united teams play, irrespective of how many strikers he’d lined up with.
@Erich Butler: Comparing apples and Oranges there, as Uniteds Income is far in excess of Liverpool’s.
@AngryDave: what are you saying? That Jose is comparable to Ferguson? And that klopp is comparable to jose again?? Klopps not been in the game nearly as long. Won a few German league titles with a Dortmund team he bought for shillings too. What’s jose won at united bar a few micky mouse trophies? :^
Mou is clearly on the decline while klopp obviously ,slowly but surely, had Liverpool improving
@AngryDave: Exactly.So why are you asking what Klopp has won compared to Mourinho?
Both at Liverpool and Dortmund he was competing against clubs with much larger budgets.
The question is why Mourinho with the richest club in the world is in a tussle with Liverpool for 2nd place? Surely with his background of success and the funds at his disposal he should be challenging City not Liverpool.
Case of Klopp getting the most of his resources, whilst Mourinho is underachieving.
Apart from Lovren’s own dodgy performance, his central point is to be fair absolutely true. Liverpool are by their nature best when going for the jugular in attack, and don’t adopt a defensive approach. United, against the bigger teams, often do.
That’s not to necessarily suggest Liverpool are better, just that playing for a point isn’t their style. It is unarguably in Jose’s locker.
But how are United ahead of Liverpool if one plays boring defensive football and the other swash buckling, all out attack, glorious, throw your mother under the bus football? Although as a United fan I do believe league positions will change this weekend.
@Andrew Cosgrave: Simply because with United’s approach you’re less likely to lose…
And for what it’s worth I think Liverpool are a good bet to finish ahead of United.
@seancreaven13: United have lost more than Liverpool
No shout out to Bobby, the No.9. Lovern the dirt bird, I wonder will it effect Bob’s performance tomorrow. I imagine he wouldn’t a t0ss like most