Constable return from injury to arrest Ulster slide
Constable is one of three changes from the side that went down 42-10 to Munster in the Celtic League semi-
final last Friday.
Skipper Andy Ward returns to the back-row while Simon Best gets a rare start in place of Justin Fitzpatrick who misses the game following his red card at Thomond Park.
Best, the Ireland A prop, comes in at tight-head with Springbok Robbie Kempson moving across to loose to fill the void left by Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick will miss just one match following a decision by the IRFU on Tuesday night. Fitzpatrick, sent off during the Celtic League semi-final clash with Munster, was suspended for 10 days from the date of the offence, January 3.
Fitzpatrick threw a punch at a Munster opponent just seconds after a row appeared to have been calmed down.
Constable, whose season looked to have ended after another scare with a head injury, replaces Adam Larkin in midfield.
Constable, who had two successive spells on the sidelines with concussion, received the all-clear from medical specialists following a nipped nerve high up in the neck.
The return of Constable pulled Ulster out of a hole as their back was a little empty due to numerous injuries to mainline players.
‘’It’s just as well that Ryan was fit as we would have had difficulty in finding an extra back for the bench,’’ said coach Alan Solomons. ‘’He got the all-clear from specialists this week, and he is very keen to play.’’
Ward, meanwhile, returns to resume the captaincy from David Humphreys and packs down at blindside for Warren Brosnihan who broke a bone in his wrist against Munster.
“It’s a really tough competition now, and we just cannot afford to slip up said Ward. “It’s been very tough for us this season with so many injuries, but we are used to that now and the players in the team can respond to a challenge.
“This weekend there are plenty of opportunities and it’s up to players to grasp them. It’s also been very difficult for us this week, in that we have not been able to train outdoors because of the freezing weather.
“But we can turn that to our advantage. We don’t worry too much about the physical preparation, it’s more about the mental preparation we should stand to us.’’
Other squad changes see Clem Boyd coming onto the bench while Russell Nelson is also included in the replacements following his return to full fitness.
ULSTER: B Cunningham; J Topping; R Constable; S Stewart, S Coulter; D Humphreys, N Doak; R Kempson, M Sexton, S Best, G Longwell, J Davidson, A Ward, capt, N McMillan, T McWhirter.
Replacements: C Boyd, P Shields, M Blair, R Nelson, K Campbell
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