Rugby:Only three players have been retained in Munster's starting XV ahead of the trip to Wales to face Llanelli Scarlets in the Magners League on Saturday.
Lifeimi Mafi, Mick O'Driscoll and Denis Leamy will take to the field again after facing down Brive last weekend, with the latter set to switch to number eight from blindside flanker.
Six of the seven who made the bench in that game, come into the starting line-up, with prop John Hayes set to remain on the bench.
A “tweaked hamstring” for Denis Hurley means he will not make his expected return and affords youngster Danny Barnes a chance on the opposite side from Simon Zebo.
"After three challenging weeks previous to this away trip to Scarlet's, a rotation of the playing group allows us to rest many of the starters coming into a busy and competitive period,” said coach Tony McGahan today.
"It also allows for competition within the squad for opportunities across the 23 and there is no better place or opposition for players to test themselves than Scarlets in their home ground."
A win at Parc y Scarlets would seal a semi-final spot for table-toppers Munster but the homeside need a victory to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive.
“We know Munster present us with a big physical challenge,” head coach Nigel Davies said. “They’re a quality side and the winning mentality is engrained in them and they have the level of experience and belief to make the right decisions at key moments.
“We want to finish strongly.
We’ve put in some big performances this season at home and on the road and our league form in the first half of the season has been a real positive.”
Davies welcomes Scottish international Sean Lamont back into his side on the wing, while Gareth Maule will start alongside Kiwi centre Regan King, with Wales international Jon Davies ruled out with a dead leg.
Rhys Priestland will play the pivotal role at 10.
“We have to win our next three games and on Saturday we have a tough, physical challenge ahead of us - we know how good they are in the contact area,” says skipper Matthew Rees.
“They are the best team in the league and they’re not top for nothing. They have strength in their squad, they are an old and experienced team that’s gained a lot of success with the players they’ve got.
No matter what team they field, they’ll play with confidence and pace.”
Scarlets (v Munster):M Stoddart, G North, R King, Gareth Maule, S Lamont; R Priestland, T Knoyle; I Thomas, M Rees (capt), R Thomas; L Reed, J Turnbull; R McCusker, J Edwards, D Lyons. Replacements: E Phillips, R Jones, S Gardiner, A Shingler, D Welch, G Davies, S Jones, S Williams.
Munster (v Scarlets):P Warwick; S Zebo, J Murphy, L Mafi, D Barnes; D Cusack, P Stringer; M Horan, M Sherry, S Archer; D Ryan, M O'Driscoll T O'Donnell, N Ronan, D Leamy capt. Replacements: D Fogarty, D Hurley, J Hayes, A Quinlan, P Butler, D Williams, S Tuitupou, S Deasy.
