Munster Hosts Unbeaten Leinster In Festive URC Clash At Thomond Park
Munster Hosts Unbeaten Leinster In Festive URC Clash At Thomond Park
Tadhg Beirne captains Munster against unbeaten Leinster in a festive URC clash at Thomond Park. Key backrow battles loom large in this Irish rugby showdown.
Munster welcomes the return of Tadhg Beirne as captain for its festive clash against unbeaten rival Leinster on Dec. 27 in Round 9 of the United Rugby Championship. Kickoff will be at 2:35 p.m. ET, live FloRugby.
The hosts aim to close the gap on the league leaders while seeking redemption after a challenging year in which they relinquished their URC title and saw a coaching overhaul.
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Team News
Peter O’Mahony (calf) and Conor Murray (elbow) are notable absentees for Munster, while Jack Crowley is rested.
Despite these setbacks, head coach Graham Rowntree has made seven changes to the side that narrowly defeated Ulster in Belfast.
Tom Ahern shifts to the back row, with Mike Haley, Calvin Nash and Shane Daly forming an unchanged back three. Rory Scannell partners Player of the Match Tom Farrell in midfield. Ethan Coughlan and Billy Burns link up in the half-backs.
Leinster, led by Ireland captain Caelan Doris, arrives bolstered by Jamie Osborne’s return from a groin injury.
Osborne slots in at fullback, alongside wings Tommy and Jimmy O’Brien. Robbie Henshaw and Garry Ringrose form a dynamic midfield pairing, while Luke McGrath and Sam Prendergast start at halfback.
Leo Cullen has opted for significant rotation, making 11 changes to the team that edged Connacht last week.
Jack Boyle, Rónan Kelleher and Rabah Slimani line up in the front row, with James Ryan and Joe McCarthy in the second row. Doris joins Ryan Baird and milestone man Josh van der Flier - marking his 150th Leinster appearance - in the back row.
Key Matchup
Fans will be disappointed to have been denied a direct shootout between Ireland’s top two fly-halves, with Munster forced to rest Crowley this week due to the IRFU player management protocols.
His head-to-head battle with Leinster breakthrough star Sam Prendergast would’ve been worth the admission alone in many people’s minds.
Alas, it is not to be this time around, with the pair set to continue their battle behind closed doors when the Irish squad regroups for the Six Nations in late January.
Instead, the clash between the two backrows is a salivating prospect that pits Leinster’s backrow of current Irish international stalwarts against three players with the potential to challenge them for their spots.
Starting at blindside, where two literal giants in Ryan Baird (6’6” – 112kg) and Thomas Ahern (6’9 – 118kg), are on a collision course. They are two of the most dynamic operators in Irish Rugby with elite top-end pace and power, which makes them capable of flipping a match on its axis at a moment’s notice.
Set for what looks to be an intriguing battle with Connacht’s Cian Prendergast and Ulster’s Cormac Izuchukwu for the Irish No. 6 shirt, their individual battle really feels like a trial for the Irish setup.
At openside, former World Player Of The Year Josh van der Flier is back to his very best this season, making his head-to-head matchup with Munster’s young berserker Alex Kendellen a true test for the 23-year-old Cork man.
Kendellen, who is fresh off spending time with the Irish senior squad as a training panelist, clearly is a player Ireland head coach Andy Farrell rates. Prior to his time with the senior squad in November, Kendellen captained the Emerging Ireland squad in South Africa.
Similar in stature with both men in around 6-foot-2 and 105 kilograms, the pair share some similarities in their carrying game and exceptional work rate around the pitch. Thus, it will be intriguing to see just where the gap is between these two heading into the Six Nations.
Concluding the back-three battle is an intriguing matchup between the current Irish captain, Caelan Doris, and a player many feel is the most unlucky in Irish Rugby in Gavin Coombes.
While there is little argument that Doris is among the best players in the world, his Munster rival is a deadly effective operator himself.
Rarely is there a fixture where these two players are not toward the top of the tackles made, carries and turnover charts.
Edging away from what may have been written in more blue-leaning media outlets when these two sides clashed earlier this season, Coombes appeared to get the upper hand in his battle with Doris.
While Leinster won that clash at a sold-out Croke Park, Coombes was immense for Munster and nearly dragged his team back into the contest following a blistering start by Leinster.
Both men are absolute colossuses in the No. 8 shirt, with Doris (6’4” – 111kg) and Coombes (6’6” – 115kg) both being among the most physical players in the URC.
On balance, Leinster’s pack looks stronger across the board, with Munster missing several big hitters, namely Jean Kleyn, Edwin Edogbo, Jeremy Loughman and Peter O’Mahony. But in the back row, if one was to remove the names from the shirts of the players, the battle would be a lot closer than many give it credit.
Prediction
On paper, there is only one winner here, with Leinster naming a side that, outside of Rabah Slimani (French international), could play for Ireland and knock over most Tier 1 teams.
Ultimately, if Leinster gets out to a fast start, it will be difficult for Munster to reel its opponents back in, given the quality and power of the Leinster bench.
Munster’s greatest area to attack will be Leinster’s misfiring line-out, which, in short, has been abysmal and has carried over to the Irish setup.
Munster has not been immune to issues in this department but appears to have a slight edge in this department, with every player from No. 4 through No. 8 being solid options.
Across the backline, Munster might struggle to get any real go-forward with Craig Casey (injured), Conor Murray (injured), Jack Crowley (rested), Alex Nankivell (injured), Thaakir Abrahams (injured), Diarmuid Kilgallen (injured) and Sean O’Brien (injured) leaving them incredibly short-handed.
While this match has the potential to be a blowout in Leinster’s favor, these fixtures rarely play out that way. In saying this, it is tough to see anything but Leinster keeping its unbeaten start to the season rolling. Leinster by six point.
Lineups
Munster
M Haley; C Nash, T Farrell, R Scannell, S Daly; B Burns, E Coughlan; D Bleuler, N Scannell, O Jager; F Wycherley, T Beirne (C); T Ahern, A Kendellen, G Coombes.
Replacements: D Barron, K Ryan, J Ryan, B Gleeson, J Hodnett, P Patterson, T Butler, B O’Connor.
Leinster
J Osborne; T O'Brien, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J O'Brien; S Prendergast, L McGrath, J Boyle, R Kelleher, R Slimani, J McCarthy, J Ryan, R Baird, J van der Flier, C Doris (C).
Replacements: L Barron, A Porter, C Healy, B Deeny, S Penny, F Gunne, R Byrne, J Larmour.
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