Ulster need to tighten up

Rugby Magners League - Glasgow v Ulster:ULSTER'S PASSAGE by sea to Glasgow yesterday because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland downing all air traffic in Britain, could be the slow boat to Heineken Cup as well as Magners League disappointment if they don't quickly pull out of their losing tail spin.

Ulster know they are perilously close to losing their automatic European slot to Connacht, with only four points between the sides and a league clash at Ravenhill scheduled for further down the line.

The province believe they are better than third from the bottom of the table and a slide this year away from the Heineken Cup as former New Zealand number eight Xavier Rush and Springbok lock Johann Muller arrive to make pack selection issues even more interesting is unthinkable. But Ulster have been unable to stop the rot and a run of four league defeats into this evening’s Glasgow meeting leaves their confidence at a low level.

Injuries have ruled out Ireland hooker Rory Best and utility back Paddy Wallace. Nigel Brady replaces Best in the squad, while Jamie Smith returns from injury. Leinster-bound scrumhalf Isaac Boss is on the bench with Paul Marshall partnering Ian Humphreys in the midfield.

Glasgow are angling for one of the four play-off places and sit fifth in the table. With 38 points they are just one point adrift of fourth-placed Edinburgh and third-placed Munster. With kicker and outhalf Dan Parks, who won man of the match for Scotland in three of their Six Nations matches, starting Ulster’s discipline and leaky defence will have to seriously tighten up. “We had a good review of Tuesday night’s game against Ospreys and we’ve got to look at our defence,” said Ulster coach Brian McLaughlin. “We’re still suffering from inconsistency around our defence. Our set-piece was a lot more solid. We just have to stop giving away soft tries.”

With flanker John Barclay recovered from a stomach bug, the Scotland backrow Killer Bs of Barclay, Kelly Brown and John Beattie ominously start for Glasgow.

ULSTER:S Danielli; A Trimble, D Cave, I Whitten, N Spence; I Humphreys, P Marshall; Tom Court, A Kyriacou, D Fitzpatrick, E O'Donoghue, R Caldwell, S Ferris, C Henry (capt), R Diack. Replacements: N Brady, B Botha, D Tuohy, D Pollock, I Boss, N O'Connor, J Smith

GLASGOW:B Stortoni; C Shaw, M Evans, G Morrison, D van der Merwe; D Parks, M McMillan; K Tkachuk, F Thomson, M Low, T Barker, A Kellock (capt), K Brown, J Barclay, J Beattie. Replacements: F Thompson, E Kalman, D Turner, C Forrester, C Cusiter, R Jackson, H O'Hare.

Referee:T Hayes (WRU).

Verdict:Glasgow win.