The team will be captained by Lewis Stevenson and he says that the match is a fantastic opportunity for senior players and young talent to impress the coaches ahead of the resumption of the Guinness PRO12 next week.
He says: “In terms of guys wanting to put themselves in the frame for first team contention, it is a really important match. A lot of the more senior guys are getting game time and the coaches are getting the chance to look at the younger players coming through. Personally, it’s an opportunity for me to put my hand up and show the coaches that I’m ready for more game time.”
“We have a seasoned forward pack with a lot of guys that have been around the senior team,” continues Lewis. “The backline is a bit less experienced, but they have a youthful exuberance to them so I am looking forward to seeing what they can do.”
The Sportsground is always a difficult place to go and get a result, says Stevenson: “We are going to have to go down and put in a good performance. We know that they are a good side. We dominated the game that we played against them earlier in the season for large periods but they scored at the end and went away with the win.”
The 30 year old is among a number of players who will be hoping to be involved in the season run-in as the squad pushes for silverware in the PRO12. “It’s going to be an exciting end to the season,” enthuses Stevenson.
“This next period of games is pretty important to us - we’re going to have a few guys away with the international team so it’s a pretty disruptive time. The PRO12 Final at Kingspan Stadium is a massive incentive. We want to play at home in front of our home fans in a PRO12 final and that’s massive for us as players.”