First starts for O'Gara and O'Callaghan
Springbok Jean de Villiers has been named on the bench for this Sunday’s Magners League clash with the Dragons while British and Irish Lions captain Paul O’Connell remains sidelined with a slight hamstring strain.
There is a first start for Ireland lock Donnacha O’Callaghan while left wing Denis Hurley, scorer of two tries last weekend, keeps his place on the wing.
Experienced flyhalf Ronan O’Gara also reclaims his No.10 jersey, taking over from New Zealander Jeremy Manning.
The Dragons, currently sitting second on the log, will once again be led by centre Ashley Smith as both Tom Willis and Luke Charteris remain on the injured list.
The teams:
Munster: 15 Keith Earls, 14 Felix Jones, 13 Barry Murphy, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Denis Hurley, 10 Ronan O’Gara, 9 Tomas O’Leary, 8 Nick Williams. 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Alan Quinlan, 5 Donncha O’Callaghan, 4 Mick O’Driscoll, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Denis Fogarty, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Damian Varley, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 James Coughlan, 20 Toby Morland, 21 Jeremy Manning, 22 Jean de Villiers.
Dragons: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Aled Brew, 13 Tom Riley, 12 Ashley Smith (captain), 11 Richard Fussell, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Wayne Evans, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 James Harris, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Adam Jones, 3 Nigel Hall, 2 Steve Jones, 1 Hugh Gustafson.
Replacements: 16 Duane Goodfield, 17 Ali McKenzie, 18 Gethin Robinson, 19 Grant Webb, 20 Hoani MacDonald, 21 Shaun Connor, 22 Danny Lee.
Date: Sunday, September 27
Time: 17:05 (16.05 GMT)
Venue: Musgrave Park
Referee: Neil Paterson (SRU)
Assistant Referees: J Carvill (IRFU), D Connolly (IRFU)
TMO: Brian Fitzgerald (IRFU)
