Ulster A team coaches Willie Anderson and Kieran Campbell have announced their squad for the opening round of the British & Irish Cup against Jersey Reds at Shawsbridge on Friday evening (kick-off 7.00pm).

The Ulster A team, sponsored by CD Group, will feature a blend of experience and youth for the challenge of Jersey, in what will be the first meeting between the sides since they were paired together in the 2013/14 British & Irish Cup group stages.

This will be the Ulster A team’s first competitive outing of the season, following warm-up games against Canada A and Leinster A, and the management team have signalled their intent to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition for the first time since the 2011/12 season.

Tommy Bowe and Dan Tuohy boast an impressive 272 Ulster senior caps between them, while a further 9 players have also enjoyed first XV experience for Ulster.

Jersey Reds had opened their Greene King IPA Championship in promising fashion by winning the first two games, but followed that with four successive defeats, most recently to fellow British & Irish Cup Pool 1 side London Scottish. However, they will be travelling to Belfast hoping to rediscover the form that saw them go all the way to the competition semi-final last season, where they narrowly lost out to Yorkshire Carnegie by one point.

Ulster A team and replacements to play Jersey Reds, Friday 14th October, Shawsbridge (kick-off 7.00pm):

(15-9): Jonny McPhillips, Tommy Bowe, Sam Windsor, Mark Best, Aaron Cairns, Brett Herron, Dave Shanahan;
(1-8): Jonny Simpson, John Andrew, Ricky Lutton, Dan Tuohy (C), Kieran Treadwell, Stephen Mulholland, Conor Joyce, Lorcan Dow;
Replacements (16-22): Jonny Murphy, Tom O’Hagan, John Donnan, Nick Timoney, Angus Lloyd, Callum Smith, Conor Kelly.

Jersey Reds team v Ulster A:

(15-9): Jack Cuthbert, George Watkins, Jordan Davies, George Eastwell, Rich Lane, Sam Katz, Joel Dudley;
(1-8): Sean McCarthy, Jack Macfarlane, Mark Tampin, Nick Campbell, James Voss, James Freeman (C), James Doyle, Nick Haining;
Replacements (16-22): Nick Selway, Jake Woolmore, Jake Armstrong, Uili Kolo'ofa'i, Max Argyle; Sami Fisilau, Lewis Robling.

TICKETING: Admission into Friday’s game is just £5 for adults, while U18’s are admitted FREE.

Below is the full list of Ulster A’s fixtures in the 2016/17 British & Irish Cup:

Round 1: Ulster A v Jersey Reds - Friday 14th October at Shawsbridge, 7.00pm.
Round 2: London Scottish v Ulster A - Saturday 22nd October at London Scottish RFC, 2.30pm.
Round 3: Ulster A v Cardiff Blues Prem Select - Friday 9th December at Ballymena RFC, 7.00pm.
Round 4: Cardiff Blues Prem Select v Ulster A - Saturday 17^th December at Pontypridd, 2.30pm.
Round 5: Ulster A v London Scottish - Friday 13th January at Kingspan Stadium, 7.00pm.
Round 6: Jersey v Ulster A - Saturday 21st January at Jersey RFC, 2.00pm.

Ulster A team named for British & Irish Cup opener

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