Shaun Payne and Donncha O’Callaghan Omitted

Shaun Payne and Donncha O’Callaghan were the most notable absentees from the 26 strong Munster squad named on Tuesday, for the Heineken Cup game v Harlequins in Thomond Park on Saturday (5.15pm).

Shaun Payne and Donncha O’Callaghan were the most notable absentees from the 26 strong Munster squad named on Tuesday, for the Heineken Cup game v Harlequins in Thomond Park on Saturday (5.15pm).

Payne retired injured at half time of the Celtic League game v Cardiff Blues last Saturday while O’Callaghan was injured in training prior to the Llanelli game at the start of this month.

The effects of a high tackle in that Cardiff game rules Payne out and O’Callaghan, who hasn’t played a full game since the Celtic League encounter against Connacht last April, tore a calf muscle in training.

Coach Alan Gaffney expects to finalise his starting line-up on Thursday.

Munster:

P Burke, C Cullen, P Devlin, J Kelly, R Henderson, A Horgan, J Holland, M Lawlor, R O’Gara, M Prendergast, P Stringer, J Storey. T Bowman, A Foley, J Flannery, M Horan, T Hogan, J Hayes, S Keogh, D Leamy, G McIlwham, P O’Connell, A Quinlan, F Sheahan, J Williams, D Wallace.