Iain Henderson will make an earlier than expected return to action, as he makes his 100th appearance for Ulster against Leicester at Welford Road. The second row is the sole change to the starting team that beat Racing 92 last weekend
One of the finds of the season, Eric O’Sullivan, and former Leinster prop Marty Moore pack down either side of captain Rory Best in the front row. Kieran Treadwell partners Iain Henderson in the engine room, with Sean Reidy, Jordi Murphy, and Marcel Coetzee rounding out the pack.
Dave Shanahan is rewarded for his good form by keeping hold of his spot at scrum-half, even with the return to fitness of John Cooney. Billy Burns starts at out-half once again. In the
Leicester have named a backline full of internationals. England halfbacks Ben Youngs and George Ford start, with an all-star midfield pairing of Manu Tuilagi and Matt To’omua. In the back three, recent Wales call-up Jonah Holmes starts at 15, with England regular Jonny May, and exciting youngster Jordan Olowofela on the wings. Hooker Jake Kerr starts, after being named in the Scotland squad for the Six Nations this week, with the veteran prop Dan Cole also celebrating a return to the international fold having been recalled by Eddie Jones this week.
Ulster are still in contention for their first quarter final spot since 2014. If they beat Leicester, they have to wait and see how the other results go. They will be hoping that Edinburgh beat Montpellier, Saracens get a win against Glasgow, and that Munster get the job done against Exeter.
Leicester v Ulster kicks off at 15:15 on Saturday live on BT Sports.
You can check out our ‘Predictions’ for this game and the rest of the games in Round 6 here.
