Earls of Munster back in only change to Munster side

Rob Penney has made just one change to the side that defeated Harlequins last time out with Keith Earls back for his first start in a red jersey since January.

By Declan Whooley

The utility back comes in on the right wing with Denis Hurley dropping to the bench in what promises to be a most difficult assignment in Montpellier against a star-studded Clermont Auvergne side.

Clermont warmed up for their Munster challenge with a commanding 39-17 victory over the reigning French champions Toulouse at the weekend and with Morgan Parra, Wesley Fofana, Lee Byrne, Napolioni ‘Napo’ Nalaga - the wing with the highest scoring ratio in Europe - Sitiveni Sivivatu just some of the options in the backs, never mind perhaps the most powerful scrum in the competition, then Rob Penney’s men are real outsiders to progress to the final in Dublin.

Being underdogs will be music to Munster ears and if they perform anywhere near the level as they did at the Stoop, then the seeds of doubt may creep into the French side. Munster upset the odds 13 years ago to defeat Toulouse on French soil at the semi-final stage, with Ronan O’Gara the sole survivor, while Clermont have lost their last four Top 14 games in Montpellier.

The bookies are of the opinion that Clermont are just 80 minutes away from reaching their first ever Heineken Cup final, but Penney and his charges will be out to prove a point. An intriguing encounter at the Stade de la Mosson tomorrow evening beckons.

Munster team to play Clermont: F Jones; K Earls, C Laulala, J Downey, S Zebo; R O’Gara, C Murray; D Kilcoyne, M Sherry, BJ Botha; D Ryan, P O’Connell (c); P O’Mahony, T O’Donnell, J Coughlan.

The French outfit had been dealt two huge blows this week with the withdrawal of talismanic captain Aurelien Rougerie and flanker Gerhard Vosloo through injury.

Former Scarlet centre Regan King is given a chance to impress and will partner superstar Wesley Fofana in the midfield while highly-rated Julien Bardy come in the back-row alongside Julien Bonnaire and Damien Chouly.

Austalian fly-half Brock James has recovered from a thigh injury and will start at fly-half in place of Kiwi Mike Delany who is not qualified to the competition.

Clermont: Byrne; Sivivatu, King, Fofana, Nalaga; James, Parra; Domingo, Kayser, Zirakashvili; Cudmore, Hines; Bonnaire, Bardy, Chouly.

Joe Schmidt has decided to put Ian Madigan at inside centre for the visit of Biarritz on Sunday in the Amlin semi-final.

The talented back will partner BOD in midfield, with Rob Kearney taking the full-back jersey and the versatile Isa Nacewa moving to left-wing from the side that started against Zebre. The sight of both Madigan and Sexton playing together should excite the home supporters, and has even led one Leinster fan to suggest online that it is akin to watching Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in the same film!

In the pack, only Richardt Strauss, Devin Toner and Kevin McLaughlin remain from the side that started in Italy.

Leinster team v Biarritz: Kearney; McFadden, O’Driscoll, Madigan, Nacewa; Sexton, Boss; Healy, Strauss, Ross; Cullen, Toner; McLaughlin, Jennings, Heaslip.