Clash with Edinburgh 'massive game,' says Ulster's Ferris

Stephen Ferris, the Ireland back-row forward, has termed tonight's Heineken Cup pool clash with Edinburgh as the biggest match of Ulster's season to date. The sides are both four points behind the group leaders, Stade Francais, and victory will go a long way to securing their passage through to the knock-out stages. Ferris, who was briefly part of the Lions tour party to South Africa last summer, has set his sights on leading Ulster to European glory, in the week the club celebrate tying nine of their players to new deals.

"The Heineken Cup is something I really want to win during my career," said Ferris. "Hopefully I will be with Ulster for a few more years and there is still an opportunity for us to do it this year. "This a massive game. We've played in a few massive games over the past 18 months, but this is the biggest game of our season so far." Ferris pointed to Ulster's outstanding record at Ravenhill as a reason to be confident ahead of the visit of the Scottish side.

However, Chris Paterson, the Edinburgh goalkicker, said his team are not going to be cowed by a visit to the side who won the competition in 1999 in Dublin. "This is a whole new ball game," said Paterson, whose side have already won in Belfast this year, as well as trumping Ulster at home earlier in the pool. "Of the two of us Ulster are the ones in better form, and they will have home advantage but, having won at Ravenhill already this season, we know we are capable of going there and doing it."

Ruaridh Jackson, the 21-year-old fly-half, has been handed his first Glasgow start of the season following a lengthy spell out with a shoulder injury for tonight's visit of the Dragons.