Youthful Look To Munster Cup Side
Munster will look to their emerging talent to maintain their push for British & Irish Cup honours when they meet Pool B rivals Nottingham at the Regional Sports Centre in Waterford tonight (kick-off 7pm).
Munster coaches Anthony Foley and Ian Costello field a side largely comprised of Academy and Sub-Academy players for a game that will go a long in deciding the winner of Pool B
Both Munster and Nottingham are unbeaten after two games with Munster one point ahead thanks to a bonus point win in Coventry and if anything Nottingham have the easier run-in with games remaining against Bristol and Coventry, while Munster’s next outing is against Neath at the Gnoll.
Peter O’Mahony will captain Munster tonight as he did so impressively against Connacht last week and the return of Ian Nagle and the presence of the likes of Danny Riordan, Ciaran O’Boyle, Danny Barnes and Stephen Archer will complement the burgeoning talent that Foley and Costello has assembled.
Foley said: “Having this tournament has given us something to aim for. The benefits for the players are many.
“It gives them more game-time, more match practice and that for me is the best way for players to improve and for coaches to see if and how they’re improving.
“Training only takes you so far, so these additional games are a win-win as far as I’m concerned and, come the end of the season, it would be great if we found ourselves in the shake-up for honours.
“That’s what this game is all about. Results are what we’re all ultimately measured by.”
Gates open at 5.30pm. There are two entrances to the RSC groun, with access from the Cork Road and from the Ring Road.
There will be cash turnstiles available on the night. Tickets are priced at €;10 for adults and €;3 for schoolboys, and family packs are €;20 (2 adults and 2 children).
MUNSTER (v Nottingham): Danny Riordan (UL Bohemians); Ciaran O’Boyle (Garryowen), Danny Barnes (Dolphin), Eric Moloney (Dolphin), Sean Scanlon (UCC); Declan Cusack (Thomond), Conor Murray (Garryowen); Dave Kilcoyne (UL Bohemians), Mike Sherry (Garryowen), Stephen Archer (Cork Constitution), Ian Nagle (Cork Constitution), Dave Foley (UL Bohemians), Ed Kelly (UL Bohemians), Barry O’Mahony (Dolphin), Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution) (capt).
Replacements: Ger Slattery (Young Munster), Pa O’Regan (UL Bohemians), Sean Duggan (Shannon), Neville Melbourne (Clonmel), Paul Rowley (UL Bohemians), Andrew Burke (UCC), Barry Murphy (UL Bohemians).