URC: Munster v Ulster, Thomond Park, Friday, 7.35pm – Live on RTÉ 2 and Premier Sports 1
The international players filtering back into the Munster and Ulster teams suggest the magnitude of what is at stake this weekend in Thomond Park. Late in the season the numbers are beginning to squeeze teams and apply pressure. It is easy to see why.
Both sides are outside the top eight places. Above that invisible line on the table determines who will go on to this season’s playoffs and qualify for next season’s Champions Cup.
Munster are better off in ninth position with 41 points to Ulster’s 12th place with 38 points, both sides perilously close to having no Champions Cup next year with just two rounds of action left before the quarter-finals.
Ulster are away to Edinburgh next week and Munster at home to Benetton. As things stand on the table, Ulster are two places behind Edinburgh and Munster are one place behind Benetton. It’s never been tighter.
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Neither Munster nor Ulster have failed to qualify for the Champions Cup since it began in the 1995-96 season, with Ulster getting their one and only win in the fourth edition, when they beat Colomiers in Lansdowne Road in 1999. Munster have won it twice but not since they beat Toulouse in the 2008 final in Cardiff.
The match makes for a possible historical precedence and no surprise then that Munster have opted to bring in Peter O’Mahony, World Cup winner Jean Kleyn and have Conor Murray on the bench, as well as the retiring Stephen Archer at tighthead prop.
All in all, that’s a ton load of experience for the home side to add to some gas coming up from the flanks and fullback with Irish World Cup winger Calvin Nash on the right, South African Thaakir Abrahams at 15 and Diarmuid Kilgallon on the left.
Jack Crowley and Craig Casey in the halfback pairing makes for an international partnership that oozes creativity and high energy. A lot of eyes will be on Crowley to see if he can get the backline working and keep Ulster turning.
That will all depend on the quality of ball he gets with O’Mahony, Tadhg Beirne and Kleyn a heavyweight trio that brings almost 200 caps into the Munster pack. John Hodnett is another change to the team that faced Cardiff in the last round.
For Ulster, Iain Henderson, the team captain, has not featured since January and is one of three international players that coach Richie Murphy has called up, along with winger Rob Baloucoune and tighthead prop Tom O’Toole.
Michael Lowry also makes a welcome return as he has completed his return-to-play protocols after a concussion and starts at fullback.
Ulster may well be kicking themselves having squandered a 19-0 lead at Kingspan Stadium against the Sharks in a 22-19 loss in the last round. But Murphy is pleased he has a strong squad at his disposal that he hopes will not panic in Limerick.
“I don’t want a situation where the players are feeling desperate,” said Murphy this week. “Yes, we’re all desperate to win but we don’t want to play like that. We want to play for each other and play the brand of rugby that we have over the last number of weeks.
“We’ve got a little bit of confidence from the way we’re playing, we just need to turn some performances into results. We know where we are, the league position doesn’t lie. Over the course of the season, we haven’t won as many games as we would have liked.”
Munster might say the same. Both teams have the same record of winning seven and losing nine of their games. They were both beaten last time out too.
Adjusting to upheaval this season has probably cost Munster too, with the departure of Graham Rowantree and Ian Costello installed as interim coach. Costello will hand over to Clayton McMillan when the New Zealander arrives from the Chiefs this summer.
“It’s like anything, whether it’s interim, whether it’s a month, whether it’s seven months, that responsibility you have for everything that’s gone before you, we’ve got to make sure that we look after the next two weeks and put ourselves into the playoffs and into the Champions Cup,” said Costello this week.
“It’s pretty significant burden. We know the consequences but we’re trying to focus on the positives of what it means to be in the Champions Cup, what it means to be in knock-out rugby. And that’s about the whole club.”
There will be a lot of amens to that sentiment in a situation neither club wanted – knock-out rugby in the second last match of the URC.
MUNSTER: Thaakir Abrahams; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Diarmuid Kilgallen; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Michael Milne, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Lee Barron, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Fineen Wycherley, Tom Ahern, Conor Murray, Seán O’Brien, Alex Kendellen.
ULSTER: Michael Lowry; Rob Baloucoune, Jude Postlethwaite, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Jack Murphy, Nathan Doak; Andrew Warwick, Rob Herring, Scott Wilson; Iain Henderson (capt), Cormac Izuchukwu; Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, James McNabney.
Replacements: Tom Stewart, Callum Reid, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, David McCann, Dave Shanahan, Stewart Moore, Werner Kok.
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU).
