MUNSTER HEAD COACH Johann van Graan has named five debutants in his starting XV for Sunday’s Champions Cup clash with Wasps in Coventry [KO 3.15pm, BT Sport], with a further seven uncapped players included on the bench.
Fullback Patrick Campbell, hooker Scott Buckley, lock Eoin O’Connor, tighthead prop James French, and number eight Daniel Okeke will all start on their first Munster caps.
Hooker Declan Moore, loosehead prop Mark Donnelly, second row John Forde, back row Conor Moloney, scrum-half Ethan Coughlan, out-half Tony Butler, and wing/fullback Jonathan Wren are set for their senior debuts off the bench.
Munster have not been able to include any of the 34 senior players who were part of the recent Covid-hit trip to South Africa, meaning van Graan has named a matchday squad made up of nine internationals and a crop of promising young players.
19-year-old Young Munster man Campbell only recently joined the Munster academy but gets a huge opportunity at fullback in a backline that is otherwise made up of Ireland-capped players.
In the front row, promising academy hooker Buckley is joined by the experienced Dave Kilcoyne and senior squad member French, who previously played at loosehead but will debut on the tighthead side of the scrum.
Waterford man O’Connor, another academy player, will partner Tadhg Beirne in the second row, while captain Peter O’Mahony makes up the back row with exciting number eight Daniel Okeke and John Hodnett, who has recovered from an ankle injury to feature in what will be his first appearance for Munster in 13 months.
Tighthead prop Roman Salanoa, who has just recovered from a knee injury, is the only member of the bench who has any senior experience for Munster.
Cork Con’s Forde and Young Munster’s Moloney are not even part of the Munster academy yet.
Moloney came through the underage ranks at Ennis RFC along with fellow replacements Coughlan and Butler.
Meanwhile, Wasps have named exciting 21-year-old Alfie Barbeary in their back row as boss Lee Blackett makes six changes after last weekend’s defeat to Worcester in the Premiership.
Wasps are missing 18 players due to injury, including key men like captain Joe Launchbury, Malakai Fekitoa, Vaea Fifita, Paolo Odogwu, Dan Robson, and Jack Willis
Munster:
- 15. Patrick Campbell
- 14. Andrew Conway
- 13. Chris Farrell
- 12. Damian de Allende
- 11. Keith Earls
- 10. Joey Carbery
- 9. Conor Murray
- 1. Dave Kilcoyne
- 2. Scott Buckley
- 3. James French
- 4. Eoin O’Connor
- 5. Tadhg Beirne
- 6. Peter O’Mahony (captain)
- 7. John Hodnett
- 8. Daniel Okeke
Replacements:
- 16. Declan Moore
- 17. Mark Donnelly
- 18. Roman Salanoa
- 19. John Forde
- 20. Conor Moloney
- 21. Ethan Coughlan
- 22. Tony Butler
- 23. Jonathan Wren
Wasps:
- 15. Marcus Watson
- 14. Zach Kibirige
- 13. Michael Le Bourgeois
- 12. Jimmy Gopperth
- 11. Josh Bassett
- 10. Jacob Umaga
- 9. Sam Wolstenholme
- 1. Tom West
- 2. Dan Frost
- 3. Biyi Alo
- 4. Sebastian de Chaves
- 5. Elliott Stooke
- 6. Alfie Barbeary
- 7. Brad Shields (captain)
- 8. Tom Willis
Replacements:
- 16. Gabriel Oghre
- 17. Robin Hislop
- 18. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen
- 19. Tim Cardall
- 20. Nizaam Carr
- 21. Thomas Young
- 22. Will Porter
- 23. Francois Hougaard
Referee: Romain Poite [FFR].
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
Bernard Jackman, Niamh Briggs, and Murray Kinsella discuss a massive weekend of Champions Cup rugby for the four Irish provinces.
