Dave Ewers smashes Racing scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec on halfway. A "welcome to Belfast" moment.

Chris Henry
Former Ireland flanker on BBC Radio Ulster

That was a really worked set-piece play. A great dummy run from Stuart McCloskey and we just caught Racing off guard. This is a perfect start, Ulster are meeting Racing head on.

Image source, Inpho

What a start by the home side!

The first 100 seconds are dominated by Ulster going through phase after phase, with big carries from Herring and co.

Penalty to Ulster and kick for the corner. Lively

Image source, Inpho

Chris Henry
Former Ireland flanker on BBC Radio Ulster

It doesn't get much tougher than Racing, who are top of the table in the French top 14. There is so much pressure and so much at stake.

The Ulster players who have been very frustrated with the results, have to show emotion from the outset and let Racing know they are here for a serious battle.

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI at Kingspan Stadium

This place is electric tonight.

Will it stay that way? It's down to the men in yellow.

On a dry and mild Belfast evening, Antoine Gibert gets us underway.

which of these sides can get their first win of the campaign? lets find out.

The sides take the field ready for action, Ulster in European yellow, Racing in their black number.

Freddie Michalak sits aside Stuart Lancaster in the Racing coaching seats, a knowledgeable pair of both French and Irish Rugby.

Before proceedings the players and fans stand for a minute's applause of Syd Millar, a champion of the sport who sadly passed away this week.

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI at Kingspan Stadium

Image source, Inpho

Eyes will, understandably, be drawn to Siya Kolisi tonight.

In fairness, it isn't every week that a two-time World Cup-winning captain rocks up in Belfast.

Enter Siya Kolisi.

The Springboks skipper, who rose from poverty while growing up in a Port Elizabeth township to becoming one of the most recognisable athletes on the planet, is a genuinely inspirational figure.

It isn't the first time Kolisi has graced BT6, though. He was here with the Sharks 18 months ago.

On that occasion, he walked away from Belfast defeated. Can he inspire Racing to a big win tonight like he has done with South Africa so many times?

If it feels like Ulster have been here before, it's because they have.

A year ago, Dan McFarland's side began their European campaign coming off the back of a United Rugby Championship defeat (by Leinster). European competition, however, offered no solace in the shape of a 39-0 drubbing by Sale.

For Ulster, it heightened the importance of La Rochelle's visit to Belfast in the second round of games, which the Irish province lost 36-29.

This year, it all feels a bit familiar. In the last couple of weeks, Ulster signed off URC duty with defeat by Edinburgh before succumbing to another strong English side in Bath with the start of the Investec Champions Cup last week.

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Image source, BBC Sport

Matt Gault
BBC Sport NI at Kingspan Stadium

Image source, Getty Images

This stadium has hosted many a French side on big European nights down the years, and this one carries a real sense of importance for Ulster.

After three defeats on the bounce, and with a bitterly disappointing second-half display at Bath last week still fresh in the minds, Dan McFarland's side need a win. Badly.

And McFarland certainly isn't taking any chances, naming what is probably his strongest available XV, a team loaded with European and international experience.

The players he's brought in offer serious experience and big-game chops, too, with record caps holder Rob Herring and John Cooney - one of only two players to have scored 1,000 points for the club - recalled alongside the returning Mike Lowry and Matty Rea.

While McFarland has urged his side to brush up in attack, there will be heavy scrutiny on set-pieces tonight given Bath's superiority in the scrum last week.

But with try-scoring machine Henry Arundell and Nolann Le Garrec - who has been talked about as a potential successor to Antoine Dupont with France - in the Racing line-up, Ulster must be stingier than they were at the Rec last week when they shipped 29 points without reply in the second half.

Dan McFarland will be hoping his Ulster side can get their European campaign back on track with a win over French Giants Racing 92 at Kingspan Stadium this evening.

The Irish province went down with a whimper last weekend in their opening fixture to Bath, losing 37-14.

McFarland has shaken things up by making four changes to the side that started last week's defeat in the west-country.

Irish international Rob Herring, a noted set-piece specialist, replaces prolific try-scorer Tom Stewart at hooker as McFarland moves to tighten up his scrum after being comprehensively outgunned in that department by Bath. Marty Moore is a late withdrawal from the bench, Scott Wilson gets the nod as a replacement.

Despite his costly yellow card in the second half at the Rec, Matty Rea gets the nod at number eight with James McNabney not involved, while in the backs, McFarland's two changes see accomplished goal-kicker John Cooney preferred to Nathan Doak at scrum-half and fit-again Mike Lowry replacing Stewart Moore at full-back.

Racing are also bruised after a surprise 28-31 defeat at home to Harlequins in their opener.

They make eight chances for this evenings game, Max Spring comes in at full-back with Henry Arundell moving out to the wing. Henry Chavancy also comes in at 12.

In the pack, both props are changed, with Hassane Kolingar Trevor Nyakane stepping up. French International Cameron Woki moves to blindside as both locks are also changed in a bid for a change of fortunes.

Ulster: Lowry, Baloucoune, Hume, McCloskey, Stockdale, Burns, Cooney; Kitshoff, Herring, O'Toole; O'Connor, Henderson (capt); Ewers, Timoney, Matty Rea.

Replacements: Stewart, O'Sullivan, Wilson, Treadwell, Sheridan, Doak, Flannery, Wilson.

Racing 92: Spring, Arundell, Fickou, Chavancy, Imhoff, Gibert, Le Garrec; Kolingar, Tarrit, Nyakane; Chouzenoux, Rowlands; Woki, Kolisi, Lauret.

Replacements: Ben Arous, Gogichashvili, Kharaishvili, Sanconnie, Diallo, Baudonne, Tedder, Tabuavou.

Referee: Luke Pearce

It is all over at the RDS and Leinster secure a hard-fought bonus point victory against Sale Sharks at the RDS in Dublin.

They upped the tempo in the second half after a below par first half showing, registering five tries as they made it two European Champions Cup wins from two games.

Credit must go to Sale, who performed well in the first period and kept pushing Leinster in the second half even when they began to tire.

Image source, Inpho

A concern for Leinster as Charlie Ngatai goes off on the cart after suffering an injury.

Hugo Keenan goes to the sin-bin for a cynical foul on Arron Reed after he had kicked the ball forward as he attempted to register another try.

Two minutes remaining in the contest.

Sale spill the ball in a dangerous area and that allows Leinster to spring into attack, but Nye Thomas manages to clear well from the try-line.

They are tiring now as Leinster begin to assert their dominance.

Sale are continue to press for a try that would keep them in the game. They win the line out after a penalty advantage but Leinster manage to hold the ball up.

Momentum had clearly swung in Leinster's favour in this half, but that was a reminder from Sale that they aren't out of the game yet.