Ulster look to draw a line under season to forget with win in Edinburgh

URC: Edinburgh v Ulster, Friday, 7.35pm – Premier Sports 2

One more time then for Ulster as the curtain falls for the province on a season much of which has been, even by their hardly high-achieving standards, inescapably grim.

Failing to make the URC’s top eight – which had already looked quite an ask before the combination of losing at Munster last weekend and then having their already frail hopes extinguished by Benetton beating Glasgow – came with the added blow of the province missing out on next season’s Champions Cup for the first time.

While an argument could be made that Richie Murphy’s squad are now a better fit for the Challenge Cup – Ulster won a single game in the pool stages against a heavily diluted Exeter Chiefs which resulted in qualification for the last 16 – these are still very concerning times at Ravenhill.

Eight wins from 22 games before Friday night’s clash at an Edinburgh side still chasing a playoff spot is a stark return, but then Ulster have also won just twice away from home this season and on six occasions have failed to register any points in the second half of games.

Ulster look to draw a line under season to forget with win in Edinburgh

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All told this is not a good look and hardly something next season’s marquee signing Juarno Augustus, or indeed new assistant coach Mark Sexton, can be expected to reverse just by being around the place.

So, Friday’s final match of the season is about drawing a line under an forgettable campaign, preferably with an all too rare victory outside Belfast and a means of halting what would be five reverses on the spin and seven from Ulster’s final 10 outings.

But Edinburgh will be throwing everything they can to win this one, preferably with a bonus point, and then hoping that results go their way if they are to reach the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Already missing Grant Gilchrist and Lions tourist Duhan van der Merwe, the Scots are now also without Mosese Tuipulotu after last weekend’s victory in Connacht. They still have plenty of talent in their side, with Ali Price, Darcy Graham and their other Lions squad member Pierre Schoeman.

Ulster have brought Kieran Treadwell into the starting line-up for what will be his final game before joining Harlequins, while prop Andrew Warwick is also turning out ahead of retirement. Fellow retirees Matty Rea and Alan O’Connor, as well as Brive-bound John Cooney, are not in the 23.

Murphy has shifted Cormac Izuchukwu from lock to number six to give the visitors some decent ball-carrying presence and potentially more involvements. David McCann is also given a start and packs down at number eight in a more balanced looking backrow. Tom O’Toole and Werner Kok come in from bench duties at Thomond Park, the latter for Robert Baloucoune, who has just played twice this season.

Apart from trying to sign off with a meaningless but still much valued win, there will be a cadre of Ulster players keen to impress Paul O’Connell ahead of this summer’s tour and demonstrate that they are live contenders for the Test matches away to Georgia and Portugal.

Even so, all the indicators appear to suggest Edinburgh will get the job done and then hope it’s enough to earn knock-out rugby.

EDINBURGH: W Goosen; D Graham, M Currie, J Lang, H Paterson; R Thompson, A Price; P Schoeman, E Ashman, D Rae; M Sykes, S Skinner; B Muncaster, H Watson, M Bradbury (capt).

Replacements: P Harrison, B Venter, J Sebastian, G Young, J Ritchie, C Shiel, B Healy, M Bennett.

ULSTER: M Lowry; W Kok, J Postlethwaite, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; J Murphy, N Doak; A Warwick, R Herring, T O’Toole; K Treadwell, I Henderson (capt); C Izuchukwu, N Timoney, D McCann

Replacements: T Stewart, C Reid, S Wilson, H Sheridan, J McNabney, D Shanahan, A Morgan, S Moore.

Referee: C Evans (Wales).