Ireland put Ulster on the bench

Flanker Stephan Ferris will face a late fitness test ahead of Ireland’s crunch game in Paris this weekend. The Ulsterman missed his side’s opening match against the Italians with a knee injury but should be passed fit for Saturday.

This will come as something of a relief to Ulster – a club with a proud history of producing international players – as they were facing the prospect of not being represented in Ireland’s first team.

Andrew Trimble – who started against Italy and had a hand in the opening try – is struggling with a hamstring strain and has been pushed to the bench to be replaced by Keith Earls.

The other Ulster players risking splinters in their backsides are prop Tom Court, versatile back Paddy Wallace and club captain Rory Best who again miss out.

This could be because Ulster, having spent the past few years failing to compete both in Europe and domestically, currently find themselves treading water in mid-table behind rivals Munster and Leinster whose players will once again make up the majority of the Ireland first team.

Both teams will want to improve on their opening performances as Ireland laboured to a 29-11 victory at home against an average Italian team, while France only managed to win 18-9 at Murrayfield despite dominating the game from the start. One thing’s for sure, after tasting victory’s sweet juices last year the Irish won’t want another 24 years sucking on lemons.