Munster’s Murrayfield Mission

When Munster run out at Murrayfield this evening they will become the only club to have played at each of the main stadia in Britain and Ireland.

When Munster run out at Murrayfield this evening they will become the only club to have played at each of the main stadia in Britain and Ireland. They played in Twickenham in 2000, the Millennium Stadium in 2002 and Lansdowne Road last season.

Munster approch a game that represents the half way stage in the comptetition in second place and although Edinburgh are at the bottom end of the table they signalled a return to form with a highly creditable victory over Gwent Gragons last weekend at Rodney Parade.

They include internationals Derrick Lee, Brendan Laney and the inspirational Todd Blackadder who was capped 12 times for the All Blacks plus Under 21 internationals such as David Callam and Phil Godman.

Munster coach Alan Gaffney will be hoping that his side can continue their good recent form but he will also have next week’s game in France very much on his mind and will be hoping for an injury free outing. With eight players involved in the international at Lansdowne Road tomorrow, this game hardly represents the ideal preparation for what will be a massive challenge in Castres but it does afford players the opportunity of staking a claim for inclusion in that squad.

Munster: Christian Cullen; Shaun Payne, Mike Mullins, Rob Henderson, Mossy Lawlor; Paul Burke capt, Mike Prendergast; Frank Roche, James Blaney, Gordon McIlwham; Trevor Hogan, Tom Bowman; Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Stephen Keogh. Replacements: Eugene McGovern, Denis Fogarty, Tom Hayes, Denis Leamy, Eoin Reddan, Jason Holland, James Storey.

Edinburgh: Derrick Lee; Craig Joiner, Marcus Di Rollo, Brendan Laney, Rob Dewey, Phil Godman, Rory Lawson; Craig Smith, Andrew Kelly, Joel Brannigan; Fergus Pringle, Alastair Kellock; Todd Blackadder capt, Alan MacDonald, Dave Callam. Replacements: Dougie Hall, Alasdair Dickinson, Alasdair Strokosch, Craig Harrison, Jamie Blackwood, Paul Boston, Ben MacDougall.

Referee – Nigel Owens.