Rugby

Munster make one change ahead of Lions trip as Seán O’Brien starts at centre

O’Brien starts in the centres alongside Antoine Frisch as Graham Rowntree largely keeps faith in the XV which secured a win over the Bulls

Seán O’Brien starts at inside centre for Munster against the Bulls. Photograph: Ashley Crowden/Inpho

Johnny Watterson
Fri Apr 26 2024 - 14:54
URC: Emirates Lions v Munster, Johannesburg (4pm Irish time/5pm local, live on TG4)

Following their stunning win last week over the Bulls, Munster largely stick with the same personnel to face the Lions as they seek to back up their opening performance in South Africa.

After a week spent down in the sun of Cape Town, the squad fly north with Graham Rowntree making just one change to the side that won last week, Seán O’Brien making his first start at inside centre for Munster.

Munster won’t be unaware of the big score the Lions put on Leinster in Emirates Airline Park. Scoring 44 points against the league leaders, even without their frontline players, is not straightforward. The Lions are also hungry for points with hopes of getting into the top eight from their current 11th place.

Ominously, no European team has won in Johannesburg in the URC this season. But Munster arrive having won their last five URC matches, picking up 24 points of a possible 25, so confidence is high.

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Fullback Simon Zebo, who had a strong game last week, and wingers Calvin Nash and Shane Daly start together in the backthree. O’Brien and Antoine Frisch partner up in midfield for the first time with Conor Murray and Jack Crowley in the halfbacks.

The pack is unchanged with Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell and Stephen Archer in the front row. RG Snyman and captain Tadhg Beirne continue their partnership in the secondrow with Peter O’Mahony, Alex Kendellen and Jack O’Donoghue completing the side.

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Craig Casey, who was removed against Bulls last week following a HIA, has followed the protocols and returned to training on Tuesday having remained symptom-free throughout. He is on the bench while John Hodnett misses out due to a leg knock.

For Munster, a win would be the ideal way to round off this end of season tour.

“Yeah, that’s the idea. It will take some doing,” said Rowntree. “This team is highly underrated and they can play rugby, and they can muscle up as well. They’re a hard team.

“We’ve analysed them well. I think they’re a very underrated team. You saw what they did to Connacht, you saw what they did to Leinster last week. We’ve got our hands full.”

Emirates Lions: Jordan Hendrikse, Richard Kriel, Erich Cronje, Marius Louw (CAPT), Edwill van der Merwe, Sanele Nohamba, Morne van den Berg, Morgan Naude, Jaco Visagie, Ruan Dreyer, Willem Alberts, Ruan Delport, JC Pretorius, Emmanuel Tshituka, Francke Horn.

Replacements: PJ Botha, JP Smith, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Reinhard Nothnagel, Ruan Venter, Sibusiso Sangweni, Nico Steyn, Gianni Lombard

Munster: Simon Zebo; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Seán O’Brien, Shane Daly; Jack Crowley, Conor Murray; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; RG Snyman, Tadhg Beirne (C); Peter O’Mahony, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue.

Replacements: Eoghan Clarke, Josh Wycherley, Oli Jager, Tom Ahern, Gavin Coombes, Craig Casey, Joey Carbery, Mike Haley.

Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times

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