Chris Henry misses out, while Paddy Jackson starts at out-half in the Ulster team to face Edinburgh in the Heineken Cup semi-final.
Henry has been ruled out of tomorrow’s clash after failing to recover from an ankle sprain picked up in the PRO12 match against Leinster last weekend. Other injury concerns Paddy Wallace, Pedrie Wannenburg and Paul Marshall have all been passed fit, with the latter named among the replacements.
Forward trio Stephen Ferris, Dan Tuohy and Rory Best have all returned to the starting XV after being rested last weekend.
Ulster XV to face Edinburgh, in the Heineken Cup semi-final at The Aviva Stadium, Saturday, kick-off 5.45pm:
(15-9): S Terblanche; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, C Gilroy; P Jackson, R Pienaar;
(1-8): T Court, R Best, D Fitzpatrick, J Muller (capt), D Tuohy, S Ferris, W Faloon, P Wannenburg.
Replacements (16-23): N Brady, P McAllister, A Macklin, L Stevenson, R Diack, P Marshall, I Humphreys, A D’Arcy.
Unavailable due to injury: J Payne (achilles), S Danielli (hamstring), Tim Barker (back), Chris Henry (ankle).
Read Tadhg Peavoy's preview here
Ferris is a direct replacement for Henry, so Willie Faloon retains his position at openside flanker. Nigel Brady drops to the bench for the return of Best, while Lewis Stevenson makes way for Tuohy.
After impressing last week in his first game in five months, Declan Fitzpatrick will start again at tighthead prop.
Brian McLaughlin has named an unchanged backline for Saturday’s crucial game, meaning Paddy Jackson gets the nod over Ian Humphreys at out-half. The Ireland U20 captain produced an accomplished display at inside centre against Connacht two weeks ago, before controlling affairs in the number 10 jersey in the home defeat to Leinster.
This is Ulster’s biggest game since they defeated Colomiers 21-6 in the 1999 European Cup final. McLaughlin admits some of his players are disappointed at missing out on selection for such an important game.
McLaughlin said: “Nobody wants to miss an occasion like this. These kind of games don’t come around too often; it’s been 13 years since we’ve had a game this big. It really wasn’t easy selecting the squad this week.”
Commenting on the loss of Chris Henry, McLaughlin added: “It’s a huge blow for us. He has probably been our most consistent player this season, probably over the past few seasons.
"I suppose we are fortunate in a way to have a player like Willie (Faloon) to come in. He is vastly experienced and will put everything into his performance on Saturday.”
McLaughlin continued: “Edinburgh are one of the form teams in Europe. They beat Toulouse, one of the kingpins of the competition, and you have to respect them for that.
"They have a great spine; their pack is full of internationals and they have an excellent back row. They have international half backs who are very good at controlling the game so it will be a big challenge for us. They are not going to fear coming to the Aviva.”
McLaughlin is confident that Paddy Jackson will rise to the occasion as well: “Paddy has come in over the last few weeks and done exceptionally well. His performances have warranted selection. It’s a very tough call on Ian (Humphreys) who has been exceptional for us over the past couple of seasons, but we felt Paddy deserved a shot.”
