Ulster

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Fit-again Stuart McCloskey has been named in a much-changed Ulster team for Friday's United Rugby Championship game against Ospreys in Belfast (19:35 BST).

Ireland centre McCloskey, who missed the win over Connacht with knee and ankle injuries he picked up in the defeat by the Lions in South Africa, returns to form a new centre partnership with Ben Carson.

Mike Lowry replaces Ethan McIlroy at full-back in the other change to the backline while head coach Richie Murphy has made six alterations to his pack.

Eric O'Sullivan and James McCormick are the two front-row changes, replacing Andy Warwick and John Andrew, while Alan O'Connor will captain the side from the second row with Iain Henderson having been ruled out through concussion.

Emerging Ireland players Harry Sheridan and Cormac Izuchukwu also return while Marcus Rea is recalled to the back row with Dave McCann switching to number eight.

Prop Scott Wilson, another Emerging Ireland tourist, is named on the bench.

Ulster are aiming for an eighth successive home win in the URC and have not lost to Ospreys in Belfast since 2013.

Ulster: Mike Lowry, Werner Kok, Ben Carson, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Aidan Morgan, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, James McCormick, Tom O’Toole; Alan O’Connor (capt), Harry Sheridan; Cormac Izuchukwu, Marcus Rea, Dave McCann;

Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Kieran Treadwell and Matty Rea, Nathan Doak, James Humphreys, Jude Postlethwaite.

Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Owen Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Ben Warren, Will Greatbanks, Lewis Jones, Lewis Lloyd, Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris (capt).

Replacements: Ethan Lewis, Garyn Phillips, Math Iowerth-Scott, Rhys Thomas, Dan Gemine, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Tom Florence, Max Nagy.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

Assistant referees: Andrew Cole & Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

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Ulster assistant coach Dan Soper has said Connacht hooker Dave Heffernan's tackle on Iain Henderson which led to the latter suffering a concussion in last weekend's United Rugby Championship game "didn't look great".

Ireland second row Henderson was withdrawn 15 minutes into Ulster's win and failed his head injury assessment, with the club subsequently ruling him out of Friday's game against Ospreys.

Heffernan's challenge was not reviewed by the officials at the time with Soper suggesting that not doing so was not in keeping with trying to make rugby safer.

"My thoughts initially were it didn’t look great, did it?," said Soper.

"But everyone’s had a good look and we all have our opinions on it. The decision was made at the time, it is what it is.

"We’re trying to keep the game safer, but it wasn’t quite the case on Saturday night, was it?"

Henderson joins a growing list of players currently unavailable to Ulster. Centre Stewart Moore sustained a shoulder injury in the Connacht game and will also miss the Ospreys fixture, while fellow backs Jude Postlethwaite and Ethan McIlroy are doubts.

Rob Baloucoune, Jake Flannery, James Hume, Rob Herring and Tom Stewart remain out with longer term injuries, but centre Stuart McCloskey and prop Eric O'Sullivan have returned to training.

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Ulster captain Iain Henderson will sit out their United Rugby Championship visit from Ospreys on Friday.

The Ireland international suffered a concussion in their win against Connacht last weekend and will now follow World Rugby graduated return protocols.

Centre Stewart Moore sustained a shoulder injury in the same game and will also miss the Ospreys fixture, while fellow backs Jude Postlethwaite and Ethan McIlroy are doubts.

Rob Baloucoune, Jake Flannery, James Hume, Rob Herring and Tom Stewart remain out with longer term injuries, but centre Stuart McCloskey and prop Eric O'Sullivan have returned to training.

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Ulster and Ireland centre James Hume admits his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery has been "mentally challenging" but remains on course to return during the Six Nations window.

The 26-year-old damaged his knee against Cardiff in April having been plagued by injuries in recent seasons.

"It's flat-out," he told BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound of his recovery.

"Mentally challenging but I'm loving every bit of it. It's a completely different challenge to get back."

While needing to make sure he is "100% ready to go" before getting back on the pitch, Hume is expecting to return before the spring.

"I'm hoping to be back in early February but it's not set in stone," he added.

"It'll just be whenever I'm fully 100% ready to go. It's going as good as it can be so far."

Ulster secured their second win of the United Rugby Championship season against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday night with Hume "excited" by the performances of Richie Murphy's young side.

"This is the most different I've felt from season to season with so many senior lads going and new, young faces given more responsibility, coming up and finding their voice."

"It's great to see so many young lads getting involved in that process early on.

"Everyone should be excited to see what they've got in the future."

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Ulster head coach Richie Murphy says his side's hard-earned 32-27 win over Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday was "massive for us".

Ulster scored five tries to Connacht's four in an action-packed Irish interprovincial derby to end a two-game losing run.

"Five points at home was exactly what we needed to get back into the competition, which was made very difficult by a really good Connacht team," Murphy told BBC Sport NI.

"Some of their attack stuff has been excellent this year so far and they didn’t disappoint tonight again."

Murphy was particularly pleased with the way his team went about their task.

"Our toughness and fight and commitment was really good.

"There are things we need to be way better at - like overplaying in our area and not looking after the ball well enough at those times which caused us a lot of trouble – in fairness to Connacht they capitalised on that - but we're delighted with the win."

The northern province used the rolling maul to good effect against their western counterparts.

"To get a couple of maul tries is big for us, something that Ulster would have been built on back in the day, but we haven’t been able to capitalise on those in the past while.

"It was really nice to see the lads get over the line there. The last couple of weeks once we’ve got in and around that goal-line we haven’t been finishing off some of those tries but I thought we did really well today."

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Ulster fly-half Aidan Morgan says he is "super-excited" for the province's first Irish interprovincial game of the season against Connacht at Kingspan Stadium on Saturday night, a contest which will be broadcast live on BBC Two NI and BBC iPlayer.

The 23-year-old New Zealand native joined the Irish province from the Hurricanes on a two-year contract at the start of the campaign.

Ulster began their United Rugby Championship term with a narrow win over Glasgow in Belfast, followed by reverses on the road at the hands of the Lions and the Bulls.

"I know how important these interpro games are for the club and the senior boys are really leading the week in terms of what a win will mean for the team and for the fans," said Morgan.

"We ground out a really hard victory last time here [against Glasgow at Kingspan Stadium] so we’re looking to do the same.

"Although the results in South Africa weren't what we were looking for, it was nice to spend some time with the lads and get to know them a bit better.

"We’re working really hard as a team to fix up the few areas where we probably let ourselves down in South Africa. We know it’s a really big challenge this weekend but the boys are ready to step up."

'Parts of my game to improve on'

Irish-qualified Morgan cites a desire to further develop his game as one of the reasons for his move from New Zealand to Ulster.

"There are always improvements to be made to my game and the big thing Richie is working with me is leading the team around and leading the attack especially.

"I feel there are parts of my game that I’m really happy with but there’s a lot to improve on as well that I’m working on behind the scenes."

Saturday's encounter could see Morgan lock horns with All Black Josh Ioane, a fellow number 10, who also plays at full-back and centre. He joined Connacht from the Chiefs in the summer.

“I know Josh [Ioane] really well. He’s a top player, a really skilful first five and a really good ball carrier too," reflected Morgan.

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Ulster back row Nick Timoney believes the new wave of talent in the Irish province's squad is "really exciting and really good".

Following the retirements of several senior players in recent years, the 29-year-old finds himself as one of the more experienced members of Richie Murphy's panel.

The Ireland international says that while defeats by the Lions and the Bulls on Ulster's tour of South Africa were disappointing, the trip offered up an opportunity for younger players to learn and gain valuable match-time.

James McCormick, Ben Carson and academy lock Charlie Irvine made their first Ulster starts in Saturday's 47-21 loss to the Bulls, with hooker Tadgh McElroy and development fly-half, James Humphreys also making their debuts off the bench.

Carson scored a try while Humphreys kicked two conversions.

"It sometimes feels like not a lot [what you get out of a tour with two defeats] but then there’s the blooding of young lads getting their first chance and from a squad point of view you get used to playing with some new faces and get to spend more time with each other," said Timoney.

"There’s been a huge turnover in the squad over the last couple of years so it’s good from an off-the-field perspective too, getting to know some of the younger lads.

"I don’t really feel old but you look around and the rest of the lads are 21 or 22 and then you maybe do feel a bit old. I think loads of them are really exciting and really good. We have loads of talent coming through and I will try and help those lads come through as best as possible and put the club in the best place we possibly can."

Before travelling to South Africa, Ulster began their United Rugby Championship campaign with a last-gasp home win over Glasgow and Murphy's side next face Connacht in their first interprovincial game of the season on Saturday.

"You know exactly what’s coming [playing Connacht], you play them so often and you watch all their games, whereas you go to South Africa you may get different players playing, you have to do a bit more research,” explained Timoney.

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Ulster Rugby have signed prop Bryan O'Connor to their squad.

The 25-year-old from Cork was most recently playing with Bedford Blues in the English second tier having previously represented Gloucester Rugby and been involved with the Ireland Under-20s.

Ulster's front-row stocks were diminished by the retirement of 10-times capped Irish international Marty Moore last month, while Scott Wilson has been absent due to Emerging Ireland duty.

“I’m delighted to sign with the province and I’m looking forward to getting integrated into the squad," said O'Connor.

"I feel I can add to the group here and can improve my game under the coaching staff. I’m excited to get going for the rest of the season.”

Ulster Rugby’s head of recruitment and rugby operations Bryn Cunningham added that O'Connor will add to the "squad depth" at Kingspan Stadium.

“Bryan has had a few years playing over in England and we feel, with his physical profile, there was an opportunity to bring him in and add to our squad depth at tighthead," he said.

"Bryan joins a front row with a similar age-profile and we look forward to seeing his development and contribution over the season ahead.”

After back-to-back losses against the Lions and Bulls in South Africa, Ulster face their first interprovincial derby of the United Rugby Championship season against Connacht in Belfast on Saturday.

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Ulster lock Cormac Izuchukwu is relishing working with the national side's coaching staff on the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa.

Andy Farrell's assistants Simon Easterby and Paul O'Connell have been on the trip with Izuchukwu, who toured South Africa with the senior side in the summer without winning his first Test cap, having also been a member of the Emerging Ireland panel back in 2022.

"These trips are something special," said the 24-year-old.

"Being around guys like Paulie, Simon Easterby and stuff like that. They're unbelievable coaches, the best in the world."

In what is the final fixture of the three-game tour, Emerging Ireland will face the Cheetahs on Wednesday hoping to build upon victories over Pumas and Western Force.

"On this trip especially, it's a much younger squad but lads have really, really stepped up," Izuchukwu added.

"It's been a really short time from last Wednesday when we joined up. Every game has been one level above, hopefully on Wednesday we can get to that next level and make it three from three."

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Jude Postlethwaite will be available for Ulster's United Rugby Championship game against Connacht on Saturday after being released from the Emerging Ireland squad.

The 22-year-old centre scored the opening try in Emerging Ireland's win over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

While Ben Carson started Ulster's defeat by the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday, Postlethwaite's return bolsters a problem area for the province's coach Richie Murphy with Stuart McCloskey and James Hume sidelined.

Gus McCarthy (Leinster) and Sean O’Brien (Munster) have also been released from the Emerging Ireland set-up.

Having won their first two games, Simon Easterby's side conclude their tour of South Africa against the Cheetahs on Wednesday (18:00 BST).

After two defeats in South Africa, Ulster host Connacht in Belfast on Saturday evening (20:00 BST).

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Ulster head coach Richie Murphy has emphasised that his team must now "get settled into the league" after his youthful squad suffered back-to-back defeats by the Lions and the Bulls on their two-match tour to South Africa in the United Rugby Championship.

Prior to travelling to the southern hemisphere, the Irish province edged out Glasgow in their opening match in Belfast and will next host Connacht on their home patch on Saturday 12 October.

"It's a difficult time but we'll learn from it and move on. We're quite happy about the experience of South Africa, now it's about going home and getting settled into the league and try to build some league points because we need a win now," said Murphy after Saturday's 41-27 defeat by the Bulls in Pretoria.

"We have a skilful team and our set-piece will come on as we build into this and we'll get a little bit more comfortable.

"If we can get a little bit more primary possession we'll cause teams a lot of trouble."

The Bulls, runners-up in last year's URC, ran in seven tries, while Ulster fell just short of clinching a bonus point as they scored three, including a stunning individual effort by Jacob Stockdale and well-worked touchdowns by Ben Carson and Stewart Moore.

"I thought at times today we were really good. Some of our attack has moved on from last week," reflected Murphy.

"We were under pressure a lot in and around the scrum and at the set-piece. We've got a lot of young lads out there playing their second and third caps for their province. Towards the middle or the back end of the season it will stand to us."

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Ulster have made nine changes from last weekend's 35-22 defeat by the Lions for Saturday's United Rugby Championship game against the Bulls in Pretoria (15:00 BST).

Iain Henderson returns to the starting line-up to captain the Irish province as the pack shows six changes in personnel from a week ago.

James McCormick and Corrie Barrett, who scored a try after coming off the bench last weekend, take over from John Andrew and Tom O'Toole in the front row.

Henderson and Charlie Irwin replace Kieran Treadwell and last weekend's skipper Alan O'Connor in the lock positions with James McNabney and David McCann taking over from Matty Rea and Nick Timoney in the back row.

Behind the scrum, Mike Lowry comes in for Ethan McIlroy at full-back with Ben Carson named at centre in place of Stuart McCloskey and Nathan Doak taking over from John Cooney at scrum-half.

McCormick, Carson and academy lock Irvine will be making their first Ulster starts with hooker Tadgh McElroy and development fly-half, James Humphreys also in line to make their debut for the Irish province after being named in the replacements.

O'Toole, O'Connor and Timoney drop to a replacements bench that also includes Dave Shanahan as Cooney is not named in the matchday squad.

Henderson started in Ulster's opening home win over defending champions Glasgow and came on a 51st-minute replacement for Treadwell last weekend as Ulster secured a four-try losing bonus point.

The Bulls have only played one game so far which was last weekend's 22-16 home win over Edinburgh.

Ulster: Mike Lowry; Werner Kok, Stewart Moore, Ben Carson, Jacob Stockdale; Aidan Morgan, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, James McCormick, Corrie Barrett; Iain Henderson(capt), Charlie Irwin; James McNabney, Sean Reffell, David McCann.

Replacements: Tadhg McElroy, Eric O’Sullivan, Tom O'Toole, Alan O'Connor, Nick Timoney, Dave Shanahan, James Humphreys, Ben Moxham.