Ulster make seven changes, while Ioane among returning starters for Connacht

RICHIE MURPHY HAS made seven changes to his Ulster side which fell to the Bulls for Saturday night’s URC Round 4 interpro against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium, Belfast (8pm, TG4/Premier Sports/BBC 2).

There are four swaps in Ulster’s pack, with two changes to the front row who struggled in Pretoria last weekend.

Andrew Warwick makes his 200th appearance for Ulster at loosehead and is joined at hooker and tighthead by John Andrew and Tom O’Toole respectively.

Iain Henderson again captains his native province, joined on this occasion in the second row by Kieran Treadwell.

Nick Timoney, meanwhile, returns to make his 150th Ulster appearance in the back row alongside blindside Dave McCann and openside Sean Reffell.

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At scrum-half, John Cooney replaces Nathan Doak from the start for this Ravenhill encounter, while Jude Postlethwaite has returned early from the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa to start at inside centre.

Alan O’Connor, like Warwick, is set to earn his 200th Ulster cap. The Dubliner is on the bench as part of a 5-3 split.

On Connacht’s side of the equation, Pete Wilkins welcomes back Kiwi star Josh Ioane to partner Ben Murphy at half-back, with Cathal Forde covering 10 from the bench. Jack Carty, impressive in last weekend’s victory over the Scarlets, is not involved in Connacht’s matchday 23.

Joe Joyce also returns from injury to start in the second row alongside Josh Murphy, while Seán O’Brien makes his first appearance of the season at openside.

Paul Boyle and Shayne Bolton also come into Connacht’s starting lineup having appeared off the bench at Parc y Scarlets.

Head coach Wilkins has opted for a 6-2 split on his bench with Caolin Blade and Cathal Forde providing the back cover.

Ulster

15. Ethan McIlroy
14. Werner Kok
13. Stewart Moore
12. Jude Postlethwaite
11. Jacob Stockdale
10. Aidan Morgan
9. John Cooney

1. Andrew Warwick
2. John Andrew
3. Tom O’Toole
4. Iain Henderson (Captain)
5. Kieran Treadwell
6. David McCann
7. Sean Reffell
8. Nick Timoney

Replacements:

16. James McCormick
17. Callum Reid
18. Corrie Barrett
19. Alan O’Connor
20. Marcus Rea
21. Nathan Doak
22. Ben Carson
23. Mike Lowry

Connacht

15. Santiago Cordero
14. Mack Hansen
13. Piers O’Conor
12. Bundee Aki
11. Shayne Bolton
10. Josh Ioane

9. Ben Murphy
1. Denis Buckley
2. Dave Heffernan
3. Finlay Bealham
4. Joe Joyce
5. Josh Murphy
6. Cian Prendergast (Captain)
7. Sean O’Brien
8. Paul Boyle

16. Dylan Tierney-Martin
17. Peter Dooley
18. Temi Lasisi
19. Oisín Dowling
20. David O’Connor
21. Caolin Blade
22. Cathal Forde
23. Conor Oliver