Best set for recall as Doak eyes home win

Ireland hooker Rory Best will start for Ulster when they host in-form Italian side Benetton Treviso in Friday’s RaboDirect Pro12 clash at Ravenhill.

A frustrated Best has been clicking his heels since featuring for the Lions in Australia and will get at least 40 minutes as Ulster seek their first competitive home win of the season. Coach Mark Anscombe will juggle a few positions behind the scrum with Craig Gilroy a possibility at full back with Jared Payne moving inside to partner Luke Marshall in the centre.

It is still undecided whether Tommy Bowe or Stuart Olding will feature.

Ulster’s assistant coach Neil Doak admitted: “We are still not sure of Stuart or Tommy. We will leave things until later in the week before making any decisions.”

Doak isn’t concerned by their sluggish start to the campaign. “We were just not clinical enough and failed to finish things off,” he argued. “Our statistics show we have 70% positive outcomes from our possession. We are creating opportunities which is good but we are still not putting teams away in the way we should.”

And he was delighted the side secured victory away from home against Galway on Saturday evening.

“During the first half against Connacht, I think the guys were a little nervous. We knew what to expect from them, although I believe they ran the ball a bit more than we had envisaged. But we came alive in the second half. We focused on the tempo of the game and keeping the pace of the game high. It doesn’t mean we play foot loose and fancy free, but play with a purpose and be direct regarding clearing out at breakdowns quickly, get teams on the back-foot defensively.

“Treviso are a pretty smart side and very intricate with their line-out plays and bring with them a very physical pack, especially around the back-row. So we really have to match them physically up front and watch for their broken-field runners. There is no way we can underestimate them.”