Graham Rowntree, the head coach of Munster, has made six alterations to the team that triumphed over Ospreys in a bid to sustain their rising progress in the United Rugby Championship (URC) standings. Thomond Park will host the match against Cardiff on Saturday, which can be viewed live on RTÉ and Premier Sports. The Irish international players, including Tadhg Beirne, who is selected as team captain, Peter O’Mahony, and Jack Crowley will make their first appearance post the Six Nations tournament for Munster. Unfortunately, Calvin Nash couldn’t be part of the match due to a leg injury he sustained during practice.
There are additional changes to the team. Alex Nankivill, who had an exceptional first season, is back to team up with Antoine Frish in the middle, while two alterations are made in the front row. Jeremy Loughman and Stephen Archer, the props, are upgraded to the starting side. Prolific number eight Gavin Coombes will continue his impressive streak of starting in every URC and Champions Cup match this season. Simon Zebo also makes a return for his first game since the Champions Cup round against Northampton Saints on January 20th.
In addition, Cardiff’s team has been strengthened by the comeback of a half dozen more Welsh internationals – among them Mason Grady and Mackenzie Martin who played in the preceding week against Glasgow Warriors. This includes the back trio of Cam Winnett, Owen Lane, and Josh Adams. The last week’s team is also seeing eight changes in total with the return of props Corey Domachowski, Keiron Assiratti and flanker Alex Mann. Cardiff’s coach Matt Sherratt has shifted Seb Davies and Ellis Jenkins to the primary team following injuries ruling out Shane Lewis-Hughes and Teddy Williams.
Expressing enthusiasm about his first play at Thomond Park, young Wales fullback Winnett, who was a strong performer in all five Six Nations’ matches, stated, “I am genuinely keen for it. Despite the challenge usually posed by matches in Ireland, we are committed to giving it our utmost.”
While Cardiff has often proven to be robust adversaries for Munster, with the inclusion of the returning Irish players and a more potent bench, Munster is expected to persist in their victorious stride.
The rugby lineup for Munster includes M Haley, S O’Brien, A Frisch, A Nankivell, S Daly, J Crowley and C Casey. The forward pack is made up of J Loughman, N Scannell, S Archer, RG Snyman, T Beirne (captain), P O’Mahony, J Hodnett and G Coombes. The substitutes bench includes E Clarke, J Wycherley, J Ryan, T Ahern, A Kendellen, E Coughlan, J Carbery and S Zebo.
On the other hand, the Cardiff squad fields C Winnett, O Lane, M Grady, B Thomas and J Adams. The forward line-up features C Domachowski, L Belcher (captain), K Assiratti, B Donnell and S Davies. The back row consists of A Mann, E Jenkins and M Martin. On reserve, they have R Carré, E Lloyd, W Davies-King, R Thornton, T Young, M Aubrey, J Beetham and T Cabango.
The match officiator will be A Piardi, who hails from Italy.