Ulster confident of completing Italian job

CHRIS HENRY is determined that Ulster continue where they left off against Cardiff Blues last week and continue their quest for Magners League glory.

Henry is back as skipper of an Ulster side that broke a three-game losing streak with a bonus-point victory in Cardiff and he is convinced they have the firepower to win in Italy on tonight (6.05pm).

“We have achieved a number of excellent results on the road this season, and even with a number of front-line players missing, there is no reason why we cannot continue in the same vein,” said Henry, who moves to his preferred number eight position, with Willie Faloon in at seven.

“With Rory (Best) and Johann (Muller) being out, it is obviously a big loss, but being captain doesn’t faze me at all. I thrive on the responsibility and just get on with it.

“There was a great buzz in training after the win in Cardiff on Sunday, and although there is a short turnaround and there are still a lot of sore bodies, we are confident in our own ability.”

One bonus for Ulster is the inclusion of Paddy Wallace in midfield after he was released from Ireland duties. The only other change in the back line from last week is Darren Cave’s return after a six-week lay-off with a hamstring injury, while up front, Bryan Young is at loose-head with Tim Barker returning at lock in place of Muller.

“Treviso at home is a tough task but we are full of confidence at present,” said Henry. “They will be physical, there is no doubt about that, but we enjoy playing in-your-face rugby and hopefully we can match everything they will throw at us, and then give our backs a chance to use the space.”

Meanwhile, there is a first Treviso start for South African Willem de Waal, who played fly-half in the Currie Cup final for Western Province.

TREVISO: K Burton; L Nitoglia, A Pratichetti, G Garcia, J Maddock; W de Waal, T Botes; I Fernandez Rouyet, E Ceccato, P Di Santo, A Pavanello, capt, C Van Zyl, F Minto, V Bernabo, M Filippucci. Replacements: F Sbaraglini, M Muccignat, A Allori, E Pavanello, G Padrò, B De Jager, F Semenzato, M Sepe.

ULSTER: A D’Arcy; C Gilroy, D Cave, P Wallace, S Danielli; I Humphreys, P Marshall; B Young, N Brady, BJ Botha, T Barker, D Tuohy, P Wannenburg, W Faloon, C Henry, capt.

Replacements: A Kryiacou, P McAllister, J Cronin, N McComb, A Birch, I Whitten, N Spence, I Porter.