Leinster, who won the corresponding fixture by 10 points last season, seem like an irresistible force at the moment, but Munster have downed plenty of high flyers at Thomond Park and no team will narrow the eyes for the men in red in the way that Leo Cullen’s side do.
GUINNESS PRO14: Saturday, December 29
MUNSTER (3rd, Con A) v LEINSTER (1st, Con B), Thomond Park, 5.15pm (live eir Sport 1/Premier Sports 2/RTÉ Radio 1/deferred TG4)
Team News: Munster head coach Johann van Graan has made twelve changes to the team beaten 19-12 by Ulster in Belfast last weekend, with CJ Stander leading the province from the back row in the absence of regular captain Peter O’Mahony.
Jean Kleyn, one of the three changes to the Munster team that went down to Castres, features in the second row as he makes his 50th provincial appearance. The other alterations from the Castres game are centre Dan Goggin and 21-year-old Academy graduate Fineen Wycherley who starts on the blindside.
Mike Haley continues at full-back with wingers Andrew Conway and Keith Earls completing the back-three. Goggin forms the centre partnership with Rory Scannell, with former Leinster out-half Joey Carbery and Conor Murray directing operations from half-back.
The hosts line up with Dave Kilcoyne, hooker Niall Scannell and John Ryan in the front row, Kleyn is joined by Tadhg Beirne in the engine room, and Cork youngster Wycherley combines with Chris Cloete and Stander in the loose forwards.
Prop Brian Scott underwent surgery last week for a foot injury sustained while playing for his club side Cork Constitution. He has an expected return-to-play time frame of four to six months. James Hart (knee), Rhys Marshall (hamstring) and Chris Farrell (thigh) were reintegrated into team training this week.
Looking forward to locking horns with Munster’s arch rivals again, Johann van Graan said: “The last time we lost a game in Thomond Park was against Leinster last year in the same fixture. They had a very good start to the game and we had a very good second half.
“There were one or two individual moments that made a difference in that game (a 34-24 defeat) and I believe it will be the same on the weekend. There are two quality sides playing against each other and we’ve got most of our squad available for this game.
“I believe it will come down to two things. One, each individual player will play to the best of his ability for both teams and the team that uses the opportunities and that is something we’d like to improve on.”
In supporting Munster’s nominated charities this season, Cliona’s Foundation and the Irish Cancer Society, one euro from each match programme sold at this evening’s interprovincial derby in Limerick will be donated to the worthy causes.
Meanwhile, a number of Ireland internationals come back into the Leinster starting XV as head coach Leo Cullen makes eleven personnel changes for the defending champions’ annual festive trip to a sold-out Thomond Park.
Only Dave Kearney and Rory O’Loughlin are retained in the back-line from last Saturday’s dramatic late home win over Connacht, with Kearney switching wings to accommodate the inclusion of James Lowe. Jordan Larmour returns to the full-back position.
O’Loughlin, who shifts to the inside centre berth, is joined in midfield by Garry Ringrose, and captain Jonathan Sexton and Luke McGrath resume their half-back partnership. Sexton is averaging just over 10 points per game for Leinster so far this season.
It will be an historic evening for Clontarf native Cian Healy as he runs out for his 200th Leinster appearance. The 31-year-old made his debut in May 2007 against the Border Reivers and has since scored 22 tries for his home province.
Joining Healy in the front row will be fellow Ireland internationals James Tracy and Tadhg Furlong, while James Ryan resumes his second row partnership with Australian international Scott Fardy. Rhys Ruddock, who captained Leo Cullen’s men to that last-gasp victory over Connacht, has Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan for company in the back row.
Speaking ahead of the defending champions’ trip to Limerick, blindside Ruddock said: “There’s a lot of competition (in the back row) and a few of the guys got a rest this week so I’m sure they’ll be raring to go as well. Obviously Munster are going to come out all guns blazing having rested a few guys as well. It’ll be a big test.
“I haven’t played down there (at Thomond Park) in a good few years, but from my experience it’s a special place to go so. I think everyone would love to be involved. It’s special having your home fans and everyone cheering you on and everything like that but there is something special about going away from home.
“The intensity they bring to the occasion and their fans, it’s a very different experience and I think it’s one that you have to relish as well. I think winning away from home is extra special, especially playing a team like Munster. There’s a huge heritage and history of being successful, especially when they play down there so yeah to get a win there is extra special.”
MUNSTER: Mike Haley; Andrew Conway, Dan Goggin, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls; Joey Carbery, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne, Fineen Wycherley, Chris Cloete, CJ Stander (capt).
Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, Jeremy Loughman, Stephen Archer, Billy Holland, Arno Botha, Alby Mathewson, Tyler Bleyendaal, Darren Sweetnam.
LEINSTER: Jordan Larmour; Dave Kearney, Garry Ringrose, Rory O’Loughlin, James Lowe; Jonathan Sexton (capt), Luke McGrath; Cian Healy, James Tracy, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Fardy, James Ryan, Rhys Ruddock, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan.
Replacements: Bryan Byrne, Peter Dooley, Michael Bent, Ross Molony, Max Deegan, Hugh O’Sullivan, Ciaran Frawley, Noel Reid.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher, Jonny Erskine (both Ireland)
Television Match Official: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Match Odds (Paddy Power): Munster to win: 6/5; Draw: 20/1; Leinster to win: 8/11
Pre-Match Quotes: John Ryan (Munster) – “The next few weeks are huge for us. We’ve had Ulster, now it’s Leinster, then Connacht, then Europe. The Leinster front row is the Irish front row and so we’ll obviously be targeting that. That’s natural enough for us but we need to do it cohesively, because you can go off at a tangent and do your own thing and not come out on the right side of the scoreboard.
“We’ve lost to Ulster and so we now want to get back on the horse. It’s important in the context of the league table. We’ll be going as strong as we can for both games against Leinster and Connacht, looking to get maximum points because that’s what we need to do to catch up with Glasgow.
“You look at the last four (games we’ve lost to Leinster), the losses haven’t been huge, just a point in the semi-final (16-15) last May. Last Christmas is the one we want to give back to the fans because we let Leinster take off in the first 15 minutes when they ran riot. We need to put in a performance the fans will be happy with and we can reward them for giving us a packed house and a great atmosphere at the weekend.”
Jack Conan (Leinster) – “Any time you’re going up against one of the other provinces it’s a good opportunity to put your hand up against someone who could potentially be ahead of you or getting the nod to be starting ahead of you.
“It’s going to be massive for me and I quite enjoy those opportunities when I get to play against any of the other internationals. I look forward to going head-to-head with CJ. I think we’ve been lucky to come out on top the last few times but it’s always a tough day down there in Thomond.
“It was massive (to win 34-4 down there last December. The year before we’d gone down and been embarrassed, really sold ourselves short, but last year you had lads going down to experience Thomond Park for the first time, and doing it the day after Christmas Day, a lot of lads hadn’t experienced that before.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting the performance we put in, and the way we won. You had James Ryan and Jordan (Larmour) playing their first games against Munster down there, I think it’s set the bar and we’ll look to go down this weekend and repeat it.”
Top Scorers – 2018/19 GUINNESS PRO14: Munster – Points: Joey Carbery 45; Tries: Keith Earls, Andrew Conway 4 each; Leinster – Points: Ross Byrne 53; Tries: Bryan Byrne 5
2018/19 TEAM FORM: Munster – Played 11, Won 7, Lost 4, 35 Points; W 38-0 v Toyota Cheetahs (home), L 25-10 v Glasgow Warriors (away), W 49-13 v Ospreys (home), L 37-13 v Cardiff Blues (away), W 64-7 v Ulster (home), L 30-22 v Leinster (away), W 25-24 v Glasgow Warriors (home), W 30-26 v Toyota Cheetahs (away), W 32-7 v Zebre (away), W 44-14 v Edinburgh (home), L 19-12 v Ulster (away); Leinster – Played 11, Won 10, Lost 1, 49 Points; W 33-32 v Cardiff Blues (away), L 23-21 v Scarlets (away), W 52-10 v Dragons (home), W 31-7 v Edinburgh (home), W 20-3 v Connacht (away), W 30-22 v Munster (home), W 31-3 v Benetton Rugby (away), W 38-31 v Isuzu Southern Kings (away), W 52-7 v Ospreys (home), W 59-10 v Dragons (away), W 33-29 v Connacht (home)
RECENT LEAGUE MEETINGS:
Saturday, October 8, 2016 – Leinster 25 Munster 14, Aviva Stadium
Monday, December 26, 2016 – Munster 29 Leinster 17, Thomond Park
Saturday, October 7, 2017 – Leinster 23 Munster 17, Aviva Stadium
Tuesday, December 26, 2017 – Munster 24 Leinster 34, Thomond Park
Saturday, May 19, 2018 – Semi-Final – Leinster 16 Munster 15, the RDS
Saturday, October 6, 2018 – Leinster 30 Munster 22, Aviva Stadium
MATCH FACTS:
– Munster have lost their last two matches, both away from home at Castres and at Ulster, but have not lost three in succession since 2015
– The Munstermen are unbeaten at home in their last fifteen matches since Leinster beat them at Thomond Park on St. Stephen’s Day 2017
– Leinster’s dramatic late comeback victory over Connacht last weekend extended their winning run to seven matches in all tournaments since their defeat in Toulouse in October
– The Leinstermen have lost just once away from home in the GUINNESS PRO14 so far this season, going down 23-21 at the Scarlets in round 2
– Leinster’s only defeat to a fellow Irish province in their last ten matches was on a trip to Connacht in April
– The two provinces have met on 155 previous occasions with Leinster winning 97, Munster 47 and 11 games drawn
– Munster’s only victory over their greatest rivals since 2014 was at Thomond Park in December 2016
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