Munster coach Declan Kidney has made one change from the side that crushed Leinster last month, ahead of hte Heineken Cup final against Biarritz in Cardfiff tomorrow.
Kidney has recalled fit-again prop Marcus Horan to replace Argentine Federico Pucciariello in the frontrow, while Biarritz welcome back captain Thomas Lievremont, at the expense of Thierry Dusautoir.
Otherwise Kidney's side has been given a clean bill of health regarding slight fitness concerns Paul O'Connell and John Kelly, while fly-half Ronan O'Gara has recovered from the stomach bug that forced him to miss training earlier this week.
"We certainly rate Biarritz very highly," said Ireland and Lyons line-out ace O'Connell. "What impresses me about them is that they can play both type of games.
"In some games it is necessary to play it all up front, and they can do that, then in other games they have let it out wide and given themselves great width.
"They can play the percentage game, which makes them very dangerous."
Munster captain Anthony Foley has urged caution ahead of the Millennium Stadium showdown, warning Munster "have no divine right to win it" ahead of their clash with the French champions.
Kidney's side are marginal favourites to make it third time lucky and land European rugby's biggest prize.
Munster have reached the knock-out stages every season since 1998, and will be spurred on by the painful memories of failed final attempts against Northampton in 2000 and Leicester two years later.
Foley and company return to the scene of that Leicester defeat tomorrow, while Biarritz are contesting their first European showpiece after experiencing semi-final heartache during the past two seasons.
"We have no divine right to win it," said Foley, aware that Munster will have an overwhelming majority of support among a 70,000-plus sell-out crowd.
"We have a 50-50 chance, and we will give it our best shot. We are treating it as just another game, and hopefully we can get the performance and result.
"I don't think what has happened to us in the past really matters coming into this game. If we get caught up in all the buzz and hype and don't focus on our jobs, then we could find ourselves a lot of points behind."
"Tomorrow has all the makings of a great game, and all we can do is focus on ourselves," said Kidney. "It is a pretty daunting task coming up against a side like Biarritz, and you never really know how it is going to pan out — it is just a brilliant opportunity for everyone involved."
The teams have met twice before in Heineken Cup combat, each winning a quarter-final tie, and Munster lock Donncha O'Callaghan still recalls last season's exit to Biarritz in San Sebastian.
"I can remember the desolation in the dressing room last year when we lost the quarter-final. It was such a huge disappointment," he said. "The thing about Biarritz in the Heineken Cup this season is they didn't look to be at their best, but they still handled Sale and Bath comfortably in the knock-out stages, and that has to be recognised.
"I know the talk is that this is Munster's year, but that is the way it is every year.
"We have to go out and do it on the pitch, and if we do manage to pull it off, it would be the highlight of my career."
Biarritz scored just one try in disposing of Sale and then Bath, relying instead on the pinpoint accuracy of goalkicker Dimitri Yachvili to take them through.
And there is a feeling that Biarritz might be about to unleash their razor-sharp back division which appears far stronger than Munster's.
"In the quarter-finals there was a lot of pressure on us, and in the semi-final against Bath the rain before and during the match changed a lot of things," said Lievremont. "I hope the stadium roof is closed tomorrow and we can play some good rugby, but we will have to play better than we have been in order to beat Munster."
Munster: S Payne; A Horgan, J Kelly, T Halstead, I Dowling; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, J Flannery, J Hayes, D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, D Leamy, D Wallace, A Foley (captain).
Replacements: D Fogarty, F Pucciariello, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, T O'Leary, J Manning, R Henderson.
Biarritz: N Brusque; J-B Gobelet, P Bidabe, D Traille, S Bobo; J Peyrelongue, D Yachvili; P Balan, B August, C Johnson, J Thion, D Couzinet, S Betsen, I Harinordoquy, T Lievremont (captain).
Replacements: B Noirot, B Lecouls, O Olibeau, T Dusautoir, M Carizza, J Dupuy, F Martin Arramburu
Referee: Chris White (Rugby Football Union)
Touch judges: Dave Pearson and Tony Spreadbury (both RFU)
