Munster captain Peter O’Mahony has been declared fit to lead Munster in Saturday’s URC semi-final against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium (5.30pm). The Munster captain was forced off in the fifth minute of his side’s bruising quarter-final win away to Glasgow last weekend but, true to type, will shrug off the injury as his side seek to arrest a run of 12 defeats in a dozen games against Leinster since the redeveloped Aviva reopened.
However, with RG Snyman, Conor Murray, Malakai Fekitoa and Calvin Nash all observing the return to play protocols after suffering head injuries in Scotstoun, Munster have been forced to make a quartet of changes to their starting line-up, plus a couple of positional switches.
Keith Earls – whose season appeared to be over due to a groin injury – Ben Healy, Craig Casey and John Hodnett all come into the side, with Tadgh Beirne shifting from blindside to the secondrow and Jack Crowley moving to centre.
Joey Carbery, who was married last Wednesday, again remains out of the match day ‘23′ against his former province, with Rory Scannell named on the bench, along with Jack O’Conoghue and Neil Cronin.
Leo Cullen has again rotated his squad, making seven changes to the starting XV from last week’s win over the Sharks. Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien and the fit-again Robbie Henshaw are restored to the backline. Ronan Kelleher makes his first appearance since Ireland’s win over Scotland in the Six Nations after recovering from his latest shoulder injury, Michael Ala’alatoa, Will Connors and Jack Conan are all recalled up front.
Hugo Keenan, Jordan Larmour, Dan Sheehan, Tadgh Furlong and Caelan Doris are all rested with next week’s Champions Cup final against La Rochelle, while Josh van der Flier is named on the bench after being sidelined since the quarter-final win over Toulouse with an ankle injury.
“Credit to the rehab gang, they’re working hard behind the scenes the whole time with various different players, which is great,” said Cullen in welcoming back Kelleher, Henshaw and van der Flier.
“The guys will hopefully be in good shape, it’s going to be a huge game, Munster will definitely be sniffing the opportunity for sure, coming up here. Even in the last couple of seasons, you listen to some of their talk that they’re pretty desperate for silverware.”
“For our guys, we’ve to try freshen things up a bit with selection, it’s good having some of those fresh faces come back into the group, hopefully they can deliver plenty of energy in the performance, because I think we’ll need it.”
This high-wire end to the season has seemingly demanded quite a juggling act in selection by Cullen and his coaching team.
“Yes and no,” said the Leinster head coach. “Every week is challenging because there’s lots of guys that want to be in these big games. We’re in this sequence, you look at the schedule, and if you win the games you keep coming back to the Aviva which is great.
“It’s making sure we separate them all into the separate battles that they are. Teams come with different challenges. We got to this stage in the semi-final last year and came unstuck against the Bulls after a big win against Glasgow the week before. We don’t want to fall into that trap this year.
“We had a decent win against the Sharks so it’s good having some of that fresh energy coming in. We know we have a game for next week as well, and it’s difficult because you need to make sure you stay focused on the job at hand. One game at a time and all those soundbites you hear.
“A Munster game, derby game, that focuses the mind straight away.”
Meanwhile, Connacht remain unchanged from the side that beat Ulster last time out for their URC semi-final in South Africa.
Coach Andy Friend has stuck with the same starters and replacements to face the Stormers in Cape Town (kickoff 3pm Irish time) after the squad came through the game against Ulster without any injuries.
Outhalf Jack Carty captains the side, while Jack Aungier will earn his 50th cap for the province if called upon from the bench.
“We enter the semi-final with the same 23 who started last week, which is great testament to our players’ toughness and resilience, and also to the work of our athletic performance and medical teams,” said coach Andy Friend.
“All bodies are fit & healthy and have fully recovered from the travel down here to Cape Town.”
A win for Connacht would see them reach a major final for the second time in their history. In 2016, the team won the Pro12 title when they beat Leinster 20-10 in Murrayfield Stadium.
“Tomorrow will be a huge game as we take on the defending champions in their own backyard, but these are the days you want to be involved in,” added Friend.
“Pete Wilkins and the other coaches have presented a very clever game plan, and with the confidence that’s in the squad at present, there’s genuine excitement about the challenge and opportunity that tomorrow brings.”
The teams have played each other twice before with one win each, Connacht winning 19-17 in the Sportsground and Stormer winning 38-15 in Danie Craven Stadium.
LEINSTER: J O’Brien; T O’Brien, R Henshaw, C Ngatai, D Kearney; H Byrne, L McGrath (capt); M Milne, R Kelleher, M Ala’alatoa; R Baird, J Jenkins; M Deegan, W Connors, J Conan. Replacements: J McKee, C Healy, T Clarkson, J McCarthy, J van der Flier, N McCarthy, C Frawley, L Turner.
MUNSTER: – M Haley; K Earls, A Frisch, J Crowley, S Daly; B Healy, C Casey; J Loughman, D Barron, S Archer; J Kleyn, T Beirne; P O’Mahony (capt), J Hodnett, G Coombes. Replacements: N Scannell, J Wycherley, R Salanoa, F Wycherley, J O’Donoghue, N Cronin, R Scannell, A Kendellen.
CONNACHT: T O’Halloran; J Porch, T Farrell, B Aki, M Hansen; J Carty (capt), C Blade; D Buckley, D Heffernan, F Bealham, J Murphy, N Murray, S Hurley-Langton, C Oliver, C Prendergast. Replacements: D Tierney-Martin, J Duggan, J Aungier, O Dowling, J Butler, K Marmion, T Daly, B Ralston.
STORMERS: D Willemse; A Davids, R Nel, D du Plessis, L Zas; M Libbok, H Jantjies; S Kitshoff (capt), J Dweba, F Malherbe, B Dixon, R van Heerden, W Engelbrecht, H Dayimani, E Roos. Replacements: J Kotze, A Vermaak, N Fouche, C Evans, M Theunissen, P de Wet, J du Plessis, S Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
