Celtic League/Munster v Connacht: The moveable feast or famine, depending on your viewpoint, that is the Celtic League, could scarcely be highlighted more risibly than with the appointed kick-off time and venue for this game. An anti-social Saturday night starting time is bad enough at the behest of TV, but having it in Cork on the weekend they contest the All-Ireland League final is barking mad.
Munster have lost their last two matches at Musgrave Park and, denied all their frontliners, they look ripe for a rare Connacht plucking on the evidence of their lightweight defeat to the Ospreys.
But no matter who's wearing red it seems to make Connacht shrink - having lost their last 21 matches to their nemesis dating back 18 seasons.
Besides, tradition also decrees Munster have a reaction to any action against them and their tight five will be buoyed by the presence of Tom Bowman. The 17-times capped ex-Waratahs and Wallabies' lock comes straight in for young Shane O'Connor, who has a hamstring problem, after his clearance yesterday.
Michael Bradley admits his team appear to have a bigger mental block about facing Munster than either Leinster or Ulster, but reasons: "It's like a door that you keep knocking on, and eventually you get in."
They had enough ball to end Munster's hoodoo over them in Dubarry Park last season before ultimately losing 3-0 on a howler of a night. "One of the all-time classics," laughs Alan Gaffney.
Bradley is understandably wary of the threat posed by Munster's all-international outside three, now that John Kelly has been restored alongside Christian Cullen and Anthony Horgan, both of whom made silk purses out of sow's ears last week, and of their ability to offload in the tackle and attack off broken play.
His counterpart is hopeful of a positive reaction to last week's performance, which he admitted was bad in all areas, and the sight of a neighbouring Irish province may well provide that, although one imagines Connacht's Tom Tierney, Peter Bracken and John O'Sullivan will surely be up for it.
Munster's tight five were eaten alive last week by Ospreys but, as Gaffney argues, "If we get parity I've no doubt we can win." Ominously, with last year's meeting in mind, the forecast isn't good.
THE TEAMS
MUNSTER: C Cullen; J Kelly, S Payne, J Holland, A Horgan; P Burke, M Prendergast; F Roche, J Flannery, G McIlwham, T Bowman, T Hogan, S Keogh, J Williams capt, D Leamy. Replacements: J Blaney, E McGovern, D Ryan, J O'Connor, E Reddan, J Storey, R Henderson.
CONNACHT: D Slemen; T Robinson, M Mostyn, N O'Brien, C McPhillips; P Warwick, T Tierney; A Clarke, J Fogarty, P Bracken, C Short, A Farley, J Muldoon, M Lacey, J O'Sullivan, M Lacey. Replacements: H Bourke, S Knoop, M Carroll, P Neville, C O'Loughlin, E Elwood, J Meagher.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).
Forecast: Munster to win.
It has been confirmed, as a result of the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road between 2006 and 2008, the three 2007 World Cup pool matches scheduled for Lansdowne Road have been switched to France.
The venues will be confirmed early next year. Consideration will also be given to the Irish Rugby Football Union's request that the French venues staging Ireland's pool matches are accessible to Irish supporters and that special provision is made for Irish supporters in respect of ticket purchases.
