Heineken Cup: Scotland experience helps Denton focus on semi-final

Denton made his Scotland debut against Ireland in August last year and got his first competitive action in the RBS Six Nations.

The 22-year-old feels that taste of the big occasion will be crucial before the Aviva Stadium clash after helping Edinburgh through the quarter-finals. “I felt that little bit more experience I had helped me be more mentally prepared and calm before the Toulouse game, which is very important,” he told his club’s website. “You don’t want to feel out of your depth, as soon as you do that, that’s when you make mistakes. I feel in a good place right now and I think that’s showing in my performances.”

He added: “Before a big game you can end up going on the pitch mentally exhausted and you don’t want that. This season, being my first Six Nations, it has been very important to keep a lid on that. You have to make sure there is the right balance of mental preparation.”

Denton is sure RaboDirect Pro12 strugglers Edinburgh can cause an upset against Ulster, despite suffering two heavy defeats against them in the league this season.

“Ulster are one of the best teams in Europe at the moment,” he said. “They are a very strong team with some very big names. There is no question how tough it is going to be. But Toulouse are one of the best teams if not the best in the world in terms of history and depth of playing ability. It will be tough, but we will be up for the challenge.”

Ulster expect Paddy Wallace and Pedrie Wannenburg to be available for Saturday, but have fitness doubts over Chris Henry and Paul Marshall.

Centre Wallace left the field with a migraine during Friday’s RaboDirect Pro12 defeat to Leinster, while former South Africa back-rower Wannenburg sustained a groin problem.

Wallace’s migraine improved shortly after the conclusion of the match, while Wannenburg’s injury is responding well to treament. But No 8 Henry is battling to be fit as he tries to recover from an ankle sprain and scrum-half Marshall has an elbow problem.

An Ulster statement read: “Chris Henry sustained an ankle sprain which is subject to ongoing treatment and re-assessment but at this stage he is not ruled out of contention. Paul Marshall continues to receive treatment for the injury to his right elbow sustained in the match against Connacht and re-assessment is ongoing.”

Meanwhile, looking ahead to training this week, Ulster attack coach Neil Doak said: “Stevie (Ferris), Rory (Best) and Dan (Tuohy) weren’t involved last week so it’s important to get them back in to get rid of the cobwebs. We will have a bit of fine tuning to do and then it will taper off later in the week.”

Edinbugh have played some tremendous attacking rugby in this season’s Heineken Cup and beat four-time champions Toulouse at the quarter-final stage. However, they have struggled with their RaboDirect PRO12 campaign, winning just five of their 21 games. Doak, the former Ulster scrum-half, believes the involvement of so many of their players in Scotland squads is one of the main reasons for their contrasting domestic and European form. “During the international periods - the World Cup and Six Nations - they have ten or 11 players who disappear for weeks at a time. They have signed some good players to improve their squad depth, but if you take that number of quality players out of the equation, it’s going to affect them.

“It is difficult to compete on both fronts unless you have a massive squad. Their position in the PRO12 gives a false account of how good a team they are and if you look at their stats in the Heineken Cup, it will give a better indication of them as a team.”