No Surprises In Munster Side

No great surprises in the Munster side for the eagerly anticipated Magners League clash with Leinster at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow night with the same backline that featured against Glasgow Warriors and four changes in the pack.

One of those changes is necessiated by the withdrawl of Tony Buckley with a stomach bug, John Hayes in at tight head. Wian du Preez starts ahead of Marcus Horan in the front row, the second remains the same, while the anticipated return of Alan Quinlan means David Wallace, who played in the number six jersey in Firhill slips to the bench with Niall Ronan retaining the seven jersey.

Du Preez started in Munster opening two games and Horan in the next two so there's an obvious pattern there. Given that Wallace's unfamiliar role at blindside against Glasgow was just his first game back and considering the form to date of Ronan, that reasoning behind that choice is evident. 

Meanwhile, Leinster field their strongest possible side although they claim a doubt remains about Jonny Sexton who has been bracketed with Isa Nacewa at 10 pending their Captain's Run and how he comes through that. Expect to see him run out with the rest of the side.

Munster: P Warwick; D Howlett, L Mafi, S Tuitupou, J Murphy; R O'Gara, T O'Leary; W du Preez, D Varley, J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, D Ryan; A Quinlan, N Ronan, D Leamy capt. Replacements: S Henry, M Horan, Darragh Hurley, M O'Driscoll, D Wallace, P Stringer, S Deasy, D Hurley.

Leinster: R Kearney; S Horgan, B O’Driscoll, G D’Arcy, L Fitzgerald; J Sexton/I Nacewa, I Boss; C Healy, R Strauss, M Ross, N Hines, D Toner, D Ryan, S O’Brien, J Heaslip (capt). Replacements: J Harris-Wright, H van der Merwe, S Shawe, M Galarza, R Ruddock, E Reddan, I Nacewa/I Madigan, F McFadden.