Groin injury victim Paul O’Connell will not feature for Munster against Biarritz having been omitted from the squad which was announced today.
O’Connell had been struggling with a groin injury picked up in Ireland’s final six nations clash with Scotland on 20 March.
Without the talismanic captain Mick O’Drsicoll will deputise in the second row once again, while Dougie Howlett, Nick Willams, Keith Earls and Ian Dowling have all been named in Tony McGahan’s squad for Sunday’s showdown despite injury concerns.
Nonetheless, O’Connell’s absence is a huge blow to Munster and fans alike as many were hopeful he would make a comeback for their biggest game yet this season.
Munster squad: Marcus Horan, Tony Buckley, Julien Brugnaut, John Hayes, Damien Varley, Jerry Flannery, Mick O’Driscoll, Billy Holland, Donncha O’Callaghan, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Nick Williams, James Coughlan, Niall Ronan, Tomas O’Leary, Peter Stringer, Ronan O’Gara, Paul Warwick, Lifeimi Mafi, Jean de Villiers, Tom Gleeson, Doug Howlett, Denis Hurley, Ian Dowling, Keith Earls, Scott Deasy.
