Leinster and Munster both enter their first interprovincial clash of the season with four wins out of five and with a fierce determination to build momentum heading into Europe.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, October 7
LEINSTER (3rd. Con B) v MUNSTER (2nd, Con A), Aviva Stadium, 2pm (live TG4/Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports Arena/RTE Radio 1)
Team News: With ticket sales over 45,000 for the round 6 tie, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has made six personnel changes to the team that accounted for Edinburgh on a 21-13 scoreline at the RDS last Friday.
Joey Carbery continues at full-back but Adam Byrne comes in on the right wing, with fellow UCD clubman Barry Daly selected on the left for his first ever game at the Aviva Stadium.
There is a seasonal debut for British & Irish Lion Robbie Henshaw, who will line out in the centre alongside Rory O’Loughlin who retains the number 13 jersey. Luke McGrath and captain Jonathan Sexton continue at half-back, with Sexton now only five points away from becoming Leinster’s all-time record points scorer.
Up front, Jack McGrath and Tadhg Furlong feature at loosehead and tighthead prop, either side of returning hooker James Tracy. Behind the all-Ireland international front row, Devin Toner and Scott Fardy continue their partnership in the second row.
There are two changes to the back row from last week as openside flanker Josh van der Flier and number 8 Jack Conan take over from the benched Jordi Murphy and Sean O’Brien (calf) respectively. Rhys Ruddock, Ireland’s summer tour captain, completes the loose forward trio.
With a 2pm kick-off tomorrow there are still some tickets available via leinsterrugby.ie, and Ticketmaster van will also be in position outside the stadium on Herbert Bridge. Finally, supporters are reminded that no bags (apart from handbags) will be permitted at the Aviva Stadium and handbags will be subject to a search. Read more on the bag policy for Saturday’s interprovincial here.
Meanwhile, in keeping faith with the forwards that saw off Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park, Munster director of rugby Rassie Erasmus makes no changes to the starting pack with captain Peter O’Mahony again leading the side and number 8 CJ Stander running out for his 100th appearance in a Munster jersey.
Stander, who is now an established Ireland international and a 2017 British & Irish Lion, made his Munster debut against the Scarlets in Cork in November 2012. The South African-born back rower has signed a further two contracts to date, his latest seeing him remain at the province until next June.
It is also as you were at half-back where Conor Murray and Ian Keatley, last week’s man-of-the-match, pair up, while there is a new centre partnership with Tyler Bleyendaal named at inside centre alongside Chris Farrell.
Jaco Taute underwent surgery earlier this week after the specialist confirmed that the South African centre suffered knee ligament damage against Cardiff Blues last Saturday. The 26-year-old is expected to follow a rehabilitation programme for approximately six months.
Returning Ireland international Keith Earls will make his seasonal debut for Munster tomorrow, starting on the left wing. With JJ Hanrahan, who scored two tries against Cardiff as a replacement, promoted to make his first start of the season at full-back, Andrew Conway switches across to the right wing. Simon Zebo is nursing a knock from training.
LEINSTER: Joey Carbery; Adam Byrne, Rory O’Loughlin, Robbie Henshaw, Barry Daly; Jonathan Sexton (capt), Luke McGrath; Jack McGrath, James Tracy, Tadhg Furlong, Devin Toner, Scott Fardy, Rhys Ruddock, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Sean Cronin, Cian Healy, Michael Bent, Ross Molony, Jordi Murphy, Jamison Gibson-Park, Ross Byrne, Fergus McFadden.
MUNSTER: JJ Hanrahan; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Tyler Bleyendaal, Keith Earls; Ian Keatley, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Robin Copeland, Billy Holland, Peter O’Mahony (capt), Tommy O’Donnell, CJ Stander.
Replacements: Rhys Marshall, Liam O’Connor, Stephen Archer, Mark Flanagan, Jack O’Donoghue, Duncan Williams, Rory Scannell, Alex Wootton.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Craig Evans, Ian Davies (both Wales)
Television Match Official: Jon Mason (Wales)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Leinster to win: 4/9; Draw: 20/1; Munster to win: 9/4
Pre-Match Quotes: Josh van der Flier (Leinster) – “It’s the game everyone wants to play in. There are obviously semi-finals and finals and stuff but other than those this is probably the biggest game of the year. We don’t like them very much and they don’t really like us, so it makes for a good game. It’ll be very physical.
“Last week (against Edinburgh), our accuracy was down a little bit and I suppose with the lads coming back in to play, it does disrupt things a little bit. It’s hard to be really fluid in lads’ first game back.
“You could see in pre-season as well, when everyone is having their first game back it’s always scrappy. So the lads will be good for the bit of game-time last weekend and hopefully we’ll be sharp coming into Saturday.”
Niall Scannell (Munster) – “Personally, I don’t look at it (the season) in blocks because you don’t know when you are going to be playing. Going into it, it’s certainly going to be a physical game (against Leinster).
“It’s going to be a step up, not just because it’s an interpro game, but because they’re a quality team and, if you’re not at that level, you won’t beat them, so that’s more where the step up comes from than from anywhere else.
“We knew it would be a hard game (against Cardiff). It was very physical, but we knew that would be the case. We had two very physical games against them last year and we knew we would get the same. They didn’t leave us down in that department. It was a tough game, especially up front.
“The previous week (in Glasgow), we obviously let ourselves down a bit and we knew that. That has been talked about by Rassie and other players during the week. We knew what we had to do. We had to front up physically and that was our focus and I think to a large extent we did it. Obviously, there are things we can tidy up on, but I think in general we brought a good physicality, which was our main focus.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Leinster – Points: Ross Byrne 39; Tries: Barry Daly 4; Munster – Points: Alex Wootton 25; Tries: Alex Wootton 5
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Leinster – Played 5, Won 4, Lost 1, 19 Points; W 39-16 v Dragons (away), W 37-9 v Cardiff Blues (home), W 31-10 v Southern Kings (away), L 38-19 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), W 21-13 v Edinburgh (home); Munster – Played 5, Won 4, Lost 1, 19 Points; W 34-3 v Benetton Rugby (home), W 51-18 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), W 21-16 v Ospreys (away), L 37-10 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 39-16 v Cardiff Blues (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, October 4, 2014 – Leinster 23 Munster 34, Aviva Stadium
Friday, December 26, 2014 – Munster 28 Leinster 13, Thomond Park
Sunday, December 27, 2015 – Munster 7 Leinster 24, Thomond Park
Saturday, April 2, 2016 – Leinster 16 Munster 13, Aviva Stadium
Saturday, October 8, 2016 – Leinster 25 Munster 14, Aviva Stadium
Monday, December 26, 2016 – Munster 29 Leinster 17, Thomond Park
MATCH FACTS:
– Leinster’s only defeat in the GUINNESS PRO14 this season was 38-19 away to the Toyota Cheetahs in round 4
– The Leinstermen have won their last four matches at the Aviva Stadium in all competitions, since Toulon beat them there in the Champions Cup in December 2015
– Munster’s only defeat so far in the PRO14 also came in round 4, away at Glasgow Warriors
– The Munstermen’s only victory in their last ten visits to the Aviva Stadium in all tournaments was 34-23 over Leinster in the Championship in October 2014
– Each side won its respective home game when they met last season, while Munster’s lone triumph on Leinster soil since September 2008 came at the Aviva Stadium in round 5 of the 2014/15 campaign
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