Ulster Rugby v Wasps

ARTICLE BY ROD NAWN FREELANCE JOURNALIST AND SPORTS ENTHUSIAST @RODNAWN1

cruel timetable, he has fine resources. Jimmy Gopperth is available this evening and will be a great asset, as he is not just a prolific kicker, he is a playmaker of unmistakeable talent and has been even more influential in England than he was in Leinster colours. That Wasps managed three tries against Saracens when being outplayed for the most part indicates how dangerous, from any part of the field, the side is, so concentration and focus will be what Kiss and Gibbes will have insisted upon from Ulster tonight. It is a game which will be important to both sides: to Ulster in confirming that it can suffer a ‘wobble’, learn from it, and apply itself and its deep reserves of talent to the full; to Wasps to kick-start a campaign on both league and Cup fronts, unused as it is to being put on the back foot. Ulster versus Wasps, it’s a match to generate real excitement and anticipation, and though the PRO14 is so important it’s facile to deny the lustre and the very special atmosphere occasioned by a floodlit European night at Kingspan. We know what giants have been felled here, but Ulster should count itself amongst that number now so what better way to confirm that by opening up the Champions Cup qualifying series with a memorable win. Next week there’s a trip to France and La Rochelle to make, and it will be a journey all the more happily undertaken if maximum points are taken this evening. The fans will not need ‘lifting’, but they can be of huge assistance in adding to the discomfiture in Wasps ranks Cooney and Lealiifano prove again to be the imaginative and robust link between an increasingly hungry pack and a plethora of attacking and defensive backs. For the fans, the players will want to give their all against Wasps, and in that event a thrilling contest is in prospect. Enjoy it!

Kieran Treadwell at lock had an impressive day at the office, and Luke Marshall was at his most combative and constructive in the backline, where Jacob Stockdale caught the eye again, and not just with that superb combination with Charles Piutau to produce a spectacular try from deep. When Ulster laboured in the first half it was difficult for the supporters to raise a convincing voice, and only when Piutau was controversially laid out that the entire Kingspan atmosphere changed, as did that of players who seemed to be worryingly carrying the weight of that Zebre reverse into suspect handling and basic errors of judgement. Tommy Bowe, Sean Reidy, Kyle McCall, Stuart McCloskey, Piutau, Rob Herring, the committed Christian Lealiifano and John Cooney, against his former club, were always positive and mentally organised. Those who start this evening must be confident in themselves, their team-mates, and their game plan to succeed against a starry Wasps which has yet to find its stride this season. Indeed, this most distinguished of clubs has, for the first time in three years, contrived to lose four consecutive Premiership games, including two home defeats at what had been Fortress Ricoh Arena. Skipper Joe Launchbury was rested in Sunday’s 38-19 defeat at Saracens with the Champions Cup-tie with Ulster in mind, and that most elusive and clinical of wingers, Christian Wade, started on the bench, but that pair will be on duty this evening, as will Lions Elliott Daly and James Haskell, and Irish prop Marty Moore will be part of the front row. Ulster will hope to capitalise on what has been the shortest of turnarounds for the visitors, embarking on the European trail just five days after a critical Premiership game at Allianz Park. But Dai Young, who’s proved just what patience and sound principles can bring, is a coach who won’t have dwelt on his side’s

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