Some of Ireland’s Chicago-bound players will run out at a packed out Kingspan Stadium as Ulster and Munster meet in the final GUINNESS PRO12 round before the November internationals.
GUINNESS PRO12: Friday, October 28
ULSTER (1st) v MUNSTER (5th), Kingspan Stadium, 7.05pm (live BBC 2 Northern Ireland/TG4)
Team News: Director of rugby Les Kiss has made eight personnel changes to the Ulster team that will face Munster at a sold-out Kingspan Stadium on Friday night.
Dan Tuohy and Wiehahn Herbst have returned from long-term injuries and will make their first senior appearances of the season, having not featured since December 2015 and last January respectively.
The duo are two of five new faces introduced into the starting pack, with a further three changes made to the back-line for the crucial GUINNESS PRO12 derby encounter.
Herbst is part of a front row that also includes captain Rob Herring and loosehead prop Callum Black.Tuohy will join Franco van der Merwe in the second row, while Robbie Diack also returns to the starting line-up, featuring alongside Sean Reidy and Roger Wilson in the back row.
Ruan Pienaar and Paddy Jackson are retained in the half-back positions, with Darren Cave joining Luke Marshall in midfield. Tommy Bowe and Craig Gilroy have been elevated from the bench to starting berths on the wing, so Charles Piutau – last week’s man-of-the-match against Exeter Chiefs – switches to full-back.
Conor Joyce could make his first appearance for the province in over two years after being named among the replacements. The 23-year-old back rower’s last outing was the memorable 19-17 win over Munster at Thomond Park in May 2014.
John Andrew, Kyle McCall, Andrew Warwick and Clive Ross will provide additional cover for the forwards, with Paul Marshall, Brett Herron and Jacob Stockdale included in the matchday squad as back-line options.
Unfortunately, after sustaining a hip flexor injury, Stuart Olding is likely to be out of action for at least two matches. As expected, Iain Henderson will also miss this weekend’s game. He has shown improvement this week following a shoulder injury picked up against Exeter and he will be continue to be assessed on a weekly basis.
Meanwhile, Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has made five changes for their return to GUINNESS PRO12 action against provincial rivals Ulster.
One change is made to the pack with Jack O’Donoghue starting at number 8 while, across the back-line, Duncan Williams and Ian Keatley form the half-back partnership with Ronan O’Mahony and Andrew Conway both returning to the back-three. Friday’s derby game will also see scrum half Williams make his 100th PRO12 appearance.
Should they feature from the bench, Academy hooker Vincent O’Brien and Young Munster scrum half Abrie Griesel will make their senior debuts for the province.
Achieving interprovincial success with the Munster Under-20s last season, O’Brien represented Ireland at this year’s World Rugby Under-20 Championship. Griesel, a former South Africa Under-20 representative, has trained with the Munster squad in recent months.
A number of the province’s international players are unavailable for selection and, in managing player-load, out-half Tyler Bleyendaal – last week’s man-of-the-match against Glasgow Warriors – will also miss the round 7 encounter.
ULSTER: Charles Piutau; Tommy Bowe, Luke Marshall, Darren Cave, Craig Gilroy; Paddy Jackson, Ruan Pienaar; Callum Black, Rob Herring (capt), Wiehahn Herbst, Dan Tuohy, Franco van der Merwe, Robbie Diack, Sean Reidy, Roger Wilson.
Replacements: John Andrew, Kyle McCall, Andrew Warwick, Clive Ross, Conor Joyce, Paul Marshall, Brett Herron, Jacob Stockdale.
MUNSTER: Andrew Conway; Darren Sweetnam, Jaco Taute, Rory Scannell, Ronan O’Mahony; Ian Keatley, Duncan Williams; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Donnacha Ryan, Billy Holland, Peter O’Mahony (capt), Tommy O’Donnell, Jack O’Donoghue.
Replacements: Vincent O’Brien, Brian Scott, Stephen Archer, Darren O’Shea, Robin Copeland, Abriel Griesel, Alex Wootton, Dan Goggin.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Gwyn Morris (Wales), John Carvill (Ireland)
Television Match Official: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Ulster to win: 1/4; Draw: 20/1; Munster to win: 3/1
Pre-Match Quotes: Rob Herring (Ulster) – “It’s very tight (at the top of the table). It’s what we have become used to in the past few years in the PRO12 with the top six or seven sides all pushing hard for play-off spots, even this early on in the season. We take it one game at a time, as we always do, and this is as big as they come.
“We are looking at these next few games (home to Munster, away to Edinburgh and home to Zebre) as a four-week block and hopefully we will still be at the top of the table by the end of them. We trust the depth of squad that the management are building, so whatever team takes the field we will be confident they can get the job done.
“I was really impressed with Munster (against Glasgow) last week and it certainly makes it a difficult proposition for us. It comes back to the processes. We’ve just got to trust what we do and do it to the best of our ability, then hopefully after 80 minutes we will be on top.”
Rassie Erasmus (Munster) – “The pressure on us was not the result but to put on a good performance (last week). That was immense because of the respect we had for Anthony (Foley) and after that you come back on Monday and things must go on but you can’t go on because he’s not here. There were so many things happening last week and now the game is played and guys must try to get back into a normal week.
“I always knew this team had it in them to create this kind of result but with the situation and occasion we were in, I wasn’t sure that was the week. But yeah, with the quality of the opposition, it was a bit of a surprise to me. Certainly we are proud Munstermen and proud to have been a friend of Anthony.
“(With Conor Murray away with Ireland) It could be an opportunity for club players to put up their hands (at scrum half). We are building over the next three years to be always competitive. Tomas O’Leary had the chance of what looks like proper game-time at Montpellier and we granted him that.
“We’ve had club players training with us, people like John Poland from the Academy, Abrie Griesel of Young Munster has been training with us, and Conor and Duncan Williams are really playing well.”
Top Scorers – 2016/17 GUINNESS PRO12: Ulster – Points: Paddy Jackson 40; Tries: Rob Herring, Robert Lyttle, Ruan Pienaar 2 each; Munster – Points: Tyler Bleyendaal 40; Tries: Conor Murray 3
2016/17 TEAM FORM: Ulster – Played 6, Won 5, Lost 1, 22 Points; W 29-8 v Newport Gwent Dragons (home), W 22-11 v Benetton Treviso (away), W 19-8 v Scarlets (home), W 22-17 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 9-7 v Ospreys (home), L 30-25 v Connacht (away); Munster – Played 6, Won 4, Lost 2, 19 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)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Friday, January 3, 2014 – Ulster 29 Munster 19, Ravenhill
Saturday, May 10, 2014 – Munster 17 Ulster 19, Thomond Park
Friday, November 28, 2014 – Munster 21 Ulster 20, Thomond Park
Saturday, May 9, 2015 – Ulster 23 Munster 23, Kingspan Stadium
Friday, October 30, 2015 – Munster 32 Ulster 28, Thomond Park
Saturday, January 2, 2016 – Ulster 7 Munster 9, Kingspan Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– Ulster were defeated by Connacht in Galway in round 6, their first loss of this campaign, and have not lost successive GUINNESS PRO12 matches since last February
– Ulster have won their last seven games in Belfast in all tournaments since the Scarlets were successful there by a single point in the PRO12 on February 21
– Munster tripped up at Leinster in round 6 of the PRO12 but have not lost back-to-back fixtures in the Championship since April
– Munster’s only success against a fellow Irish province in their last six such encounters was 9-7 in this equivalent fixture in Belfast last season
– Munster are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Ulster since the Ulstermen triumphed 19-17 at Thomond Park in the PRO12 in May 2014
– Munster are unbeaten on their last two visits to Kingspan Stadium and have not gone three matches without defeat in Belfast since the Second World War
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