Rugby: Munster have made eight changes for their top of the table clash with the Ospreys at Thomond Park on Saturday evening, as they look to be the first to inflict defeat of the season on the Welsh side.
The winner in Limerick is likely lead the Pro12 heading into the three-week break and to that end Munster fans will be glad to see Doug Howlett back on the wing and Johne Murphy revert to fullback.
Danny Barnes returns to the side to join up with Lifiemi Mafi in the centre, while scrumhalf Duncan Williams is preferred to veteran Peter Stringer and will dovetail with Ian Keatley.
Up front, Billy Holland joins Mick O’Driscoll in the secondrow after being among the replacements behind Dave Foley for last week’s disappointing 29-14 defeat in Edinburgh.
The lock is hoping the homeside show more street smarts this week than they did in Scotland.
“Yeah, we'll have to if we're to have any chance against them,” he said today. “I think we lacked the bit of edge we had in the games before Edinburgh. Just weren't sharp enough for whatever reason.
"We didn't help ourselves. Sixteen points down after twenty odd minutes. Then (to) get ourselves back into the game by half-time. But then, those scores early in the second half, ten points like. You've no chance at that stage."
In the frontrow Stephen Archer replaces John Hayes, while the backrow sees Dave O'Callaghan named on the blindside for his first competitive start, Niall Ronan retained on the openside and Peter O'Mahony at number eight.
Ospreys coach Jonathan Humphreys has opted for Dan Biggar at outhlaf for what he predicts will be a "tough evening".
"You wouldn't expect anything else when you play Munster, home or away. Both teams may have a different look to them from when we last played, but it will still be intense and will still be a real battle.
"We are well aware that we have to raise our game several levels from where we were against Connacht. We weren't at our best, and a lot of credit for that has to go to Connacht for stopping us playing, but we have to expect that and learn how to deal with it. Munster won't be any different in that area of the game, so we need to learn how to combat it.
"Our tenacity, our spirit and work ethic is spot on. This group of players are displaying all the characteristics we want from Ospreys players, but they need to improve on their accuracy and attention to detail because Munster will make us pay if we don't get it right on Saturday."
Munster: J Murphy; D Howlett, D Barnes, L Mafi, D Hurley; I Keatley, D Williams;W du Preez, D Fogarty, S Archer; B Holland, M ODriscoll; Dave OCallaghan, N Ronan, P OMahony (capt). Replacements:S Henry, M Horan, BJ Botha, I Nagle, T ODonnell, P Stringer, S Deasy, S Zebo.
Ospreys: B Davies; H Dirksen, T Isaacs, A Bishop, R Fussell; D Biggar, R Webb; D Jones, R Hibbard, C Griffiths; I Gough, I Evans; J Bearman, J Tipuric (capt), J Thomas. Replacements: M Davies, A Jarvis, J Rees, T Smith, J King, M Morgan, S Parker, K Phillips.
