#MUNvOSP
Three changes from last week’s win over Ulster see Antoine Frisch, John Hodnett and Gavin Coombes come into the Munster side
Reuben Morgan-Williams starts at scrum half for Ospreys, with Owen Williams partnering him at out half
#BULvBEN
Sebastian de Klerk starts on the wing for Vodacom Bulls
Malakai Fekitoa returns alongside Ignacio Brex to make up Benetton’s centre pairing
#LEIvULS
James Ryan returns to Leinster’s starting XV for the first time since the R17 loss to Ulster and captains the side
Matty Rea set to make his 100th appearance for Ulster
#GLAvSTO
George Turner set for 100th appearance for Glasgow Warriors if called upon from the bench
Warrick Gelant and Paul de Wet make their return to DHL Stormers match-day squad

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

Munster v Ospreys
Thomond Park, Limerick – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU, 14th league game)
AR 1: Andrea Piardi (FIR) AR 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
Live on: RTÉ, S4C, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Munster: Simon Zebo, Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Seán O’Brien, Shane Daly, Jack Crowley, Craig Casey, Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer, RG Snyman, Tadhg Beirne (CAPT), Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan, Oli Jager, Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen, Conor Murray, Tony Butler, Mike Haley

Ospreys: Max Nagy, Luke Morgan, Owen Watkin, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles, Owen Williams, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Nicky Smith, Dewi Lake, Tom Botha, James Ratti, Huw Sutton, Jac Morgan, Justin Tipuric (CAPT), Morgan Morris
Replacements: Sam Parry, Gareth Thomas, Rhys Henry, Victor Sekekete, Morgan Morse, Luke Davies, Luke Scully, Harri Houston

Ospreys Head Coach Toby Booth said: “We’ve got ourselves to this window of opportunity and we’re excited about it, but we won’t underestimate how tough the game will be. Like us, Munster have got a tight group, with a lot of quality in it, and that makes them a very dangerous opponent.”

SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Vodacom Bulls v Benetton
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria – KO 14.30 IRE & UK / 15.30 ITA & SA
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 82nd game)
AR 1: Sam Grove-White (SRU) AR 2: Adam Jones (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
Live on: SuperSport, Sky Italia, TG4, Premier Sports, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Vodacom Bulls: Willie Le Roux, Sebastian de Klerk, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar, Wilco Louw, Ruan Vermaak, Ruan Nortje (CAPT), Nizaam Carr, Elrigh Louw, Cameron Hanekom
Replacements: Akker van der Merwe, Simphiwe Matanzima, Francois Klopper, Reinhardt Ludwig, Jannes Kirsten, Keagan Johannes, Chris Smith, Sergeal Petersen

Benetton: Rhyno Smith, Tommaso Menoncello, Malakai Fekitoa, Ignacio Brex, Onisi Ratave, Tomas Albornoz, Andy Uren, Thomas Gallo, Bautista Bernasconi, Simione Ferrari, Edoardo Iachizzi, Federico Ruzza, Alessandro Izekor, Michele Lamaro (CAPT), Toa Halafihi
Replacements: Gianmarco Lucchesi, Mirco Spagnolo, Giosuè Zilocchi, Eli Snyman, Niccolò Cannone, Lorenzo Cannone, Alessandro Garbisi, Jacob Umaga

Vodacom Bulls Director of Rugby Jake White: “Canan injured his hand against the Sharks last weekend and will be going for surgery today. It is one of those where they will only be able to see how serious it is once they open him up. It is his index finger (that is fractured) which influences his passing, on top of his pinkie a few weeks ago which he has strapped before. I am not sure if it will be one of those that you can strap in a couple of weeks and play but he remains unavailable this week and the next. From the Boks point of view, I hope it is not that serious so that he is ready for the Irish series.”

Benetton Head Coach Marco Bortolami said: “The clash between the two forward packs will be decisive and for this reason we have opted to go to the bench with the 6 plus 2. There are also some changes to inject fresh and new energy from the first minute and the other boys will come off the bench to finish the job. Between the backs we chose to move Menoncello as a winger and insert Fekitoa in the centre to add the maximum physicality possible. Furthermore, Malakai gives us a lot of experience having already played matches of this caliber many times; I’m sure he will make a great contribution”

Leinster v Ulster
Aviva Stadium, Dublin – KO 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA & SA
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU, 95th league game)
AR 1: Craig Evans (WRU) AR 2: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Brain MacNeice (IRFU)
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe, Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park, Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (CAPT), Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Sam Prendergast, Ciarán Frawley

Ulster: Stewart Moore, Mike Lowry, Will Addison, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, John Cooney, Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring (CAPT), Tom O’Toole, Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Matty Rea, David McCann, Nick Timoney
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Andy Warwick, Scott Wilson, Greg Jones, Dave Ewers, Nathan Doak, Ethan McIlroy, Jude Postlethwaite

Glasgow Warriors v DHL Stormers
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow – KO 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA & SA
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU, 43rd league game)
AR 1: Frank Murphy (IRFU) AR 2: Peter Martin (IRFU)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Live on: Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Sebastian Cancelliere, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Kyle Steyn (CAPT), Tom Jordan, George Horne, Jamie Bhatti, Johnny Matthews, Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings, Richie Gray, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey
Replacements: George Turner, Nathan McBeth, Oli Kebble, Max Williamson, Euan Ferrie, Henco Venter, Jamie Dobie, Ross Thompson

DHL Stormers: Warrick Gelant, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Dan du Plessis, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Ben Loader, Manie Libbok, Herschel Jantjies, Brok Harris, Joseph Dweba, Frans Malherbe, Salmaan Moerat (CAPT), Ruben van Heerden, Willie Engelbrecht, Ben-Jason Dixon, Hacjivah Dayimani
Replacements: Andre-Hugo Venter, Sti Sithole, Neethling Fouche, Adre Smith, Marcel Theunissen, Connor Evans, Paul de Wet, Jean-Luc du Plessis

Glasgow Warriors Head Coach Franco Smith said: “The Stormers have a proud record in the BKT URC playoffs, and we know they will be coming to Scotstoun intent on continuing that record tomorrow night. They have some brilliant individuals who have the ability to hurt you from anywhere on the field, in addition to being a physical unit with and without the ball. We’re looking forward to the challenge and we know the Warrior Nation will make themselves known as they get behind us tomorrow night.”

DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson said: “We know that it will take a top performance to stay alive in this competition and that is a challenge we have embraced. We will have to do it without a number of our frontline players due to injuries, but it is testament to the depth we have built and the quality of our squad that there is plenty of belief. Despite having almost a full team ruled out, we have built up some good momentum heading into the play-offs. This is our first BKT URC play-off match away from home after playing six at DHL Stadium and we want to show that we can rise to the occasion.”

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Connacht v Munster

The Sportsground, Galway @ 7:35pm

Saturday night’s game at the Sportsground sees the home side looking to build on a big win in Dublin last weekend. It is also a chance to close an 8 point gap on Munster at the top of Conference B. 

Last Weekend’s Action

Andy Friend’s men put in their most impressive performance of the season at the RDS last Saturday night. Their bonus point win was their first ever victory at the Ballsbridge venue and their first win in Dublin since a 2002 Magners League win at Donnybrook. However, as Quinn Roux pointed out to his teammates in the post match huddle, this victory should now be consigned to the record books and the westerners need to back it up against Munster this weekend. Roux provided vital leadership in a Connacht side missing  Bundee Aki, Jarrad Butler, Tiernan O’Halloran, Kieran Marmion and Paul Boyle. 

Munster will know that they were luck to emerge from Ravenhill last weekend with a losing bonus point. They were outplayed for large portions of the match, but they hung on doggedly and were rewarded with a Darren Sweetnam try in the last play of the game. While I would expect Munster to field a much stronger side this weekend, Johann van Grann must balance his team selection. As Munster also have Clermont at home and Harlequins away in back to back Champions Cup clashes to come in the next couple of weeks. 

Pro14 standings

Despite the probable changes in personnel this is an important game for both coaches. As always in any Inter-Pro game local bragging rights are at stake as well as points on the table. It’s first v second in Conference B. Munster are on top of the pile after 8 rounds on 33 points, with Connacht (25 points) closing the gap to 8 after an unexpected 5 point haul from the RDS. Both sides have a game in hand over third placed Scarlets (24), while Cardiff have a return of 18 points from 10 matches in fourth spot.

Familiar faces

There was a trio of summer switches from Thomond to Galway. Conor Oliver, Sam Arnold and Alex Wootton all made the move in search of more game time under Andy Friend. The first two were on a permanent basis, while in Wootton’s case it was on a season long loan. Friend confirmed during the week that there is no stipulation in the loan arrangement to prevent Wootton from featuring in Saturday’s meeting between the sides. All three featured in last weekends win in the RDS and one suspects that they will be given the chance to face their former teammates this weekend. 

On the sidelines Munster’s attack coach Stephen Larkham will renew acquaintances with Andy Friend. Larkham first encountered Friend as a fresh faced youngster in the Australian academy of sport in 1994. Their respective careers crossed paths again when Friend signed Larkham  for the ACT Brumbies in 2011. Speaking on Tuesday Friend said of Larkham “He was just such a talented footballer. You could see that he was very tactical and strategic in the way he played”. He added “like all young coaches you do develop and learn something new each year. You can see the bits and pieces he’s adding there at Munster, and it’s pretty exciting for them”.

Previous meetings

Munster won the last five meetings between the sides. A behind closed door meeting in the Aviva in August saw Munster hit Connacht for 42 points and six tries after an early red card for Connacht debutante Abraham Papali’i. He was followed down the tunnel by hooker Shane Delahunt before the interval. 

The last meeting between the sides at the Sportsground saw a 14-19 win for the men in red in December of 2019. A Jack O’Donoghue try and four JJ Hanrahan penalties reflected the visitors physical dominance over the hosts on that occasion. Munster also won both clashes during the 2018/19 season on a scoreline of 24-31 at the Sportsground and 27-14 in Thomond. Connacht’s last win over this weekend’s visitors came early in Keiran Keane’s short tenure in Galway. A 20 – 16 win in October 2017 was one of few highlights of that season from a Connacht perspective.

Team News

There are three changes from the side that won at the RDS last time out. Finlay Bealham, Ultan Dillane and Ben O’Donnell come into the starting 15, With Robertoson-McCoy, Thornbury and Sullivan dropping to the bench. Bundee Aki has failed to recover from a knee injury in time for this clash.

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