Ulster hope to continue their positive momentum into a mouth-watering first home match of 2024.
Dan McFarland's men will aim to make it four wins on the bounce in all competitions against Pool 2 leaders, Toulouse. The French side are the domestic champions and are one of the most exciting sides in world rugby.
Ulster head into the sold out fixture on the back of huge home wins against Racing 92 and Connacht, followed by a famous win away to URC leaders, Leinster, at the RDS Arena on New Year's Day.
Toulouse come into the fixture feeling confident, after thrashing French rivals, Lyon, by 45-0, at the weekend.
Ugo Mola's side have also got off to a brilliant start in their Champions Cup camapign, as they top the group following high scoring wins against Cardiff and Harlequins.
Toulouse beat Cardiff 52-7 in Round 1 at home and then followed it up by defeating Harlequins 19-47 at Twickenham stoop in Round 2.
How it stands - Pool 2
Match Details
🏟️ Kingspan Stadium
📅 Sat 13th January
🕰️ 8pm
🏆 Investec Champions Cup
📺 TNT Sports
Last time out
This one stung. Toulouse's last trip to Kingspan Stadium resulted in Ulster being knocked out of the Champions Cup, after being defeated by a single point on aggregate and seven points on the night.
Ulster put in a heroic effort in the first leg in Toulouse, winning by six points in a 20-26 thriller.
With the scoreline that tight against the defending champions it was always going to be decided in Belfast.
The game got off to a fast start with an early Ramos penalty before Rob Baloucoune and Delibes would be sent to the sin-bin for illegal tackles. Both sides would be at 14 men aside just after 5 minutes. Ulster made the first breakthrough, with Ethan McIlroy racing through for the first try of match following a top offload from James Hume near the right wing.
Ramos and Cooney would kick a penalty each to leave the scores at 10-6 to the home side. The french side then showed why they were the champions, as a devastating dummy and break from out half Ntamack fed Dupont who found Ramos in the clear.
Ntamack was at it again just minutes later, intercepting a Cooney pass to sprint clear for their second try. Toulouse were suddenly ten points to the good but Ulster hit back just before half-time with a superb second try from Ethan McIlroy after Billy Burns cross field kick found the winger, who gathered with one hand and dotted down. Cooney's excellent conversion meant the score was 17-20 heading into the sheds.
Ulster started the second half on the front foot and grabbed an early penalty that Cooney slotted home. Ramos dispatched a pen of his own to go in front once again. They game took a turn when Tom O'Toole was shown a red card for leading with the shoulder into the head of a Toulouse attacker. Cooney would add another pen to level the scores with Ulster hoping to hold out for the final 12 mins.
Then the 2021 World Player of the Year showed his class, darting through a gap in Ulster's backline to punish the home side. Ramos conversion finished the job for the French side who won by the narrowest of margins to advance to the Quarter-Finals of the competition and resigning Ulster to the exit after a thrilling two legged encounter.
Players to watch
Seen by many as the most talented player in world rugby, Antoine Dupont, is the talisman for his club and for the French national side, which he captains.
Dupont won the 2021 World Player of the year award and has been named the player of the tournament at three Six Nations, more than any other French player in history.
Ulster fans need no reminder of his last visit to Belfast where he showcased the best of his skills, darting through to send his side through and knock ulster out of the Champions Cup in 2022. Dupont leads the Champions Cup for line breaks and offloads and will no doubt be hoping to show his quality once again.
Thomas Ramos is one of the finest full-backs in the game and plays a major role for Toulouse and France. Ramos is an extremely effective back three player, his versatility allows him to slot into almost any position in the backline. A supreme goal kicker, Ramos is the leading point scorer so far across the two rounds and is an elite full-back.
Julien Marchand is a France international hooker and during the 2018/19 season he was announced as Toulouse's captain. In May 2021, Marchand was captain for Toulouse when they won the European Champions Cup, however he was suspended for the final due to foul play against Bordeaux-Bégles in the semi final. The powerful hooker is always a threat from set-pieces given his frame and muscle.
Other honourable mentions: Jack Willis, Blair Kinghorn, Cyrill Baille.
Did you know?
- Thomas Ramos of Pool 2 joint-leaders, Stade Toulousain, is this season’s top scorer after two rounds with 30 points while Stade Toulousain lead the club scoring charts with 99 points including 14 tries.
- Antoine Dupont of Stade Toulousain leads the statistics charts in Offloads (8) and Line Breaks (7). He has also made 34 carries and has won four turnovers.
- Ulster Rugby’s John Cooney needs just 12 points to reach 300 tournament points. To date, he has scored 267 for Ulster and 21 for Connacht.
How does qualification work?
###### The four highest-ranked clubs in each pool will qualify for the Round of 16.
###### All clubs will be ranked in descending order based firstly on their ranking in their pool and subsequently on the number of match points they have accumulated, to create an overall ranking from 1 to 16.
###### If two or more clubs in the same pool are equal on match points, their ranking will be determined as follows:
###### (i) the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage; or<br>
(ii) if equal, the number of tries scored in the pool stage; or<br>
(iii) if equal, the club with the fewest number of players suspended for disciplinary incidents in the pool stage; or<br>
(iv) if still equal, by drawing lots.<br>
<br>
The pool winners will be ranked 1 to 4, the second-placed clubs will be ranked 5 to 8, the third-placed clubs will be ranked 9 to 12, and the fourth-placed clubs will be ranked 13 to 16. <br>
<br>
The Round of 16 will be played over one match as follows:<br>
\\R16 1\\: Number 1-ranked club v Number 16-ranked club <br>
\\R16 2\\: Number 2-ranked club v Number 15-ranked club <br>
\\R16 3\\: Number 3-ranked club v Number 14-ranked club<br>
\\R16 4\\: Number 4-ranked club v Number 13-ranked club <br>
\\R16 5\\: Number 5-ranked club v Number 12-ranked club <br>
\\R16 6\\: Number 6-ranked club v Number 11-ranked club <br>
\\R16 7\\: Number 7-ranked club v Number 10-ranked club <br>
\\R16 8\\: Number 8-ranked club v Number 9-ranked club <br>
\\NB\\ The clubs ranked numbers 1 to 8 will have home advantage in the Round of 16.