Henry calls for Ulster revival

FRUSTRATED Ulster skipper Chris Henry is determined to lift his side following a flat performance last week when they lost to the Cardiff Blues.

The two teams face off again tonight in the return fixture at Ravenhill (7.30pm) and Henry feels Ulster have something to prove.

Henry leads a side that shows three changes from trip to Wales with Isaac Boss back at scrum-half while Declan Fitzpatrick gets a rare start at loose-head in place of the injured Tom Court and Leinster-bound Ed O’Donoghue is preferred to Dan Tuohy at lock.

Henry wants his side to finish the season on a high. “We’ve got four more Magners League games after this one, and in professional sport your success is defined by results.

“If you are not winning, everything starts to fall apart. But we feel we have made progress this season, and the only way we can prove that is by finishing in a better position than last year.”

Cardiff Blues have been forced into a late change ahead of the match. Chris Czekaj comes in for Ben Blair at Full Back, after the New Zealander took the decision to stay in Wales with his wife, who is due to give birth to their child over the Easter weekend.

Meanwhile, Ulster have confirmed that full-back Clinton Schifcofske has departed by mutual consent and has returned to Rugby League with Celtic Crusaders.

The 34-year-old joined Ulster on a two-year contract in May 2008. He has been hampered by a chronic shoulder problem which has ruled him out for the remainder of the season. With his contract not being renewed, Schifcofske’s request for early release was granted.

Meanwhile, the IRFU has granted Ulster two more professional contracts to boost their squad due to the increase of games in the Magners League with the inclusion of two Italian teams.

ULSTER: J Smith; A Trimble, D Cave, P Wallace, S Danielli; N O’Connor, I Boss; D Fitzpatrick, R Best, BJ Botha, E O’Donoghue, R Caldwell, S Ferris, D Pollock, C Henry (capt).

Replacements: A Kyriacou, B Young, D Tuohy, R Diack, [ Marshall, I Whitten, T Nagusa.

BLUES: B Blair; L Halfpenny, C Laulala, J Roberts, T James; C Sweeney, R Rees; G Jenkins, T Rhys Thomas, T’au Filise, D Jones, P Tito, M Molitika, S Warburton, X Rush.

Replacements: S Andrews, G Williams, A Pretorius, M Williams, D Allinson, D Flanagan, D Hewitt.

Referee: Andy Macpherson (SRU)