Van den Heever to make home debut for Munster against Scarlets

Pro 12 team news: South African winger Gerhard van den Heever will make his home debut and hooker Duncan Casey will start his first competitive Munster game against Scarlets at Musgrave Park on Saturday night (7.15pm).

Rob Penney makes 12 changes to the team that beat Perpignan away in the Heineken Cup last weekend.

Three of the players involved in the winning try at Stade Aime Giral – Denis Hurley, Tommy O'Donnell and JJ Hanrahan – all come into the first XV with Billy Holland returning as captain.

Casey Laulala maintains his place in midfield with Ivan Dineen coming into the side to partner the former New Zealand international.

Andrew Conway will make his fifth start for the province on the left wing after recovering from a blow to the knee sustained against Cardiff Blues.

BJ Botha is the only survivor from last week's frontrow with Dave Kilcoyne and Casey coming into the side.

It will be Casey’s first start and it will also be the Corkman’s first Pro12 appearance following his debut off the bench against Perpignan at Thomond Park two weeks ago.

Holland is joined in the secondrow by Ian Nagle with both players coming into the side after starting together for Munster A last weekend.

Penney has gone for a backrow combination of Dave O’Callaghan, Tommy O’Donnell and CJ Stander.

Cork Con outhalf Johnny Holland is amongst the replacements and will be hoping to earn his second Munster cap in front of the home crowd after his appearance off the bench against Cardiff Blues.

Another notable name on the bench is that of development prop Alan Cotter who makes his first appearance in the matchday 23.

Connacht coach Pat Lam has made two changes to the team that lined out in last week’s European Cup clash with Toulouse for Saturday’s home game against the Dragons at the Sportsground (5.0pm) .

Gavin Duffy comes in to win his 170th cap on the right wing, while tighthead prop Nathan White, who missed last week's game due to illness, represents the only change to the pack.

Craig Clarke will captain the side, partnered by Mick Kearney in the secondrow.

On the bench, 22-year-old Dave Heffernan has been called in as replacement hooker for the unavailable Seán Henry. Academy outhalf and Eagles captain Jack Carty has also been called up.

“We had a shorter week in terms of training sessions this week as we had to give the players a day off on Monday to shake off the flu virus,” said Lam. “We also had to plan without Craig (Ronaldson), Seán (Henry) and Frank (Murphy) who we lost to injury last week.

“With the forecasted weather conditions, back three coverage for kicks is crucial so it’s great to bring back the experience and voice of Gavin Duffy.

“Dragons are an improved side this year. They’re seventh in the table and it will be another tough challenge this week. We know that we need to put them under pressure right from the kick-off. If we bring the heart, that was so evident in our Toulouse games, to our roles in the game plan it will give us a great opportunity to achieve the outcome we all want.”

MUNSTER (v Scarlets, Musgrave Park, Saturday, 7.15pm): D Hurley; G Van den Heever, C Laulala, I Dineen, A Conway; JJ Hanrahan, C Sheridan; D Kilcoyne, D Casey, BJ Botha; I Nagle, B Holland (capt); Dave O'Callaghan, T O'Donnell, CJ Stander. Replacements: D Varley, A Cotter, J Ryan, Donncha O'Callaghan, B O'Mahony, D Williams, J Holland, R O'Mahony.

SCARLETS: G Owen; L Williams, G Maule, A Warren, K Phillips; A Thomas, R Williams; R Evans, K Owens, J Adriaanse, J Ball, R Kelly, J Turnbull, J Barclay, R McCusker (capt). Replacements: E Phillips, S Hopkins, R Jones, J Snyman, D Thomas, G Davies, R Priestland, M Poole.

CONNACHT (v Dragons, Saturday, Sportsground, 5pm): R Henshaw; G Duffy, E Griffin, D McSharry, M Healy; D Parks, K Marmion; B Wilkinson, J Harris-Wright, N White; M Kearney, C Clarke (capt); J Muldoon, J Heenan, E McKeon. Replacements: D Heffernan, D Buckley, R Ah You, A Browne, G Naoupu, P O'Donohoe, J Carty, F Carr.

DRAGONS: D Evans; W Harries, P Leach, R Wardle, H Amos; J Tovey, R Rees; O Evans, S Parry, F Chaparro; A Coombs (capt), C Hill; L Evans, N Cudd, T Faletau. Replacements: T Rhys Thomas, H Gustafson, D Way, M Screech, I Jones, W Evans, S Jones, A Smith.