URC: Cardiff v Munster, Arms Park, Friday, 7.35 – Live on TG4, Premier Sports
There is no room to wiggle, or let’s face it, lose. Four points separates fifth and 11th places in the United Rugby Championship table, with tonight’s protagonists locked into the struggle not just to make the quarter-finals of the tournament but also guarantee a place in next season’s Champions Cup.
This represents Munster’s final away assignment in a three-match sprint to the line, as they host Ulster and Benetton in their final two games. The defeat against the Bulls had a series of unintended consequences during and after the game. In the first case it was the officiating glitch, the second, a legacy injury profile.
Munster’s interim head coach Ian Costello has made seven changes to the side, the majority of which were enforced due to injuries sustained by Tom Ahern, Stephen Archer, Conor Murray and Josh Wycherley last weekend. Peter O’Mahony and John Hodnett are also unavailable on a short-term basis.
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Michael Milne will make his Munster debut at loosehead prop after the 25-year-old Birr native was released early from his contract with Leinster – he scored 12 tries in 47 appearances – to try and alleviate injury issues that his new employers faced.
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John Ryan, Fineen Wycherley and Gavin Coombes, back after injury, are restored to the starting pack. Craig Casey, a late withdrawal from the Bulls match through illness, is back in the nine jersey while Calvin Nash has recovered from an ankle knock.
There was further good news in the form of Mike Haley’s return from an ankle issue that has kept him sidelined since January. He starts at fullback with Thaakir Abrahams switching to the left wing. The in-form centre partnership of Tom Farrell and Alex Nankivell is retained while Jack Crowley gets to run the show once again.
In the replacements, hooker Diarmuid Barron has shaken off a shoulder/arm niggle. Tullamore’s Ronan Foxe who joined the Munster academy after helping the Irish 20s to a World Cup final in 2023, gets a rare opportunity.
He made his competitive debut for the province against the Sharks last October, while also getting a brief run against an All Blacks XV, again as a replacement. His rugby has largely been at club level with Garryowen.
Jack O’Donoghue and Alex Kendellen flank a fit-again Coombes. Paddy Patterson and Tony Butler provide cover at halfback while Seán O’Brien is unfortunate, based on form, not to have a starting spot.
Cardiff have made three changes from a bonus-point victory over the Ospreys. Head coach Matt Sherratt has named an unchanged backline, with all three changes in the pack. Danny Southworth starts with Corey Domachowski on the bench, while Josh McNally returns to the secondrow following RAF duty.
In the backrow Thomas Young wears the number seven jersey for his last appearance at the Arms Park, partnering James Botham and Taulupe Faletau. Cardiff have once again opted for a 6-2 split among the replacements with Tinus de Beer coming into the 23.
Sherratt said: “We are all really excited, these are exactly the kind of games you want to be involved in. There’s no getting away from it, it’s one of the biggest games of the season. It’s a game with a lot riding on it, in a league that’s incredibly tight and against a brilliant team full of internationals, with large history.
“We will need to be at our best and produce our most complete performance of the season to secure the result we need. If we can do that then we will travel to South Africa [to play the Bulls and Stormers] in a strong position. For a number of players, it will also be their last game at the Arms Park so there is a huge amount of motivation to make it a special occasion.”
Cardiff haven’t lost at home since January, but it is the visitors that start the match as six-point favourites with the bookmakers. Munster must be wary of turning over ball against a backrow containing two superb poachers and a Cardiff backline that has oodles of pace.
The other key for the visitors to their hopes of success is that they have sorted out their lineout travails. If they do that then they have the wherewithal to win this game. Assistant coach Mossy Lawler said that Munster were a “possession team”, a philosophy that if they honour with a judicious kicking game might see them through a tough task.
CARDIFF: C Winnett; J Adams, H Millard, B Thomas; G Hamer-Webb; C Sheedy, J Mulder; D Southworth, L Belcher (capt), K Assiratti; J McNally, T Williams; J Botham, T Young, T Faletau.
Replacements: E Lloyd, C Domachowski, R Litterick, R Thornton, A Lawrence, B Donnell, A Davies, T de Beer.
MUNSTER: M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, A Nankivell, T Abrahams; J Crowley, C Casey; M Milne, N Scannell, J Ryan; F Wycherley, T Beirne (capt); J O’Donoghue, A Kendellen, G Coombes.
Replacements: D Barron, M Donnelly, R Foxe, J Kleyn, R Quinn, P Patterson, T Butler, S O’Brien.
Referee: G Gnecchi (Italy).
