Internal competition key to Schmidt’s selection policy

The Luke Marshall or Gordon D'Arcy debate; a natural inside centre or a brilliant rugby player with a wealth of experience continues.

"Gordon had a little bit of a stomach at the start of the week. Luke got a little more of training under his belt," was how Joe Schmidt called it.

Basically his intention is to keep such a healthy rivalry alive for as long as possible.

Last season D’Arcy was usurped by Marshall but an innate stubbornness coupled with the 22-year-old’s succession of concussions re-opened the door.

Also, D’Arcy was magnificent against New Zealand.

“It’s a tight selection. I think they both did well in the autumn. Luke made a couple of really good telling breaks and his pass quality was good against Australia.

“Gordon played as well as I’ve seen him play against the All Blacks.”

But still he misses out on any involvement Sunday.

Schmidt always creates internal competition. He challenges players to respond to the disappointment of being dropped and reward the trust bestowed by promotion. Seán O'Brien's shoulder surgery saw him cleverly give hope to Chris Henry, Tommy O'Donnell and Jordi Murphy to earn the number seven jersey.

Henry’s familiarity with systems from the November gathering and form for Ulster, particularly over the ball, sees him keep the younger pretenders at bay.

Injury to Tommy Bowe, Keith Earls and Luke Fitzgerald also re-opens the door for a third Ulsterman as Andrew Trimble comes in from the cold at left wing ahead of Fergus McFadden.

The depth of wing talent has never been so strong.

"With Craig Gilroy and Simon Zebo coming back from injury we think it is better that they get more game time. It's a highly contested position. Andrew has first run at it.

“He’s a physical winger, good in the air. Defensively he can close down an attack pretty efficiently.”

Interestingly, Ian Madigan and Iain Henderson are cooling their heels this weekend as Paddy Jackson and Dan Tuohy make the replacements bench.

Madigan’s exclusion is as much about Jackson’s greater exposure at provincial level, while Tuohy’s statistical record (carries and effective tackles) keep his younger Ulster team-mate at bay.

Still, going with specialist outhalf and lock cover is at odds with previous selections. If Marshall or Peter O'Mahony are forced off the reshuffle doesn't look ready made. McFadden has been playing exclusively on the wing this past year and O'Donnell primarily at openside.