Injured Tommy Bowe ruled out of clash with Harlequins
The Irish international damaged his hamstring on the snow-covered Stoop and his absence in midfield will mean at least one change for an Ulster side now back in the reckoning for a quarter-final spot. With Luke Marshall still not match-fit it means Darren Cave and Louis Ludik are potential replacements along with winger Jacob Stockdale.
Captain and hooker Rory Best’s foot infection will rule him out again, so Iain Henderson will continue to skipper the side after what he called the ‘dogfight’ last weekend.
“Players, especially in the pack, brought a real front-up mentality to Sunday’s game. We knew the conditions would be poor, we anticipated that. Now we have to concentrate on ourselves and maximise our three remaining games in the Champions Cup group.
“They’re not just going to turn over, roll over and play dead, we’re going to have to work for it. We saw against Saracens that they’ll go the whole game, they’ll win in the 80th, 82nd or 83rd minute. There’ll probably be more in them this weekend so we have got to make sure we are in top form,” said the versatile Irish forward.
Meanwhile, Northampton say they will seek a “world-class” rugby director to succeed Jim Mallinder at Franklin’s Gardens.
Saints sacked Mallinder yesterday after 10 years in charge. He was the Aviva Premiership’s longest-serving director of rugby.
Mallinder guided Northampton to the Premiership title in 2014, while Saints were beaten European Cup finalists three years earlier. Northampton also won the European Challenge Cup and Anglo-Welsh Cup under his direction. But the Saints currently lie 10th in the Premiership, having won just four league games all season, and they also prop up their European Champions Cup pool.
The final straw appears to have been last Saturday’s 43-32 home defeat against Ospreys — Franklin’s Gardens was barely half full. They have lost nine of their last 10 games in all competitions.
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