Ulster head coach Richie Murphy has handed scrum-half Conor McKee his competitive debut.
McKee will start in in Saturday’s crucial United Rugby Championship clash with Welsh-side the Scarlets at Ravenhill (5.15pm).
The 23 year-old Ballynahinch player performed well in this month’s friendly with Queensland Reds, scoring an impressive try, but this will be his first run out in a competitive fixture.
He starts alongside Jack Murphy to form an inexperienced half-back partnership. Nathan Doak and Aidan Morgan are not included in the starting line-up while John Cooney is unavailable after sustaining a calf injury in training.
There are three changes to the pack with prop Callum Reid in for Jacob Boyd, while Matty Dalton and James McNabney replace Cormac Izuchukwu and James McNabney. Izuchukwu sustained an ankle injury in the Benetton game.
Second row Iain Henderson remains unavailable because of the hamstring injury he picked up in Ireland’s Six Nations win over Scotland.
Prop Sam Crean is named on the bench after joining on loan from Saracens on a short-term deal.
Ulster sit 14th in the URC table, with just four league wins so far this season.
Andrew Warwick (ankle), Eric O’Sullivan (knee), Tom Stewart (hamstring), Ethan McIlroy (knee), Ben Moxham (knee), Michael McDonald (hamstring), Sean Reffell (calf), Marcus Rea (toe) and Rob Baloucoune (calf) are also currently ruled out for the Irish province.
Ulster: Moore; Lowry, Hume, McCloskey, Stockdale; Murphy, McKee; Reid, Herring, Wilson; O’Connor (capt), Dalton; Matty Rea, Timoney, McNabney.
Replacements: Andrew, Crean, O’Toole, Treadwell, McCann, Doak, Flannery, Postlethwaite.