Ulster have been boosted by the return of three previously injured stalwarts as they head into their crucial 14th round Vodacom United Rugby Championship showdown with the DHL Stormers at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday night with a richly experienced team.
Rob Balocoune is back on the right wing for the first time this season and he is known to have a talismanic effect on the Ulster team, while experienced prop Andrew Warwick, who boasts 206 caps, is back at looshead.
Tom Stewart, just one short of 50 caps, returns from injury as the back-up hooker to Rob Herring, who is two short of 250 caps.
Team news is in! 🫡
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) March 27, 2025
Your Ulster side to take on @THESTORMERS tomorrow at home ⛈️
🎟️ https://t.co/eHuNL8Av1P pic.twitter.com/XWfVFJWCHA
Centre Stuart McCloskey will be giving his team extra motivation to go all out for the win, as if they didn’t have anyway against the Stormers, who are eighth on the log and just one point ahead of the Ulster team, by commemorating his 200th appearance in this game.
When he runs onto the field he will become the fourth player in the starting team to reach the double century landmark.
Cooney chats with Stu ahead of his 200th Ulster Appearance 🤜🤛 pic.twitter.com/1lEy4pBNtK
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) March 27, 2025
There are also eight players in the run on team with more than 100 caps, and centre James Hume has 98, which is an indication that while Ulster have struggled by their standards this season, they boast the kind of experience in their ranks that South African teams can only dream of having.
It is interesting to note though that the least experienced member of the team is flyhalf Jack Murphy, with just seven caps, but the Ulster game driver is really the man inside him, scrumhalf John Cooney, a seasoned match winner with 151 Ulster caps to his name.
Ulster team: Michael Lowry (119), Rob Balocoune (69), James Hume (98), Stuart McCloskey (199), Jacob Stockdale (128), Jack Murphy (7), John Cooney (151), David McCann (62), Nick Timoney (161), Matty Rea (108), Kieran Treadwell (174), Alan O’Connor (207 - captain), Tom O’Toole (118), Rob Herring (248), Andrew Warwick (206).
Replacements: Tom Stewart (49), Callum Reid (24), Scott Wilson (29), Harry Sheridan (39), James McNabney (14), Nathan Doak (83), Ben Carson (11), Zac Ward (5)