Ulster ready for star-studded Racing 92
Ulster go into their Pool 4, Heineken Cup battle against Racing 92 this evening without talisman scrum-half, John Cooney, who has a shoulder injury. Dave Shanahan steps in at the spectacular La Defense Arena, in the western suburbs of Paris. Kieran Treadwell is coming in at lock for Alan O’Connor, while tight-head, Marty Moore, gets his first competitive Ulster start, since his move from Wasps in the summer.
The skipper, Rory Best, knows what to expect this evening, when he leads a reinvigorated Ulster squad into battle against a star-studded Racing 92 side that has former Munster legend Simon Zebo at full-back. Though Donnacha Ryan is missing from their matchday squad, Racing’s starting line-up parades no fewer than 13 full international players, from a plethora of nations.
Best, though, believes that while there is a stern examination ahead, Ulster travel in confident mood, on the back of an excellent second-half performance, which sent Leicester Tigers packing in last week’s opening clash at the Kingspan.
“Whenever you go away to the number-one seeds in your pool, that’s the challenge you have to face,” said the Ireland skipper. “We are under no illusions. We know we have a long, long way to go. It will be completely different from winning against Leicester at home, versus going away to Paris, and everything they have to fire at us.
“It is going to be a tough, tough task up-front and we need to at least match that and get parity there. But we can’t get bogged down on just trying to win up-front, because they have so many threats. It is going to take a massive effort from 1 to 15 and the whole squad.
“I think they will look at us and, hopefully, see a collective. Simon Zebo, and Finn Russell to a slightly lesser extent, they are going to know a little bit about us and we hope that they will be expecting a bit of a physical battle.
“But it was an encouraging performance last weekend and a good result and an important result for us. I think just the ferocity at which we stuck to our task was pleasing. There were times in that first-half when it didn’t go 100% our way, but we kept knocking on the door and if you keep knocking on it and don’t go away, it will eventually open for you and that was the way it was.”
Best was particularly encouraged by the way Ulster stuck to their task in the second-half.
“We looked, probably, the fresher of the two teams.”
And when asked what have Ulster got that will worry their French hosts, he laughed: “A smart, new, European shirt!”
But Best elaborated on the fact that Irish sides are a bit tentative when playing in Paris.
“I think there is a different approach to away games for us, and we have tried to bring it in this season. I think it is something we did lose a little bit, and tried to bring in last year and the year before. It didn’t matter where we went, we felt we could win and I think there is that belief back again.
“It doesn’t always correspond with results, but, I think, if you have that relief, you can always set foot on the pitch on an even footing. Ultimately, we will gladly take 40-odd phases in 85 minutes and hit a drop-kick (ala Sexton) to win the game in Paris again. We will take whatever we can get to win this game, whether it is up-front, out-wide, or through the middle.”
