Munster and Connacht meet at Thomond Park tonight and the hosts need to regain momentum after losses to both Leinster and Ulster in recent rounds, while the westerners, who ran Leinster close, will draw inspiration from their 2015 win in Limerick.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, January 6
MUNSTER (2nd, Con A) v CONNACHT (5th, Con A), Thomond Park, 7.45pm (live TG4)
Team News: CJ Stander captains Munster from number 8 as Chris Farrell, Rhys Marshall and Conor Oliver all return from injury to start. There are ten personnel changes and two positional switches to the side that lost in Belfast.
It is an all-Ireland international back-line with Simon Zebo named at full-back, Andrew Conway returning on the right wing and Keith Earls reverting from centre to the left wing berth. Rory Scannell partners the fit-again Farrell in midfield, while Ian Keatley and Conor Murray resume as the starting half-backs.
New Zealander Marshall starts at hooker with Ireland props Dave Kilcoyne and John Ryan completing front row. Darren O’Shea is retained in the second row after impressing away to Ulster, with Jean Kleyn taking over from Billy Holland, who misses his first game of the season through injury.
Jack O’Donoghue moves to blindside flanker as Oliver, who is back from shoulder surgery, makes his first appearance of the season at openside and Stander slots back in at number 8 and takes the captaincy reins from the sidelined Holland.
Peter O’Mahony, Munster’s regular skipper, is among the forward replacements along with Mike Sherry, James Cronin, Stephen Archer and Robin Copeland. Duncan Williams, Bill Johnston, who could make his third PRO14 appearance of the current campaign, and Darren Sweetnam provide the back-line cover.
Munster v Connacht match tickets are available online here, in the Thomond Park and Irish Independent Park ticket offices (Monday to Friday, 10am-5pm), or by calling 061 421103.
Meanwhile, Connacht head coach Kieran Keane has made eight changes to the team to take on Munster in Limerick. Ireland Internationals Ultan Dillane, Kieran Marmion and Bundee Aki are all rested this weekend in an effort to manage their game-time.
Prop Peter McCabe is given a start against his former province and is joined in the front row by hooker Tom McCartney and tighthead Conor Carey. Quinn Roux comes into the second row, and there is a third start of the season in the back row for 20-year-old Sligo native and Academy player Cillian Gallagher.
Caolin Blade comes in at scrum half and will play alongside Jack Carty, who is the third top points scorer in the PRO14 so far this season with 85 points. Among the replacements, young prop Conan O’Donnell and back rower Paul Boyle, who captained the Ireland Under-20s last summer, make the step up from the Connacht Academy.
Speaking ahead of the round 13 clash with Munster, Keane said: “We have come through a series of big games and some guys have seen a lot of game-time. Our internationals, in particular, are due a break especially with the Six Nations just around the corner.
“The squad is in a really good place at the moment. Obviously, we felt we could and should have won against Leinster and we came very close. We did the review during the week, we identified where we came up short and now we move on. The performance and effort levels from the boys over the past few weeks has been top quality, and particularly in the interpro series we have seen some real character.
“We have some changes in personnel for the Munster game so there are opportunities for other guys to show what they are capable of. Munster will be hurting after their two games over the Christmas period and at home they will be a massive challenge.
“They have quality all over the park and I’m sure they will be really determined to get back to winning ways before they get back to European competition.”
MUNSTER: Simon Zebo; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls; Ian Keatley, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Rhys Marshall, John Ryan, Jean Kleyn, Darren O’Shea, Jack O’Donoghue, Conor Oliver, CJ Stander (capt).
Replacements: Mike Sherry, James Cronin, Stephen Archer, Robin Copeland, Peter O’Mahony, Duncan Williams, Bill Johnston, Darren Sweetnam.
CONNACHT: Tiernan O’Halloran; Niyi Adeolokun, Eoin Griffin, Pita Ahki, Matt Healy; Jack Carty, Caolin Blade; Peter McCabe, Tom McCartney, Conor Carey, Quinn Roux, James Cannon, Cillian Gallagher, Jarrad Butler, John Muldoon (capt).
Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Conan O’Donnell, Finlay Bealham, Gavin Thornbury, Paul Boyle, James Mitchell, Craig Ronaldson, Darragh Leader.
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher, Nigel Correll (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Kevin Beggs (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Munster to win: 1/10; Draw: 30/1; Connacht to win: 8/1
Pre-Match Quotes: CJ Stander (Munster) – “I think we were disappointed with the last few weeks, especially when you are playing interpros, you want to win all of them really. The last few weeks, we played two halves really. It’s something we talked about, and something we need to fix going into the next few games.
“I’ve played them (Connacht) a good few times now. I was the captain in Thomond Park when they beat us there for the first time in 29 years. They’ve a team that pitches up in Thomond Park with no fear of coming here.
“They know they can beat us here. It’s going to be interesting. We lost the last interpro game against them (in Galway in October), and I think we have to look deep into ourselves and perform well to make sure we get a result.”
John Muldoon (Connacht) – “Six points from the two interprovincial derby games against Ulster and Leinster is an impressive haul, but we know we have lots of areas where we can improve, and hope to put them into play against a smarting Munster side at Thomond Park.
“We’ve already beaten Munster this season but this is a very different prospect, and after their defeats to Leinster and Ulster they will be a wounded animal looking for a big interpro victory before they head into the Champions Cup again.
“For us, we are looking to build back the momentum we picked up against Ulster. It was a valiant effort at the RDS earlier this week but it wasn’t good enough for the win, and moral victories just don’t cut it.
“It was a disappointing result but saying all that we have to take a lot of heart. It’s never easy to go up to Leinster, and play them in their own back yard. They have a quality squad and they are the form team in Europe at the moment. Unfortunately, we weren’t accurate enough to get the win in the end.
“It takes a while to get into the swing of things but we feel we are gelling together nicely now. We have a new coach and a new way of doing things. Nigel Carolan and Pete Wilkins are new to the coaching team too so it takes a bit of time to get used to the new approach. A lot of players have worked hard and they are starting to get the reward from that.”
Top Scorers – 2017/18 GUINNESS PRO14: Munster – Points: Ian Keatley 60; Tries: Alex Wootton 7; Connacht – Points: Jack Carty 85; Tries: Tiernan O’Halloran 4
2017/18 TEAM FORM: Munster – Played 12, Won 7, Lost 5, 38 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), L 23-17 v Leinster (away), L 20-16 v Connacht (away), W 49-6 v Dragons (home), W 36-19 v Zebre (away), W 36-10 v Ospreys (home), L 34-24 v Leinster (home), L 24-17 v Ulster (away); Connacht – Played 12, Won 4, Lost 8, 24 Points; L 18-12 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 32-10 v Southern Kings (home), L 21-8 v Dragons (away), L 17-15 v Cardiff Blues (home), L 36-27 v Scarlets (away), L 16-8 v Ulster (away), W 20-16 v Munster (home), W 23-15 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 36-30 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 24-10 v Zebre (away), W 44-16 v Ulster (home), L 21-18 v Leinster (away)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, March 28, 2015 – Munster 42 Connacht 20, Thomond Park
Saturday, November 28, 2015 – Munster 12 Connacht 18, Thomond Park
Saturday, April 16, 2016 – Connacht 35 Munster 14, the Sportsground
Saturday, December 31, 2016 – Connacht 9 Munster 16, the Sportsground
Saturday, May 6, 2017 – Munster 50 Connacht 14, Thomond Park
Friday, October 27, 2017 – Connacht 20 Munster 16, the Sportsground
MATCH FACTS:
– Munster have lost their last two matches, both in the GUINNESS PRO14, at home to Leinster and away to Ulster
– They have not lost three in-a-row in the Championship since December 2015
– Munster have lost all four matches they have played against fellow Irish provinces this season
– Connacht’s 21-18 defeat to Leinster in Dublin on New Year’s Day ended their three-match winning run in all competitions
– Connacht have not won away from home in the PRO14 since beating Edinburgh at Myreside on April 7, while their only two wins away from home against a fellow Irish province in the history of the Championship were against Leinster in 2002 and Munster in 2015
– Connacht have the slight edge in meetings between the two provinces, leading by four wins to three in fixtures since 2015. Prior to this, Connacht had only beaten Munster five times in eighty years
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