Preview: Ulster v Glasgow

Rory Best will lead Ulster in his 100th game for the province against Glasgow in Belfast on Friday. Ruan Pienaar starts at nine.

Rory Best will captain Ulster in his 100th competitive appearance for the province against Glasgow on Friday.

Amongst the backs there are two positional changes as Paddy Wallace is restored to the inside centre position after playing at fly-half against Connacht last weekend and Andrew Trimble reverts to the wing from the centre.

Scottish international Simon Danielli returns to action following shoulder surgery in the summer while new signing Ruan Pienaar will make a much anticipated debut in front of the Ravenhill crowd in the scrum-half position, partnering Niall O'Connor at fly-half.

Up front Ulster retain Young, Best and Court in the front row while Johann Muller, who was rested for last weekend's match against Connacht returns to the second row, partnered for the first time this season by Dan Tuohy.

In the back row Pedrie Wannenburg moves to cover the blindside berth in the absence of the injured Stephen Ferris, Chris Henry retains the openside shirt while Robbie Diack returns to the starting line-up at numbe eight

With three props (BJ Botha, Declan Fitzpatrick and Adam Macklin) currently on the injured list, Ulster have drafted in the services of Alan Whitten who plays his club rugby for Instonians and he is named on the bench, alongside his brother, Ulster centre Ian.

Meanwhile, Glasgow have named an unchanged starting XV.

The only changes come on the bench where front rowers Pat MacArthur and Ryan Grant are selected ahead of internationalists Dougie Hall and Kevin Tkachuk respectively.

Further back, Aly Muldowney comes in for Ryan Wilson whilst Rob Dewey returns from a hand injury to take the place of Peter Horne.

Despite the last three results of the 2010/11 campaign, Glasgow coach Sean Lineen remains upbeat about the progress his team is making.

“The players have been doing a lot of good things in the games we've played so far,” he said.

“It would be difficult if we couldn't pinpoint what wasn't going up to speed.

“We can't fault the players' effort at all, its just decisions and some skills at key times just not coming off.

“It's a very young forward pack. We're making errors and we're getting punished for them, and you'd expect that. But as long as we're learning, that's the key.”

Form: Glasgow did the double over Ulster last season, and have an excellent recent record at Ravenhill with three wins in their last four visits. Ulster remain unbeaten in this season's Magners League following their 15-all draw in Connacht on Saturday. Ulster have not been defeated in the Magners League since they visited Glasgow on 16 April. Glasgow Warriors have slipped to three straight Magners League defeats, and have won just once on the road in the competition since 2 January: 37-32 at Scarlets on 7 May.

The teams:

Ulster: 15 Jamie Smith, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Niall O'Connor, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Robbie Diack 7 Chris Henry, 6 Pedrie Wannenburg, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Johann Muller, 3 Tom Court, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Bryan Young,
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Alan Whitten, 19 Tim Barker, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Whitten

Glasgow: 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Max Evans, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Federico Aramburu, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Colin Gregor, 8 Richie Vernon, 7 John Barclay (c), 6 Robert Harley, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Moray Low 2 Fergus Thomson, 1 Jon Welsh.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Ed Kalman, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Calum Forrester, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Rob Dewey

Date: Friday, October 1
Venue: Ravenhill
Kick-off: 19.05 BST (18.05 GMT)
Referee: Stefano Penne