Ulster will be hoping that 13 years of hurt will finally come to an end as they look to overcome Edinburgh and thus return to a Heineken Cup Final stage.It has been well over a decade since the Northern Irish side beat Colomiers at Lansdowne Road in a game that saw over 30,000 fans travel over the border. David Humphreys lifted the coveted trophy on that day after 80 minutes that saw 18 of their 21 points scored by the reliable Simon Mason.
Fast-forward to today and it won't be a full-back but a scrum-half who Ulster will hope kicks their points, with Ruan Pienaar the man with the tee. Pienaar has been superb for the Ravenhill outfit all season at either nine or ten and there is no doubt Edinburgh have been making their notes.
That man with the scribbles on pieces of paper is former Connacht coach Michael Bradley, who is confident of his wealth of knowledge of Ulster.
"Munster made three mistakes which were 51 to 53 metres from their line, and that was 9 points, so we have got to be careful about that," he told the Belfast Telegraph of Pienaar. "But we don't fear anyone now. We will put together a game plan that can and will work if we execute it."
Let us be clear that while Edinburgh go into this game as underdogs, they have not got to this stage without impressive performances, as their victory over Toulouse in the last round proved. Before that they defeated London Irish, Racing-Metro and Cardiff Blues in their Pool, winning five out of six. That is why many, both in and outside of Ulster, have been quick to highlight that Edinburgh are a different proposition in Europe than the RaboDirect PRO12.
They have a solid pack that is bulging in the back-row department where David Denton, Ross Rennie and Netani Talei reside, which throws up for a mouth-watering clash with Stephen Ferris, Willie Faloon and Pedrie Wannenburg. One cannot underplay just how pivotal those personal battles could be in the context of events at the Aviva Stadium.
It is of little surprise that coach Bradley has selected that same back-three and indeed the identical starting XV that toppled Toulouse in their memorable Heineken Cup quarter-final.
He rested a number of players for last week's trip to Cardiff Blues and has reverted to a refreshed version of the side that made history in front of 38,000 at Murrayfield on April 7.
Fast-forward to today and it won't be a full-back but a scrum-half who Ulster will hope kicks their points, with Ruan Pienaar the man with the tee. Pienaar has been superb for the Ravenhill outfit all season at either nine or ten and there is no doubt Edinburgh have been making their notes.
That man with the scribbles on pieces of paper is former Connacht coach Michael Bradley, who is confident of his wealth of knowledge of Ulster.
"Munster made three mistakes which were 51 to 53 metres from their line, and that was 9 points, so we have got to be careful about that," he told the Belfast Telegraph of Pienaar. "But we don't fear anyone now. We will put together a game plan that can and will work if we execute it."
Let us be clear that while Edinburgh go into this game as underdogs, they have not got to this stage without impressive performances, as their victory over Toulouse in the last round proved. Before that they defeated London Irish, Racing-Metro and Cardiff Blues in their Pool, winning five out of six. That is why many, both in and outside of Ulster, have been quick to highlight that Edinburgh are a different proposition in Europe than the RaboDirect PRO12.
They have a solid pack that is bulging in the back-row department where David Denton, Ross Rennie and Netani Talei reside, which throws up for a mouth-watering clash with Stephen Ferris, Willie Faloon and Pedrie Wannenburg. One cannot underplay just how pivotal those personal battles could be in the context of events at the Aviva Stadium.
It is of little surprise that coach Bradley has selected that same back-three and indeed the identical starting XV that toppled Toulouse in their memorable Heineken Cup quarter-final.
He rested a number of players for last week's trip to Cardiff Blues and has reverted to a refreshed version of the side that made history in front of 38,000 at Murrayfield on April 7.