Humphreys recovers to lead Ulster against Munster
The game has aroused tremendous interest in Ulster, not least because their hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages of the Heineken Cup took a bit of a hammering with that unfortunate away defeat by Biarritz. Failure to win on Friday could see their season come to an unwelcome and premature halt. They expect to have considerable vocal support at Thomond Park, a venue with which a surprisingly small number of their players are familiar. Munster have tended to play their home matches against Ulster at Musgrave Park with the result that only older stagers like Humphreys and Gary Longwell have experienced the unique atmosphere associated with the Limerick ground. The Munster Branch revealed last night that the match is likely to be a sell-out with only a few terrace tickets still available at Thomond Park.
The captaincy of the Ulster team passes to Humphreys because of a heel injury to Andy Ward that has kept him relatively inactive for the past couple of weeks. But the return of Humphreys to the number 10 jersey is sure to be a huge morale booster for Ulster who are never quite the same without their vastly experienced 31 year-old number 10. Humphreys overtook the legendary Jack Kyle as Ireland's most capped out-half during the autumn international series and is set to continue as Ronan O'Gara's most serious rival for the Ireland out-half position for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, Eddie O'Sullivan and the rest of the Irish management will be keeping a very close eye on the head-to-head between the pair on Friday.
Moreover, the duel between Humphreys and O'Gara is likely to play a major role in deciding the outcome of the game. Both have been in outstanding form throughout the season while their scoring contributions to Ireland over the years make for interesting reading. Humphreys has set an Irish record with a total of 345 points from his 47 appearances made up of 2 tries, 78 penalties, 7 dropped goals and 40 conversions. O'Gara has run up 275 points from his 27 caps through 3 tries, 52 penalties and 52 conversions.
Not much in it, really, and a good example in many ways of how little separates two really good out-halves.
While the return of Humphreys means a lot to Ulster, they must nevertheless take the field without their two first choice centres, Jonathan Bell and Ryan Constable, both ruled out by injury. They are replaced by Adam Larkin (who deputised at out-half for Humphreys against Biarritz) and Shane Stewart while Sheldon Coulter comes in for Scott Young on the left wing.
Munster are due to announce their side this afternoon with coach Alan Gaffney certain to go along customary lines. He must decide between Jeremy Staunton and Dominic Crotty at full-back, otherwise the only dilemma seems to be which players should populate the bench.
The other Celtic League semi-final between Neath and Cardiff is scheduled for The Gnoll on Saturday evening with a 5.30 kick-off.
That game goes out live on SC4, the Welsh television channel, while the Munster-Ulster clash will be shown on TG4. Interestingly, should either match finish on level terms, then the following criteria will be utilised to break the deadlock: (a), the first team to score ("golden point") during extra time that shall not exceed 10 minutes (5 mins each way); (b), the team that scored the most tries; (c), the away team.
ULSTER: B. Cunningham; J. Topping, S. Stewart, A. Larkin, S. Coulter; D. Humphreys capt, N. Doak; J. Fitzpatrick, M. Sexton, R. Kempson, G. Longwell, J. Davidson, W. Brosnihan, N. McMillan, T. McWhirter. Replacements S. Best, P. Shields, M. Blair, A. Ward, K. Campbell, J. Cunningham, S. Young.
MUNSTER (probable): J. Staunton; J. Kelly, M. Mullins, J. Holland, A. Horgan; R. O'Gara, P. Stringer; M. Horan, F. Sheahan, J. Hayes, P. O'Connell, M. O'Driscoll, J. Williams capt, A. Quinlan, A. Foley.
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