Ulster v Glasgow Warriors - Heineken Cup match preview

Sean Maitland: Back on the wing for Glasgow

Rory Best: Named in the Ulster line-up

Ulster have made five changes to their line-up for the visit of Glasgow Warriors in the Heineken Cup on Friday.

Ulster are on the verge of securing their place in the quarter-final stages having picked up 15 points from their four games so far.

However having lost to Northampton last time out, they know that they can't afford any more slip up - with both Castres and the Saints chasing hard.

Ulster boss Mark Anscombe has named Jared Payne and Paddy Wallace in his back division for the clash, while Rory Best, John Afoa and Iain Henderson start in the pack.

Glasgow, who are bottom of Pool Four, have made six changes for the trip to Ravenhill.

Four of the alterations come in the back division with Duncan Weir, Peter Horne, Sean Maitland and Peter Murchie coming into the starting XV.

In the pack, coach Gregor Townsend welcomes back Tom Ryder and James Eddie.

Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry (c), 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Louis Stevenson, 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Calum Black, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Neil McComb, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Michael Allen, 23 Chris Cochrane.

Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Robert Harley, 6 James Eddie, 5 Al Kellock (c), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Moray Low, 2 Doug Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 tbc, 19 Nick Campbell, 20 Tim Swinson, 21 Nikola Matawalu, 22 Scott Wight, 23 Stuart Hogg.

What they said...

Winger Andrew Trimble, who will be making his 150th appearance for Ulster

"I never thought when I was starting out that I would ever make 150 appearances.

"When I was younger I supported Ulster and always wanted to play for the province, so to reach 150 is really special."

Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend

"Ulster are clearly a very fine side, they've only been beaten once at Ravenhill in the last 13 Heineken Cup games but this is the kind of challenge we look forward to, it means we're testing ourselves against the best sides around.

"We performed very well in the Heineken Cup last time out against Castres and we're coming off a good run of wins in the league so there's a confidence about the squad at the moment that their hard work is paying off.

"We know our results in the Heineken Cup haven't been good enough so we want to show that we're capable of performing at an elite level regardless of the opponent or the situation."

Click here for more betting