If Ulster are to beat Leinster and reach the Guinness PRO12 final, they will have to overcome a number of statistical obstacles, yet Ulster skipper Rory Best claims the pressure will all be on their Dublin-based opponents. In the 12 semi-finals since the introduction of play-offs in the 2009-10 season, no away side has ever triumphed – giving a distinct advantage to Leinster at the RDS Arena on Friday night. Leo Cullen’s troops are also formidable on their home turf, having not lost a Guinness PRO12 clash at the RDS since Newport Gwent Dragons were the visitors in 2015 while Ulster have won just a single match at the venue in their last 12 visits. The last four matches between the sides have been won by the home side on the day and the only time Ulster have avoided defeat in six knock-out clashes against Leinster was a 23-23 draw (AET) in the quarter-final of the 2003 Celtic Cup. All that points to an uphill struggle for Best and co, but the beauty of the Guinness PRO12 lies in its unpredictability. Leinster finished top of the regular-season table yet Ulster handed them a convincing 30-6 defeat in Belfast back in round 21. Having been a professional rugby player for 12 years, Best has seen, and been through, almost everything but now he has his sights set on making history underneath the Friday night lights at the RDS Arena. “Leinster are a quality side that’s used to winning play-off games, they’re probably used to beating us in play-off games,” admitted Best. “The flip-side of that is that they’re at home, the top-ranked team in the competition. So there is a bit of pressure on them to perform. “Historically, there’s never been a team to win an away semi-final. We feel we’re geared up and we want to be the first team to do that. “There is an element where there’s a bit of pressure off us, because they’re expected to win. We expect to perform and pitch-up. We’re preparing for a game. “It’s one that we feel we’re up for and in a good place to overcome. At the same time, the pressure’s on them, it’s their home semi-final and no one’s ever lost one.” Ulster name an unchanged starting XV for the clash meaning flanker Chris Henry will win his 100th cap for the province while a trio of Irish international backs – Paul Marshall, Stuart Olding and Darren Cave – could make a crucial impact off the bench. For Leinster, there is mixed news on the injury front with Luke Fitzgerald returning from injury to start on the left wing but Rob Kearney failing to recover from an ankle problem that saw him substituted after just 23 minutes against Treviso in the regular-season finale. Fitzgerald coming in for Kearney is the only personnel change for the hosts although captain Isa Nacewa moves to full-back with Dave Kearney slotting in on the right wing. Leinster beat Ulster in the PRO12 final in 2013 before downing them in the semi-finals a year later but Les Kiss’ men are in good form after winning their final four regular-season games to gatecrash the top four. And 21-year-old Leinster centre Garry Ringrose is determined to banish memories of their 30-6 defeat in Belfast last month once and for all. "The fact it was a provincial derby up there in Ulster and the result itself, we weren't too pleased afterwards and weren't too pleased with ourselves,” explained Ringrose. "We'll do whatever it takes to reverse that and turn 24 points around. One of those could be ramping up the attitude in training. "We can take confidence in finishing top of the table and knowing that we don't need to reinvent the wheel or change anything massively, but little things we can focus on and hopefully get right. "I think all I can do is just learn from experiences like that. It was my first time playing against Ulster in Kingspan. “I can just try and take away as much as possible from an experience like that and playing against two Irish international centres [Stuart McCloskey and Luke Marshall]. “It's never going to be easy, and it'll be tough this Friday, but hopefully I can give a better account of myself individually, and a better account of ourselves collectively. “It's crunch time and everyone – ourselves, the two other Irish provinces and Glasgow – wants to get their hands on a bit of silverware by the end of the season, so the intensity definitely ramps up. “Everyone's demanding the best out of each other and hopefully that will pay dividends on Friday." At RDS Arena, 7.45pm Live on Sky Sports/TG4 and BBC Sport NI Referee: Ian Davies (WRU, 48th competition game) Assistant Referees: Ben Whitehouse, Sean Brickell (both WRU) Citing Commissioner: John Cole (IRFU) TMO: Jon Mason (WRU)
