URC round 6: Sharks v Munster
Kings Park, Saturday, 3pm Irish time – Live on TG4 and Premier Sports
It’s almost nine years since Munster lost three league games in a row in a season but they are going to need something special in Durban on Saturday afternoon to prevent that happening again against a Sharks side laden with Springboks.
Munster go into this clash against a side prepared by former Irish forwards coach John Plumtree on the back of successive losses to Leinster and the Stormers. Add in the shock defeat away to Zebre in the second round and another loss would represent a poor return of just two wins – at home against Connacht and Ospreys – from this opening block of six games in the URC.
The last time Munster fell to three league defeats in a row came at the end of 2015 during a bad run of results which also included back-to-back losses to Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup.
A loss to Connacht at Thomond Park in November 2015 was followed by a 22-6 defeat away to the Dragons and then after twice going down to the Tigers, they fell to a 17-6 setback away to Leinster. The run of defeats ended with a 9-7 win in Belfast against Ulster in early January 2016.
Munster head coach Graham Rowntree, who has had to deal with an enormous injury list since the summer, knows they let a winning hand slip from their grasp in the final quarter against the Stormers in Cape Town last weekend. He is expecting a similar battle this weekend.
“I think it will be up there with last week,” said Rowntree. “I thought the Stormers played very well. It was their first home game, they were very physical, and we’re expecting the same this week. These two opponents, Stormers and Sharks, we know them quite well from encounters in the last couple of years. Knowing what they bring is one thing, dealing with it is another. That’s what we’ve been practising this week.”
Rowntree has made four changes and a couple of positional moves, with his hand again forced by injury and unavailability.
Two of the changes are in the backline. Craig Casey returns from injury and takes over at scrumhalf, with Conor Murray returning to Ireland for personal reasons. Rory Scannell comes into the centre and Seán O’Brien switches to the left wing, with Shane Daly ruled out with a leg injury picked up in the 34-19 loss last weekend to the Stormers.
Another casualty from that game, loosehead Jeremy Loughman, is replaced by John Ryan, who switches over from tighthead with Stephen Archer coming in at number three.
Prop cover for the two starting 36-year-olds will be provided by two academy players. Shannon’s 22-year-old Kieran Ryan is set for his sixth appearance, while 21-year-old Ronan Foxe from Rahugh in Co Westmeath, a product of the Midland Warriors club in Moate and Tullamore RFC, is poised for his senior debut.
John Hodnett comes in at openside with Alex Kendellen included on a six-two bench which sees hooker Diarmuid Barron available after going through the return-to-play protocols. Backline cover will be provided by Ethan Coughlan and Billy Burns.
Plumtree, whose side lost to Connacht and Edinburgh either side of a win over Dragons, defeated champions Glasgow Warriors 28-24 last weekend after returning home from their trip to Europe. Their win was more decisive than the scoreline would suggest, with the champions scoring 12 points in the final two minutes.
Plumtree has made three changes but it is the positional switch of Springboks captain Siya Kolisi from blindside flanker to number eight which is most notable. It comes at the end of a week where Kolisi’s divorce announcement from his wife of eight years, Rachel, has dominated media headlines throughout South Africa.
“He’s fine and looking forward to the weekend,” Plumtree told reporters in Durban. “He’s had a really good week and trained well. It’s his own personal business and it’s really got nothing to do with us.”
SHARKS A Fassi; E Keyter, L Am, A Esterhuizen, M Mapimpi; Jordan Hendrikse, G Williams; O Nche, B Mbonambi, V Koch; E Etzebeth (capt), E van Heerden; J Venter, V Tshituka, S Kolisi.
Replacements: F Mbatha, N Mchunu, R Dreyer, J Jenkins, P Bhutelezi, Jaden Hendrikse, S Masuku, F Venter.
MUNSTER: M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, R Scannell, S O’Brien; J Crowley, C Casey; J Ryan, N Scannell, S Archer; J Kleyn, T Beirne (capt); T Ahern, J Hodnett, J O’Donoghue.
Replacements: D Barron, K Ryan, R Foxe, F Wycherley, R Quinn, E Coughlan, B Burns, A Kendellen.
Referee: Hollie Davison (Scotland).
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