There’s a new face in the Munster front row, while there are precious little changes made to a Connacht side that has taken on a settled look of late.
Dave Kilcoyne will be the fresh faced member of the Munster front row when they face Llanelli Scarlets tomorrow evening. The Academy prop forward has been handed his first start after a massive display for the ‘A’ side against Leinster ‘A’ on Good Friday and will make only his second appearance, having featured against Connacht at the Sportsground earlier in the season.
Elsewhere, Paul O’Connell features alongside the soon to be departed Mick O’Driscoll in the back row, while Conor Murray comes in for Tomas O’Leary in the only change in the backline from last week’s victory over Glasgow Warriors.
Munster take on Llanelli Scarlets on Saturday at 6.30pm.
In the west, Connacht coach Eric Elwood has made just the one change to the XV that enjoyed a memorable victory over Ulster last weekend.
Irish international prop Brett Wilkinson misses out – his place on the summer tour to New Zealand is now in doubt because of a calf strain – and he is replaced in the front row by Denis Buckley.
Apart from that it’s as you were for the Westerners in what will be something of a poignant occasion at the Sportsground as not only is it Connacht’s last home game of the season, but it is the last time Aironi will play in Ireland, with the Italian franchise set to be disbanded at the end of the current campaign.
Connacht’s clash with Aironi kicks off at the Sportsground on Saturday at 5pm.
If you haven’t yet seen the teams for tonight’s inter-provincial affair in Ravenill by the way, check out the Ulster team here and the Leinster XV here.
Munster: F Jones; L O’Dea, J Murphy, L Mafi, S Zebo; I Keatley, C Murray; D Kilcoyne, M Sherry, BJ Botha; M O’Driscoll, P O’Connell (Captain); D Ryan, T O’Donnell, P O’Mahony.
Replacements: D Varley, W du Preez, S Archer, Donncha O’Callaghan, P Butler, T O’Leary, S Deasy, I Dineen.
Connacht: Gavin Duffy (Captain); Tiernan O’Halloran, Kyle Tonetti, Henry Fa’afili, Fetu’u Vainikolo; Miah Nikora, Frank Murphy; Denis Buckley, Ethienne Reynecke, Ronan Loughney; Michael Swift, Mike McCarthy; John Muldoon, Ray Ofisa, George Naoupu.
Replacements: Adrian Flavin, Stewart Maguire, Rodney Ah You, Mick Kearney, Johnny O’Connor, Paul O’Donohoe, Matthew Jarvis, Eoin Griffin
