Ulster out to upset the odds and reach European semi-final

Ulster go to the Aviva as underdogs as they face Leinster in the quarter finals 17:45 of the European Champions Cup.

It's over 6 years since Ulster last beat their inter-pro rivals in Dublin, a 22-18 victory at the RDS. However, the defending Champions are missing their talismanic out-half Jonny Sexton in a major boost for the Kingspan side.

Dan McFarland's men also welcome back Iain Henderson, who's recovered from an injury to start in the second row, and his experience will be essential against a strong Leinster pack.

It'll be a clash of 2 sides that gave away the fewest penalties, with Ulster conceding just 38 in the pool stages compared to Leinster's 41 - but the Dubliners have scored the most points, and the most team tries.

Ulster will of course be reliant on tournament top try-scorer Jacob Stockdale 6, although he shares this record with the unlikely Sean Cronin of Leinster.

Today's fixture will also mark the first that Jordi Murphy takes on his former side: “Knockout rugby in Europe is very exciting and to be doing it with a young new group, a new coach and new staff this year is everything that I came here to do.”

The Ulstermen are also on a strong run of form, unbeaten in their last 7 games which includes wins over Racing and Leicester Tigers - but their last defeat was heavily inflicted by Leinster, a 40-7 hammering at the RDS in early January.

However, the players go to Dublin today with nothing to lose, backed by as many as 15,000 traveling fans at a sold-out Aviva.

Ulster team and replacements to play Leinster:

(15-9): M Lowry; R Baloucoune, D Cave, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; B Burns, J Cooney;

(1-8): E O’Sullivan, R Best (captain), M Moore, I Henderson, K Treadwell, N Timoney, J Murphy, M Coetzee;

Replacements (16-23): R Herring, A Warwick, W Herbst, A O’Connor, S Reidy, D Shanahan, L Marshall, A Kernohan