Ulster side to take on Dragons

Posted on May 5, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin has named his starting XV to face Newport Gwent Dragons in their decisive Magners League clash on Friday night (KO 7.05pm).

Props Tom Court and Declan Fitzpatrick have returned to full fitness and will pack down alongside skipper Rory Best in the front row. Their return to action sees Paddy McAllister and Jerry Cronin named among the replacements.

Willie Faloon suffered a shoulder injury in training and is unavailable for selection so Robbie Diack is promoted from the bench to play number 8. As a result, Pedrie Wannenburg moves to blindside flanker and Chris Henry switches to the openside flank. TJ Anderson, who will join Connacht in the summer, is given a position on the bench as back row cover.

The backline is unchanged from the win over Connacht at Ravenhill two weeks ago, with Darren Cave and Nevin Spence continuing their centre partnership.

Ireland internationals Stephen Ferris (knee), Paddy Wallace (thumb) and Andrew Trimble (thumb) remain unavailable for selection due to injury, as does BJ Botha (knee).

All six final round Magners League games will kick off at same time so there are many permutations for the play-offs; only Munster are certain of a home semi final on the weekend of 13/14th May.

Ulster require only a losing bonus point against the Dragons to ensure progression to the knock out stages. However a win for the Ulstermen, coupled with a Leinster defeat against Glasgow, would secure a home semi final spot.

Ulster Team v Dragons (Magners League, Rodney Parade, Friday 6th May, KO 7.05pm)

(15-9): A D’Arcy; C Gilroy, D Cave, N Spence, S Danielli; I Humphreys, R Pienaar;
(1-8): T Court, R Best (capt), D Fitzpatrick, J Muller, D Tuohy, P Wannenburg, C Henry, R Diack;

Replacements (16-23): A Kyriacou, P McAllister, J Cronin, T Barker, T Anderson, P Marshall, I Whitten, C Gaston.

Jones gets Ulster nod for Dragons

Posted on May 5, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Following his sterling performance against the Blues last weekend, Dragons and Cross Keys fly half Steffan has been given the nod at fullback as the Men of Gwent take on Ulster in their final match of the season. (Rodney Parade, Friday 7:05pm)

“I’m delighted to be playing again for the region,” said Jones. “It’s just about being given an opportunity to prove yourself and obviously last week couldn’t have gone much better for me.

In a largely unchanged side from the landmark victory against their local rivals, Pat Leach replaces centre Ashley Smith who is to be rested and Dan Way comes in for Ben Castle.

“Ashley could have made it this weekend,” said Dragons Head Coach Darren Edwards “but he has worked really hard all season and we wanted to look after him to make sure he’s ready for next season. We also wanted to take to opportunity to further expose Dan Way to Magners League rugby.”

Newport Gwent Dragons
Stefan Jones, Adam Hughes, Tom Riley, Pat Leach, Aled Brew, Jason Tovey, Wayne Evans; Phil Price, Lloyd Burns, Dan Way, Luke Charteris, Adam Jones, Danny Lydiate, Gavin Thomas, Toby Faletau.

Replacements
Tom Willis, Hugh Gustafson, Ben Castle, Andrew Coombs, Joe Bearman, Matthew Watkins, Jon Evans, Mathew Jones.

Referee: Alan Lewis
Assistant Referees: Tim Hayes, Sean Bricknell

Edinburgh aim for fabulous finish in Treviso

Posted on May 4, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Edinburgh interim head coach Nick Scrivener has called on his team to cap their strong conclusion to the Magners League season by beating Benetton Treviso at the Stadio di Monigo on Friday night (kick-off 8.05pm local time (7.05pm BST).

The match is the club’s final outing of the campaign, and will see them attempt to earn a second straight victory on Italian soil, having beaten Aironi 10-9 in Viadana last October.

Edinburgh will also be on the trail of a fourth win in their last five matches, Ospreys, Aironi and Dragons having all been felled at Murrayfield of late.

Friday’s clash is a last match in charge for Scrivener, who will return to his native Australia next week, for Scott MacLeod, who starts at second row before completing his move to Japanese outfit Kobe Steelers, and for David Blair, who is leaving the club at the end of the season.

Far from focussing on sentiment, Scrivener believes that securing another success would be the most appropriate way for all concerned to sign off. He said: “I’ve no doubt there will be a bit of emotion floating about after the game, but our main concern will be making sure that we’ve at least got the satisfaction of reflecting on a win.

“We’ve underlined all along the importance of finishing the season in a positive manner, and with the last few wins we’ve recorded, we’ve gone some way to doing that.

“It’s now about finishing the job and doing something that we haven’t been particularly good at this season – winning away from home.”

There are three changes to the Edinburgh starting line-up from that which claimed a 27-15 triumph against Dragons on Friday 22 April.
James King, who missed out on selection for that game after injuring a shoulder, returns at inside centre, with Nick De Luca moving out one to occupy the No.13 berth.

Mike Blair injured an ankle in training this week, and so Greig Laidlaw moves to scrum-half with David Blair coming in at stand-off.

In the boiler house, meanwhile, Esteban Lozada is suspended after receiving his third Magners League yellow card, and so Steven Turnbull is selected to pack down beside MacLeod.

On the bench, David Young and Craig Hamilton return to provide cover at tight-head and lock respectively, while Alan MacDonald has recovered from his own shoulder complaint to feature for the first time since the defeat to Scarlets in February.

Scrivener confirmed: “We performed pretty well across the board in the Dragons game, so it’s right and proper that we retain the vast majority of the side for this match.

“I thought that JT [Jim Thompson] and Nick teamed up nicely in the centres against Dragons, but James King had been on a really good run going into that game, and only missed out because he failed a fitness test late on.

“I’m pleased to be able to give him another go this week, and with JT on the bench chomping at the bit to get on, it’s quite a good position to be in.

“We’ll need a huge effort from the pack over in Italy, because whenever Treviso are placed under any sort of duress, they go back to their main strength, which is certainly their set-piece. Ours was better against Dragons, but it will need to go up a notch again to give us the right sort of platform to play off.

“There are a good number of Edinburgh fans heading over to the game, and we want to give them a performance and result that makes the trip worthwhile.

“On a personal note, I’d like to thank all the players, management and supporters I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my time at Edinburgh. It’s been a hugely enjoyable couple of years, and I look forward to following the club’s progress from afar.”

EDINBURGH TEAM TO PLAY BENETTON TREVISO IN THE MAGNERS LEAGUE AT STADIO DI MONIGO ON FRIDAY 6 MAY (KICK-OFF 8.05PM LOCAL TIME (7.05PM BST)

15 Chris Paterson
14 Simon Webster
13 Nick De Luca
12 James King
11 Tim Visser
10 David Blair
9 Greig Laidlaw
1 Kyle Traynor
2 Andrew Kelly (CAPTAIN)
3 Geoff Cross
4 Scott MacLeod
5 Steven Turnbull
6 Stuart McInally
7 Ross Rennie
8 David Denton

SUBSTITUTES
16 Alun Walker
17 Lewis Niven
18 David Young
19 Craig Hamilton
20 Alan MacDonald
21 Jim Thompson
22 Lee Jones
23 Tom Brown

Not available due to injury: Alex Blair (back), Mike Blair (ankle), Chris Bloomfield (ACL), Fraser Brown (neck), Ben Cairns (shoulder), Jack Gilding (A/C), Phil Godman (knee), Roddy Grant (knee), John Houston (knee), Gregor Hunter (groin), Mark Robertson (groin), Ross Samson (calf), Netani Talei (wrist).

Rennie returns as Edinburgh hunt three in a row

Posted on Apr 21, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Edinburgh head into their final home game of the Magners League season against Dragons on Friday night (kick-off 7.30pm) looking to secure a third straight Murrayfield triumph.

The capital club have seen off Ospreys and Aironi in the last two matches to be played at the national stadium, and have the added incentive of seeking to gain revenge for the defeat they suffered at Rodney Parade back on February 12.

That match was Nick Scrivener’s first in charge, and the interim head coach is determined to give the Edinburgh support another performance and result to be proud of before heading back to Australia at the end of the campaign.

He said: “It’s vitally important that we build on the many good things we saw against Aironi, both to finish the season as strongly as possible and to make sure our fans have something to celebrate come Friday night.

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Dragons young guns get Murryfield start

Posted on Apr 21, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Welsh Under 20 scrum half Jon Evans will get his second Magners League start of the season at scrum half whilst Matthew Pewtner starts on the wing.

Evans (18), who made his Dragons debut last season against the Ospreys, having gone straight from one of his A Level exams to get on the team bus has impressed this season with his form both for Newport and the national side.

“The new contracts have allowed me to be a lot more involved with the Dragons this season,” said Evans. “I never expected to be starting for the senior team this season but the coaches pick on form regardless of who you are so I intend to make the most of this opportunity. They also watch the Premiership a lot so they always know exactly what’s going on – even if you’ve not been playing for the region.

“I like to play the game at pace – Dwayne Peel is one of the players I would have watched when I was younger – I’ve always liked the speed of his game. Having come back from the Under 20’s I’m concentrating on my game so I’ve not been focussing too much on Edinburgh. The Dragons have given me a lot of opportunity and Friday is a chance to prove myself again.”

Dragons wing Adam Hughes will replace the injured Will Harries at fullback. The region is without a specialist fullback following the withdrawal of Martyn Thomas, Will Harries and Pat Leach through injury.

Dragons team for Edinburgh (Murrayfield, Friday 22 April 7:30pm)
Adam Hughes, Matthew Pewtner, Tom Riley, Ashley Smith (C), Aled Brew, Jason Tovey; Jon Evans; Hugh Gustafson, Steve Jones, Dan Way, Andrew Coombs, Adam Jones, Dan Lydiate, Gavin Thomas, Joe Bearman.

Replacements
Lloyd Burns, Phil Price, Ben Castle, Lewis Evans, Toby Faletau, Matthew Watkins, Wayne Evans, Matthew Jones.