Edinburgh v UlsterNEITHER COACH would dismiss tonight's game as an irrelevance, but they might privately accept that the nature of performance is almost as important as the result with the resumption of the Heineken Cup looming next weekend.

Edinburgh and Ulster sit proudly atop their respective pools and both face pivotal encounters that will shape their European destiny next weekend: the Scottish side welcome Racing Metro 92 to the capital, while Ulster host the Leicester Tigers. The European tournament is the primary manner of defining a season in terms of success and failure.

The province have been bolstered by a returning quintet of internationals, four of whom, Rory Best, Tom Court, Stephen Ferris and Andrew Trimble, are named in the starting line-up, while a fifth, Paddy Wallace, is among the replacements.

Wallace, who has been out for seven weeks with tendon damage to a thumb, will cast a long shadow for young Ian Whitten as the latter bids to hold on to the jersey. There is very little contention in selection with the possible exception of Stefan Terblanche, chosen at fullback ahead of the in-form Adam D’Arcy.

Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin explained: “Adam D’Arcy has been playing very well over the past few matches but Stefan (Terblanche) has a bit more experience and we wanted to give him an opportunity to impress at fullback.”

At face value a little hard on the Australian, D’Arcy. Paddy McAllister’s knee injury means he drops out of the match squad.

McLaughlin will be keen for his returning Irish internationals to provide impetus in terms of enthusiasm and quality and the calibre of the team display is something upon which they can build for next week. He pointed out: “Training has been excellent all week. It’s been great having the internationals back, including Paddy (Wallace). It really gives us a boost coming into such important games and they will bring a bit extra to the team.”

Outhalf Phil Godman is the only back to retain a starting spot from the Edinburgh side that lost last weekend’s derby 17-12 to the Glasgow Warriors at Firhill. His drop goal secured a losing bonus point on the stroke of full-time.

In the pack the international triumvirate of Allan Jacobsen, Ross Ford and Geoff Cross return to the frontrow, Esteban Lozada and Seán Cox are promoted to the engine room, while Roddy Grant replaces Alan MacDonald at flanker.

Edinburgh’s Irish coach Michael Bradley has seen his side win six of their last seven matches at Murrayfield and acknowledges the importance of this match in both a singular context and in terms of the momentum a positive result could provide in the weeks ahead.

“Like us, Ulster have so far enjoyed a successful Heineken Cup campaign but have not been as convincing in the RaboDirect Pro 12 (the clubs are eighth and ninth respectively), though they clearly took a big step towards addressing that last weekend against Munster.

“This is a huge match for us as a big month for the club continues and, while we’ve acknowledged the long-term importance of our January fixtures, the players and coaches are focused fully on the size of the job at hand.

“Success would clearly give us the winning momentum we desire going into the Heineken Cup; however that itself is not the objective. First and foremost this is about winning in the RaboDirect Pro 12.”

This game will offer a decent benchmark for Ulster in terms of where they are performance-wise and where they need to go given next week’s assignment of trying to tame the Tigers. Bradley has made Edinburgh difficult to beat at home, something the Irish province may experience first hand tonight.

EDINBURGH: C Paterson; T Brown, N De Luca, J King, T Visser; P Godman, G Laidlaw (capt); A Jacobsen, R Ford, G Cross; S Cox, E Lozada; S McInally, R Grant, N Talei. Replacements: A Walker, K Traynor, J Gilding, G Gilchrist, A MacDonald, C Leck, M Scott, J Thompson.

ULSTER: S Terblanche; A Trimble, D Cave, I Whitten, C Gilroy; I Humphreys, R Pienaar; T Court, R Best, J Afoa; J Muller (capt), D Tuohy; S Ferris, C Henry, P Wannenburg. Replacements: A Kyriacou, C Black, A Macklin, L Stevenson, W Faloon, P Marshall, P Wallace, A D’Arcy.

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland).

Verdict: Edinburgh to win.