ONE BY ONE they have fallen. Internationals Iain Henderson, Jack McGrath and Jordi Murphy dropping first, then Robert Baloucoune and John Cooney, and then this week in training, Jacob Stockdale and Stuart McCloskey.
Not too long ago that would have caused panic but Ulster have spent time dishing out caps to their academy graduates over the last three years and that policy is beginning to pay off.
We’ll see for ourselves this evening (5.15pm kick off, live Premier Sports). Zebre away is rarely one of those fixtures to set the pulse racing, but there is more to this than normal.
Essentially it is a test of the maturation process.
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For Nathan Doak, the superb young scrum half, it’s his first start in an Ulster shirt after impressive cameos off the bench.
Ethan McIlroy remains in the side, after doing well in last week’s win over Glasgow, while Stewart Moore replaces McCloskey. Add in David McCann to the back row and you have a local flavour to this team, especially when kids, Callum Reid and Ben Moxham, players who made their debut for Ulster last season, are added into the mix.
McIlroy gets another chance to shine. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
“These young cubs are excellent,” said former Ulster academy coach and playing legend, Willie Anderson. “They need time to build.
“In my view, there is enough quality coming through, enough young Ulster players to be in the majority every Friday night. I’d like to see them tried, I’d like the coach or whoever to say ‘we are going to bring these cubs through, we are going to put them on and we are going to lose. We don’t mind if that happens. So please don’t you mind. We all want to win but these guys need to learn their trade’.”
They’ll get that chance in Parma tonight where a win will go some way to vindicating McFarland and Anderson’s work.
ZEBRE – J Laloifi, G Di Giulio, G Bisegni (C), T Boni, C Canna, A Fusco, G Licata, P Junior Leavasa, M Mbanda, L Krumov, D Sisi, M Nocera, L Bigi, D Fischetti. Replacements: O Fabiani, A Lovotti, I Neculai, A Zambonin, R Giammarioli, G Palazzani, A Rizzi, J Trulla.
ULSTER - W Addison; C Gilroy, J Hume, S Moore, E McIlroy; B Burns, N Doak; E O’Sullivan, R Herring, T O’Toole, A O’Connor (C), M Kearney, M Rea, N Timoney, D McCann. Replacements: B Roberts, C Reid, M Moore, S Carter, S Reidy, D Shanahan, M Lowry, B Moxham.
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Injury crisis provides Ulster's kids with a chance to shine in Italy
ONE BY ONE they have fallen. Internationals Iain Henderson, Jack McGrath and Jordi Murphy dropping first, then Robert Baloucoune and John Cooney, and then this week in training, Jacob Stockdale and Stuart McCloskey.
Not too long ago that would have caused panic but Ulster have spent time dishing out caps to their academy graduates over the last three years and that policy is beginning to pay off.
We’ll see for ourselves this evening (5.15pm kick off, live Premier Sports). Zebre away is rarely one of those fixtures to set the pulse racing, but there is more to this than normal.
Essentially it is a test of the maturation process.
For Nathan Doak, the superb young scrum half, it’s his first start in an Ulster shirt after impressive cameos off the bench.
Ethan McIlroy remains in the side, after doing well in last week’s win over Glasgow, while Stewart Moore replaces McCloskey. Add in David McCann to the back row and you have a local flavour to this team, especially when kids, Callum Reid and Ben Moxham, players who made their debut for Ulster last season, are added into the mix.
“These young cubs are excellent,” said former Ulster academy coach and playing legend, Willie Anderson. “They need time to build.
“In my view, there is enough quality coming through, enough young Ulster players to be in the majority every Friday night. I’d like to see them tried, I’d like the coach or whoever to say ‘we are going to bring these cubs through, we are going to put them on and we are going to lose. We don’t mind if that happens. So please don’t you mind. We all want to win but these guys need to learn their trade’.”
They’ll get that chance in Parma tonight where a win will go some way to vindicating McFarland and Anderson’s work.
ZEBRE – J Laloifi, G Di Giulio, G Bisegni (C), T Boni, C Canna, A Fusco, G Licata, P Junior Leavasa, M Mbanda, L Krumov, D Sisi, M Nocera, L Bigi, D Fischetti. Replacements: O Fabiani, A Lovotti, I Neculai, A Zambonin, R Giammarioli, G Palazzani, A Rizzi, J Trulla.
ULSTER - W Addison; C Gilroy, J Hume, S Moore, E McIlroy; B Burns, N Doak; E O’Sullivan, R Herring, T O’Toole, A O’Connor (C), M Kearney, M Rea, N Timoney, D McCann. Replacements: B Roberts, C Reid, M Moore, S Carter, S Reidy, D Shanahan, M Lowry, B Moxham.
REFEREE – Sam Grove-White (SRU)
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Bright young things Nathan Doak Ulster