Ulster ready to throw kitchen sink at Bath

ULSTER captain Chris Henry is totally focused on finishing on the winning side this afternoon when he leads his side out at The Recreation Ground cauldron in Bath, hoping beyond hope a minor Heineken Cup miracle can happen up in Edinburgh.

With Stade Francais leading Pool Four by four points, Ulster must do something they have never done before, and win on English soil. Then they must hope Edinburgh can ruffle the French aristocrats at Murrayfield.

“We may need that winning bonus point if we are to progress. But we just want to win. I want us to be the first Ulster side to win in England. Then maybe the bonus point will look after itself.

“It’s great that we are in this position and also wanting Edinburgh to do us a favour. That’s the way rugby is,” said Henry.

“It will be matter of sticking to the basics. It is going to be a massive battle and we are going to have to bring a certain amount of physicality to the game as it is going to be very, very tough up front.

“They are a very passionate side who are on the rise. There is a lot of history associated with the club, and like us they are former winners looking to re-ignite a bit of their history.

“A lot of talk is made of us, never having won on England soil before and why we just cannot bring the way we play at Ravenhill to away games. But this time we have something to play for, even it may be a very minimal chance.

“Bath have a very big pack and they will be gunning for us today. But we will be ready.”

Speaking of his impact upon taking on the captaincy, Henry added: “Any time I’ve been given that role I have really enjoyed it, and I have thrived on it. It’s not something I worry about, to be honest, as there are a lot of leaders in the team.

“Ulster at present is a good place to be. Everyone is working very hard and coach Brian McLaughlin is getting the best out of everyone of us.”

McLaughlin has made only one change to the side that defeated Edinburgh last week with Niall O’Connor taking over from Ian Humphreys at the crucial fly-half spot.

Ulster assistant coach Neil Doak is thrilled that a big travelling support will be there to back up the team.

“It’s great to know how many Ulster supporters are travelling. It’s always nice to have a contingency away from home; if there are a thousand supporters it’ll be very good for morale,” said Doak.

“I think they’ll probably make as much noise as the entire Bath support. So it’s about us and the team getting it right on the day, giving our supporters plenty to shout about, which hopefully we can do there.”