Thursday 21 May 2015 13:52, UK
Ulster have made a whopping 11 changes for Friday’s Guinness PRO12 play-off against Glasgow Warriors.
The Irish province suffered a 32-10 hiding against Glasgow last weekend, and head coach Neil Doak has recalled his big guns for the return trip to Scotstoun.
Ten internationals come back into a side that boasts 304 Test caps, with only Louis Ludik, Ricky Lutton, Lewis Stevenson and Chris Henry retained in the starting 15.
Ireland duo Tommy Bowe and Craig Gilroy return on the wings, with Jared Payne and Darren Cave paired in midfield.
Paddy Jackson and Ruan Pienaar resume their half-back partnership while skipper Rory Best is back at hooker.
Dan Tuohy comes in at lock with Iain Henderson, Henry and Roger Wilson forming an all-Ireland international back-row.
Glasgow finished top in the Guinness PRO12 regular season for the first time in their history and head coach Gregor Townsend makes just two changes to his starting line-up.
Henry Pyrgos is preferred at scrum-half to Niko Matawalu, who switches to the left wing in place of Sean Lamont, while Fraser Brown is back at hooker after recovering from a hamstring injury.
"We've had some epic battles with Ulster over the last few seasons and they'll be eager to reverse the scoreline from last week,” said Townsend.
"On Friday we expect to be playing in front of another sell-out crowd at Scotstoun for a place in another final and everyone at the club is really looking forward to the match."
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Richie Vernon, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos; 1 Ryan Grant, 2 Fraser Brown, 3 Rossouw de Klerk, 4 Jonny Gray, 5 Al Kellock (c), 6 Josh Strauss, 7 Chris Fusaro, 8 Adam Ashe.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Mike Cusack, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Duncan Weir, 22 Sean Lamont, 23 DTH van der Merwe.
Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Darren Cave, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar; 1 Callum Black, 2 Rory Best (c), 3 Ricky Lutton, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 6 Iain Henderson, 7 Chris Henry, 8 Roger Wilson.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Stuart McCloskey, 23 Michael Allen.
