Jonny Wilkinson will start for the holders in Marseilles on Sunday.
While the first Heineken Cup semi-final, between Saracens and Clermont at Twickenham on Saturday, should be a hell of a game, the game we are all interested in Ireland will take place on Sunday, when Munster play holders Toulon in Marseilles.
Both teams named their squads for the game today and the Munster starting XV doesn’t contain too much in the way of surprises. CJ Stander, as he has since the shoulder injury, steps in for Peter O’Mahony in the back row. Stander will pack down alongside Sean Dougall, who wins the No 7 shirt ahead of Tommy O’Donnell.
Damien Varley will skipper a team that is also without Donnacha Ryan, who isn’t fit enough to even make the replacements.
One player who is named on the bench, somewhat remarkably, is JJ Hanrahan. With the spectre of Conor Murray having to shift to 10 if Ian Keatley left the game, Hanrahan’s super speedy return from a torn groin removes that headache for coach Rob Penney.
As for Toulon, Jonny Wilkinson has recovered to start at 10, a huge boost to the French side. They will be forced to play without the services of Bakkies Botha and Ali Williams but their starting team is still stuffed with internationals.
Springbok wing Bryan Habana starts, the only change from the XV that did for Leinster in the quarters.
Munster: F Jones; K Earls, C Laulala, J Downey, S Zebo; I Keatley, C Murray; D Kilcoyne, D Varley (capt), BJ Botha; D Foley, P O’Connell; CJ Stander, S Dougall, J Coughlan. Replacements: D Casey, J Cronin, J Ryan, D O’Callaghan, T O’Donnell, D Williams, JJ Hanrahan, D Hurley.
Toulon: D Armitage; D Mitchell, M Bastareaud, M Giteau, B Habana; J Wilkinson (capt), S Tillous Borde; X Chiocci, C Burden, C Hayman; J Suta, D Rossouw; J Smith, J Fernandez Lobbe, S Armitage. Replacements: JC Orioli, A Menini, M Castrogiovanni, V Bruni, D Smith, M Mermoz, M Claassens, K Mikautadze.
