Wallace expects to deliver in Glasgow

RUGBY is not the highest priority in Paddy Wallace’s life this week.

Wallace’s wife Tina is due to deliver their first child on Wednesday and naturally it is preoccupying the Ulster star’s mind at present.

Ironically, this comes as the 26-year-old international is enjoying an extended run in the Ulster number 10 jersey in place of the injured David Humphreys.

Wallace is one of three changes to the Ulster side that lost to Leinster last Sunday for the crucial Magners League trip to Glasgow later this evening.

Coach Mark McCall has named Ireland wing Andrew Trimble in the midfield alongside Kevin Maggs, while Paul McKenzie is on the right wing for only his second Ulster start.

But Wallace’s first start at fly-half could be the most important as Ulster attempt to keep their three-point lead at the top.

“While it’s very pleasing for me to get a run, it is first and foremost disappointing for David (Humphreys),” said Wallace. “But with Tina due next week, I’m getting very excited, and a little nervous for the future, not only personally, but in rugby terms as well.

“With the Six Nations just around the corner, it’s great to get some game time in the number 10 jersey and put myself in the shop window for Eddie O’Sullivan to judge my performances.

“Over the years I have gleaned and learned an enormous amount from David. He has always been a great help when needed,” explained Wallace.

And he expects a difficult encounter this evening in Scotland.

“They’ve won six games at home on the bounce, and that says something of their consistency,” said Wallace.

“We would certainly like to get a good springboard before the Llanelli match the following week, but we are fully concentrating on seeing off Glasgow first.

“It’s a game that we have targeted to win. We cannot be complacent as we know it won’t be a walk-over, particularly as our standards appeared to have slipped a little since the start of December. It’s been evident since the defeat in Europe by London Irish, and we haven’t been able to pick up our performance since. We are certainly not playing with the same spark in the plugs.

“We have won all our home matches since but losing to Leinster last week was again disappointing, though we did play a little better. None of the squad were happy with various performances, and we aim to put that right.

“We won nine out of our last 10 games last season, and we will need to pull that type of performance out of the hat to win the league again this season.

“Hopefully we can start with a victory this evening. Winning away could spark us into action again. The win will also set me up for what could be a busy time ahead. I could be changing nappies this time next week!”

Meanwhile, Scotland back-row international Johnnie Beattie returns to the Glasgow team. The 21-year-old number eight has not featured since suffering ankle ligament damage during Scotland’s game with the Pacific Islanders in November.

Fergus Thomson is restored to hooker in place of Scott Lawson, while Colin Gregor returns to full-back and Rory Lamont switches to the wing. Hefin O’Hare moves to centre.