Ulster back row Henry only rated as 50-50

Ulster flanker Chris Henry is training on a high tech low-gravity running machine as he battles to overcome an ankle injury ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Cup semi-final clash against Edinburgh.

While Paddy Wallace, Pedrie Wannenburg and Paul Marshall look set to be included in the match-day squad, Henry is still only rated 50-50.

Coach Brian McLaughlin revealed: “Chris Henry is recovering well and was running on the special low-gravity running machine. Hopefully he will be running today with the rest of the squad. However, he is still only 50-50. But we are hopeful. Everybody else appears to be ready.”

Meanwhile skipper Johann Muller insists his squad will not be undone by their tag of favourites.

Muller explained: “It’s the biggest game for 13 years for this club, so when people hint that we may not take Edinburgh seriously it’s a massive mistake. This bunch of players cannot wait for Saturday afternoon.

“We have taken on board the experiences of away defeats over the past couple of years, against Clermont, Leicester, Northampton and Biarritz, and then the victory over Munster, and learned from them. If you treat the game too highly, then you forget to play rugby and you fall into that pressure trap. The team has a number of leaders so it is up to us to keep the guys cool and focus on the job ahead.”

Muller heaped praise on McLaughlin and his management team for their effort this season but stressed that there is still work to do.

“When Brian got this squad together three years ago, they had a vision and I was just one of those little steps in that plan. There has been a huge amount of planning from the management and staff and it is now being rewarded. If you had said to me 18 months ago, that we would be going down to Dublin as favourites to reach the Heineken Cup final, I would have laughed at you. It’s a wonderful tag, but that means absolutely nothing. You look at the quarter-finals, three of the favourites didn’t win, so that proves that tag means little.”