Tyler Bleyendaal to make first Munster start against Ospreys

Isa Nacewa to captain Leinster as Kevin McLaughlin fails to recover from head injury

Tyler Bleyendaal is set to make his pro 12 debut for Munster against the Ospreys on Sunday. Photograph: Inpho
Tyler Bleyendaal is set to make his pro 12 debut for Munster against the Ospreys on Sunday. Photograph: Inpho

Anthony Foley has given Tyler Bleyendaal his first Pro 12 start for Munster as they travel to Swansea to play the Ospreys on Sunday.

Bleyendaal’s inclusion is one of eight changes made by the Munster boss as he also hands first competition starts to Mark Chisholm, Francis Saili and academy player Stephen Fitzgerald.

Bleyendaal had made his debut for the province when he came on after 55 minutes in the opening win over Treviso, and gets a chance to impress from the start in the number 10 jersey at the Liberty Stadium.

Elsewhere Isa Nacewa will captain Leinster for the visit of Cardiff Blues after Kevin McLaughlin failed to come through return to play protocols in time for Saturday’s game at the RDS.

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Nacewa is currently fifth on the all-time Leinster points list and he can cross the 400 mark for Leo Cullen’s side.

Cullen has made a sole change for the visit of the Blues, with UCD wing Garry Ringrose making his provincial debut on the right, while Fergus McFadden starts on the left.

Meanwhile Ulster boss Neil Doak has made two changes for his side’s trip to West Wales to play the Scarlets.

Andrew Trimble, back with the province after failing to make Joe Schmidt’s final Rugby World Cup squad, is absent with a hip injury, meaning Craig Gilroy will switch to the right wing with Rory Scholes entering the fold on the left.

The other change sees secondrow Peter Browne make his competitive debut for Ulster in the place of Dan Tuohy.

Ospreys v Munster, Sunday 13th, 2.30pm ko

Munster: Felix Jones ; Andrew Conway, Francis Saili, Rory Scannell, Stephen Fitzgerald; Tyler Bleyendaal, Cathal Sheridan; Dave Kilcoyne, Mike Sherry, Stephen Archer; Mark Chisholm, Dave Foley; Dave O'Callaghan, Jack O'Donoghue, Robin Copeland.

Replacements: Duncan Casey, James Cronin, BJ Botha, Jordan Coghlan, CJ Stander, Duncan Williams, Ian Keatley, David Johnston.

Ospreys: Dan Evans, Kristian Phillips, Jonathan Spratt, Owen Watkin, Hanno Dirksen, Sam Davies, Brendon Leonard, Nicky Smith, Sam Parry, Dmitri Arhip, Lloyd Ashley, Rory Thornton, Joe Bearman, Sam Underhill, Dan Baker

Replacements: Scott Otten, Marc Thomas, Cai Griffiths, De Kock Steenkamp, Olly Cracknell, Tom Habberfield, Aled Jenkins, Richard Fussell

Leinster v Cardiff Blues, Saturday 12th, 5.15pm ko (Sky Sports )

Leinster: Isa Nacewa,Garry Ringrose, Ben Te'o, Noel Reid, Fergus McFadden, Cathal Marsh, Luke McGrath, Michael Bent, Aaron Dundon, Jamie Hagan, Ross Molony, Mike McCarthy, Dominic Ryan, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan

Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Peter Dooley, Royce Burke-Flynn,Tadhg Beirne, Daniel Leavy, Isaac Boss, Ross Byrne, Cian Kelleher

Scarlets v Ulster, Saturday 12th, 3pm ko

Ulster: Louis Ludik, Craig Gilroy, Luke Marshall, Stuart McCloskey, Rory Scholes, Peter Nelson, Paul Marshall; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Wiehahn Herbst, Peter Browne, Franco Van der Merwe, Roger Wilson, Willie Faloon, Nick Williams.

Replacements: John Andrew, Callum Black, Ricky Lutton, Robbie Diack, Clive Ross, David Shanahan, Sam Arnold, David Busby

Scarlets: Steffan Evans, Hadleigh Parkes, Regan King, Gareth Owen, Michael Tagicakibau, Daniel Jones, Aled Davies, Phil John, Emyr Phillips, Peter Edwards, Tom Price, Lewis Rawlins, Aaron Shingler, James Davies, John Barclay

Replacements: Kirby Myhill, Rob Evans, Will Taylor, George Earle, Rory Pitman, Kieran Hardy, Aled Thomas, Tom Williams