Munster ‘A’ Side Named For Quarter Final

Munster ‘A’ Head Coach Mick O’Driscoll has named his side to face Doncaster Knights in the quarter final of the British & Cup at Castle Park on Saturday – KO 2pm.

O’Driscoll will once again field a mixture of Senior, Academy and Club talent as Munster ‘A’ face the tournament’s top seeds in the knock out stages – Doncaster have accumulated 29 of a possible 30 championship points following a clean sweep of victories in the competition to date.

Cork Constitution duo Liam O’Connor and Ger Sweeney join hooker Niall Scannell in the front row at loosehead and tighthead respectively, while Munster’s most capped player Donncha O’Callaghan will bring a wealth of experience to the side when he partners Shannon’s Lee Nicholas in the second row.

Shane Buckley is named at blindside this weekend with Sean Dougall at 7, while Academy back-rower Jack O’Donoghue continues to captain the side from number 8.

Garryowen clubman Neil Cronin, who made his PRO12 debut against Leinster in December, starts again at scrum half, with the remainder of the backline comprising of up and coming Academy talent.

Munster ‘A’s highest points scorer in the competition Rory Scannell continues at 10 while Gearoid Lyons and David Johnston take charge of the midfield, with Greg O’Shea, Darren Sweetnam and Stephen Fitzgerald making up the back three.

O’Shea, Fitzgerald and Jack Cullen (bench) have all won inclusion in the Ireland U20 squad for the upcoming 6 Nations.

The bench also sees the inclusion of four new Club representatives to the current campaign – Peter McCabe (Dolphin), Declan Lavery (Old Belvedere), Ben Kilkenny (Young Munster) and Frank Bradshaw Ryan (Shannon).

Munster A: Stephen Fitzgerald; Darren Sweetnam, David Johnston, Gearoid Lyons, Greg O’Shea; Rory Scannell, Neil Cronin; Liam O’Connor, Niall Scannell, Ger Sweeney; Donncha O’Callaghan, Lee Nicholas; Shane Buckley, Sean Dougall, Jack O’Donoghue – capt.

Replacements: Kevin O’Byrne, Peter McCabe, Declan Lavery, Frank Bradshaw Ryan, Ben Kilkenny, Jack Cullen, Dan Goggin.

Doncaster Knights v Munster A, B&I Cup Quarter Final, Saturday January 24th at Castle Park – KO 2pm.

Follow live updates on Twitter: @munsterrugby #BICup