Ulster must battle without Rory Best as trio say farewell

The loss of inspirational skipper Rory Best for tomorrow afternoon’s PRO14 shoot-out against the Ospreys at the Kingspan Stadium (kick-off, 3.05pm) will hit Ulster hard, particularly with Ireland lock Iain Henderson also sidelined.

There’s more than pride at store, of course, as the winner will be in next season’s Champions Cup, while the loser could quite literally be sent to Siberia if they get an unfavourable draw in the Challenge Cup.

Best pulled up abruptly during training last Tuesday with a hamstring tear. Everyone knew then that he was never going to be fit to face a Welsh side who have most of their big guns fully locked and loaded — Alun Wyn Jones, Dan Lydiate and Justin Tuperic are just three of the internationals ready to overturn an 8-0 defeat in Belfast four weeks ago.