Humphreys and Howe return for Ulster

ULSTER have David Humphreys, Tyrone Howe back for Saturday’s Celtic Cup quarter-final against the Ospreys at St Helen’s.

Humphreys has recovered from a niggling hamstring injury which has seen him miss the last two Ulster matches while Howe has been suffering with a knee problem for a month.

Scrum-half Campbell has overcome a rib injury sustained in the final Celtic League match against Llanelli.

The return of Humphreys and Howe are the only two changes from that victory over Llanelli two weeks ago. Paddy Wallace drops to the bench while Scott Young pulled a hamstring in that game.

“It’s not just season-defining, if we lose our season is finished, full stop,” said coach Mark McCall.

“Everything that has happened before is irrelevant. This is a new challenge and a very difficult one at that.

“The Ospreys have been the best team in the Celtic League by a mile. They’ve scored the points, and conceded the least, scored the most tries and conceded the least.

“They have all the big guns available and they will undoubtedly be out to make sure they stay on course for the double.

“But we have also something to prove. They had all their internationals available when we ran them very close in the league at the Gnoll when they beat us by a point. It will be a case of getting into their faces again and destroying their rhythm.”

ULSTER: B Cunningham, T Bowe, K Maggs, P Steinmetz, T Howe, D Humphreys, K Campbell, S Best, P Shields, R Moore, G Longwell, M McCullough, A Ward (capt), G Pfister, R Wilson.

Replacements: R Best, R McCormack, R Frost, C Feather, N Doak, P Wallace, A Maxwell.