Stade Francais are only of just four teams left with a 100 per cent record in the Heineken Cup after two rounds. The French giants travel to Belfast aiming for a hat-trick of victories and keep themselves on course of grabbing a quarter-final spot. Stade won 34-10 against Bayonne at the weekend while Ulster lost at home to Glasgow Warriors.

Ulster beat Bath on the opening weekend at Ravenhill but came unstuck away to Edinburgh and Ulster Head Coach Brian McLaughlin has named a 26 man squad for Ulster’s Round 3 Heineken Cup Pool match, against Stade Francais, at Ravenhill, on Saturday 12th December, kick off 1.35pm. .

BJ Botha and Stephen Ferris return from injuries received on international duty to the squad. Justin Fitzpatrick and Phoenix Ulster Rugby Academy player Jamie Smith, also return to the Ulster line-up. .

Commenting on Saturday’s game, Ulster Assistant Coach and former Castres Coach, Jeremy Davidson said: “On Saturday I think it will be very important for us to give Stade a warm welcome up-front, in the early exchanges, so that we can set our stall out, against what is essentially a very strong international team. The players know they all have to play at maximum level, go out there all guns blazing for the full 80 minutes. .

“If Stade get it right on the day, not only are they one of the best sides in France, they are one of the best in Europe. They are an exceptionally good team with world-class players’ in every position. There is no room for errors’ in play or set pieces come Saturday..

“The Ravenhill crowd and their roar are of vital importance to the team. They give so much support and encouragement, we really need them to get behind the team from the very start and keep us going. .

“It was very disappointing last week, but we will put that behind us as a blip, now we have to pick ourselves back-up, play as we can and hopefully go some way towards making amends. We have to perform this weekend, we know there is a strong team against us, but if we perform to the best of our ability, I feel we can beat any team. “We are looking for a big performance on Saturday, then we will build from there, and start thinking about the return leg. Everyone really wants to keep our season alive in both the Heineken Cup and the Magners League.”.

Ulster head into back-to-back Stade Francais games, which will see the Ulster men travel to Brussels for the away leg next weekend, in second place in Pool Group 4, behind Stade Francais. .

ULSTER SQUAD FORWARDS Bryan Young, Tom Court, BJ Botha, Declan Fitzpatrick, Justin Fitzpatrick, Andy Kyriacou, Nigel Brady, Ryan Caldwell, Ed O’Donoghue, Dan Tuohy, Stephen Ferris, Willie Faloon, David Pollock, Chris Henry, TJ Anderson.

ULSTER SQUAD BACKS Jamie Smith, Clinton Schifcofske, Timoci Naugsa, Simon Danielli, Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Jonny Shiels, Ian Humphreys, Niall O’Connor, Isaac Boss, Paul Marshall.