Led by Kiwi out-half Tyler Bleyendaal for the first time, Munster have an opportunity to move back to the top of the GUINNESS PRO12 when they play their rescheduled game against Edinburgh at Myreside.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, February 3
EDINBURGH (10th) v MUNSTER (2nd), Myreside, 7.35pm (live Sky Sports 2 HD)
Team News: A much-changed Munster team has been named for this rescheduled PRO12 encounter with no less than 11 changes compared to the starting XV from the Champions Cup pool win over Racing 92 at Thomond Park less than a fortnight ago.
With four changes to the back-line, the 19-year-old Calvin Nash, in his first year of the Academy, will make his debut on the right wing after a string of impressive performances with Munster ‘A’ and his club side Young Munster.
Nash’s fellow Academy player and Cookies club-mate Dan Goggin renews his centre partnership with Francis Saili after the pair last started against Connacht in December.
Duncan Williams is introduced again at scrum half, joining number 10 Tyler Bleyendaal who will captain the province for the first time, while another first sees Jaco Taute make the positional switch from centre to full-back.
In the forwards, lock Jean Kleyn is the only player to retain his place this week. The big South African is joined in the engine room by Dave Foley who has overcome a wrist injury to start.
In an all-new front row, Peter McCabe (pictured below) will make his first start for Munster alongside hooker Rhys Marshall and tighthead prop Stephen Archer on his 100th PRO12 appearance. Following an injury to James Cronin, McCabe returned to the province after a short loan spell with Connacht.
Similarly, there is a new-look back row for the clash with the Scottish club as Dave O’Callaghan, the Academy’s Conor Oliver and Jack O’Donoghue combine in a youthful trio.
Returning from Ireland camp this week, Dave Kilcoyne, Billy Holland, Tommy O’Donnell and Rory Scannell have all been named in the replacements for the trip to Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh’s acting head coach Duncan Hodge has made six personnel changes to his team for the visit of second-placed Munster.
Among the changes to the forward pack is John Hardie, who returns to the side for the first time since undergoing corrective surgery on an ankle injury sustained in Scotland’s November Test against Australia.
Hodge has made two further amendments to the pack with Jack Cosgrove and Murray McCallum set to start at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively. In the back-line, scrum half Sean Kennedy and out-half Jason Tovey enter the fray, while Phil Burleigh returns to start at inside centre.
Blair Kinghorn, Damien Hoyland and Tom Brown continue in a settled back-three combination, while Chris Dean moves to outside centre to accommodate the incoming Burleigh.
Hooker Neil Cochrane will captain Edinburgh and accompany Cosgrove and McCallum in the front row, with Ben Toolis and Fraser McKenzie packing down at lock. Hardie is joined in the back row by blindside flanker Magnus Bradbury and number 8 Cornell du Preez.
EDINBURGH: Blair Kinghorn; Damien Hoyland, Chris Dean, Phil Burleigh, Tom Brown; Jason Tovey, Sean Kennedy; Jack Cosgrove, Neil Cochrane (capt), Murray McCallum, Fraser McKenzie, Ben Toolis, Magnus Bradbury, John Hardie, Cornell du Preez.
Replacements: Stuart McInally, Derrick Appiah, Nick Beavon, Lewis Carmichael, Viliame Mata, Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, Michael Allen, Rory Scholes.
MUNSTER: Jaco Taute; Calvin Nash, Francis Saili, Dan Goggin; Ronan O’Mahony; Tyler Bleyendaal (capt), Duncan Williams; Peter McCabe, Rhys Marshall, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, Dave Foley, Dave O’Callaghan, Conor Oliver, Jack O’Donoghue.
Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, Dave Kilcoyne, Brian Scott, Darren O’Shea, Billy Holland, Tommy O’Donnell, Angus Lloyd, Rory Scannell.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Sean Brickell (Wales), Dunx McClement (Scotland)
Television Match Official: Neil Hennessy (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Edinburgh to win: 8/15; Draw: 19/1; Munster to win: 13/8
Pre-Match Quotes: Ronan O’Mahony (Munster) – “I know from previous experience that it (a strong pre-season) leads to a good year. Our S&C team has done an incredible job. I don’t think I’ve ever been fitter. I feel like I could really go all day on the pitch and I think everybody feels like that across the squad.
“You want that for the high attrition game we’re playing and to stay focused in defence and get good line-speed. You have to be unbelievably fit and that’s one of our major goals as a team.
“You always want to have goals and believe in yourself. But if you told me back in September that we had a home (Champions Cup) quarter-final and an opportunity to go back top of the league this weekend, I’d have snapped your hand off for it.
“Why is it all going so well? I think everybody has bought into the systems. Our attack is going unbelievably well and we have a good points difference. We’re scoring a lot of tries and getting a lot of bonus point wins.
“If there are Irish supporters who get the Munster game and the Ireland game in, it’d be an unbelievable weekend in Edinburgh for them. Edinburgh are on a high. They are coming off three wins and are in a new stadium.
“This is their first PRO12 game there (at Myreside) so they are going to come out with all guns blazing. This year we managed to get the nose up on them and managed to get a bonus point try and they are going to be looking for revenge.”
Duncan Hodge (Edinburgh) – “We’re looking forward to heading back to a packed house at Myreside on our return to league duties. Munster are an outfit heading to Edinburgh on fine form and with a chance of going top of the table, but we’ve also hit a fine vein of form in recent times which gives us a lot of confidence going into the game.
“We’ve got a good blend of youth and experience throughout the squad – with a lot of settled looking combinations – and a team who will want to play an up-tempo and attacking brand of rugby.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Edinburgh – Points: Duncan Weir 69; Tries: Magnus Bradbury 4; Munster – Points: Tyler Bleyendaal 66; Tries: Ronan O’Mahony 5
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Edinburgh – Played 12, Won 4, Lost 8, 18 Points; L 34-16 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 20-9 v Scarlets (home), L 33-20 v Leinster (home), L 28-14 v Munster (away), L 28-15 v Connacht (away), W 45-10 v Benetton Treviso (home), L 19-14 v Zebre (home), W 28-17 v Ulster (home), L 27-19 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), L 31-22 v Ospreys (away), L 25-12 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 24-19 v Zebre (away); Munster – Played 12, Won 10, Lost 2, 46 Points; W 23-13 v Scarlets (away), L 24-23 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 20-16 v Newport Gwent Dragons (away), W 28-14 v Edinburgh (home), W 49-5 v Zebre (home), Played , L 25-14 v Leinster (away), W 15-14 v Ulster (away), W 33-0 v Ospreys (home), W 46-3 v Benetton Treviso (home), W 16-15 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 29-17 v Leinster (home), W 16-9 v Connacht (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, May 3, 2014 – Edinburgh 12 Munster 55, Meggetland
Friday, September 5, 2014 – Munster 13 Edinburgh 14, Thomond Park
Saturday, April 11, 2015 – Edinburgh 3 Munster 34, BT Murrayfield
Saturday, November 7, 2015 – Edinburgh 14 Munster 16, BT Murrayfield
Friday, April 29, 2016 – Munster 27 Edinburgh 19, Irish Independent Park
Saturday, September 24, 2016 – Munster 28 Edinburgh 14, Thomond Park
MATCH FACTS:
– This game was postponed from January 7 to facilitate the rearrangement of Munster’s Champions Cup game against Racing 92 in Paris
– Edinburgh ended a three-match losing run in the GUINNESS PRO12 with their 24-19 victory over Zebre in Parma on New Year’s Eve
– This game will be only the fifth to be played at Myreside in PRO12 history, the most recent of which was a 24-16 Edinburgh win over the Ospreys in February 2015
– Munster have won their last six PRO12 matches with three of those earning a try-scoring bonus point since their 25-14 reversal to Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on October 8
– The Munstermen’s only loss on their last four visits to Scotland in the Championship was 27-24 to Glasgow Warriors in Kilmarnock in February 2016
– Munster have lost only one of their last ten encounters with Edinburgh in the PRO12, and that by a solitary point in Limerick in the opening round of the 2014/15 campaign
– Munster have visited Myreside once before, winning 25-22 in Pool B of the old Celtic League in August 2001
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