Jimmy Gopperth in at No 10 for Leinster and Conor Murray back for Munster is the big news…
Ahead of a pretty big weekend of action, both Rob Penney and Matt O’Connor have shuffled their teams around. At Leinster, there are three changes from the Round 4 tie with Northampton. The big one concerns the out-half position, with Jimmy Gopperth’s fine show against Connacht in the PRO12 earning him a start against Castres.
The other changes see Kevin McLaughlin come in for Rhys Ruddock, who failed to recover from the injury he suffered at the Sportsground, while Jordi Murphy takes the No 7 shirt, with Shane Jennings on the bench.
Leinster also revealed today that Fergus McFadden is back in training and he could be fit for the final Pool game, against Ospreys, next weekend.
Down in Munster, Penney has made six changes for the trip to Gloucester. After five weeks out with a new injury, Conor Murray goes straight back in at No 9, a huge boost to the men in red. That’s not the end of the good news either. Keith Earls, Johne Murphy and James Downey all return to the starting XV while Damien Varley, who exited the game against Ulster with a foot injury, is also fit to start.
In the pack, BJ Botha comes in while Dave Foley makes his Heineken Cup debut in the second row alongside Paul O’Connell. The Munster bench looks pretty strong too, with JJ Hanrahan, Simon Zebo and Donncha O’Callaghan all available if required.
And Connacht make two switches for the game with Zebre in Galway, with Sean Henry and Jake Heenan brought into the pack.
Connacht:
15. Darragh Leader
14. Fionn Carr
13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Eoin Griffin
11. Matt Healy
10. Jack Carty
9. Kieran Marmion
1. Brett Wilkinson
2. Sean Henry
3. Nathan White
4. Mick Kearney
5. Andrew Browne
6. John Muldoon (captain)
7. Jake Heenan
8. Eoin McKeon
Replacements:
16. Jason Harris-Wright
17. Denis Buckley
18. Rodney Ah You
19. Michael Swift
20. George Naoupu
21. Paul O’Donohoe
22. Dan Parks
23. Gavin Duffy
Leinster: Rob Kearney; Dave Kearney, Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Luke Fitzgerald; Jimmy Gopperth, Eoin Reddan; Jack McGrath, Sean Cronin, Mike Ross; Devin Toner, Mike McCarthy; Kevin McLaughlin, Jordi Murphy, Jamie Heaslip (Capt). Replacements: Aardon Dundon, Jack O’Connell, Martin Moore, Leo Cullen, Shane Jennings, Isaac Boss, Ian Madigan, Zane Kirchner
Munster: Felix Jones; Keith Earls, Casey Laulala, James Downey, Johne Murphy; Ian Keatley, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Damien Varley, BJ Botha; Dave Foley, Paul O’Connell; Peter O’Mahony (Capt.), Tommy O’Donnell, James Coughlan. Replacements: Duncan Casey, James Cronin, Stephen Archer, Donncha O’Callaghan, CJ Stander, Duncan Williams, JJ Hanrahan, Simon Zebo.
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