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Munster make five changes to their starting team to face Castres

(Photo by PA)

Munster have named a starting XV to take on Castres on Saturday in the Heineken Champions Cup that shows five changes to the team that secured a bonus-point win at Wasps last Sunday. Ben Healy starts at out-half in place of the injured Joey Carbery with Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Jean Kleyn and Jack O’Donoghue all coming into the pack for Scott Buckley, James French, Eoin O’Connor and Daniel Okeke.

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Academy full-back Patrick Campbell keeps his place in the starting XV with five players set for their European debuts off the bench. Hooker Diarmuid Barron, prop Keynan Knox, out-half Jack Crowley and academy back-rower Alex Kendellen are all primed for their Champions Cup bows.

Jason Jenkins is also named in a matchday squad for the first time and is set for his Munster debut after joining the province last summer. Dave Kilcoyne, Scannell and Ryan pack down in the front row with Kleyn and Tadhg Beirne in the engine room. Captain Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett and O’Donoghue complete the pack.

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Conor Murray and Healy are in the half-backs with Damian de Allende and Chris Farrell continuing their centre partnership. The back three of Campbell, Keith Earls and Andrew Conway is unchanged.

Earls scored his 22nd Champions Cup try last week and is now one try away from equalling the Anthony Foley and Simon Zebo record of 23 Munster tries in the competition.

Munster’s match on Saturday is just one of five games of the twelve scheduled round two games to get the green light to go ahead on a damaging weekend for the credibility of the premier club tournament in Europe.   

MUNSTER (vs Castres, Saturday)
Patrick Campbell; Andrew Conway, Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Keith Earls; Ben Healy, Conor Murray; Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne, Peter O’Mahony (capt), John Hodnett, Jack O’Donoghue. Reps: Diarmuid Barron, Josh Wycherley, Keynan Knox, Jason Jenkins, Jack O’Sullivan, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley, Alex Kendellen.

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C
CO 10 minutes ago
Whose ship has sailed before the first All Blacks squad?

Based on last weekend there should be no Hurricanes loose forwards in the mix, they all seemed poor with the Brumbies once again fantastic at playing and executing as a team. The Hurricanes were also poor in the halves with the ten invisible and Cam Roigard trying to play up tempo, Helter skelter rugby which is what the Brumbies wanted.


Roigards passing was telegraphic with his running game and sniping non existent, Ratima also appears to be getting metronomic, devoid of flair and his ten went invisible as well.


If you can't step up at finals then you need to be punished, yes the blues were poor at times this season but they were right on either the last two games when it really matters.


CWL is a bit larger but both him and Lakai are down on size for an eight and aren't freaks like Savea. Sotutu has to be in the mix and Dalton, but only if they front this Friday night.


However six is an ongoing issue, Josh Beehre could be an answer to the lack of height in the loose forwards at Allblacks level, his driving try to ice the contest through a decent Chiefs pack was raw determination even with support.


As for the previous try being ruled out on the flimsiest of technicalities that highlighted everything wrong with the TMO, it wasn't ‘rabbiting’, his knees dropped one after the other and he then brought his shoulders forward to extend and score, big guys can do that, that's why Sotutu has to be in the mix.


Sititi looked short of a gallop and the Chiefs might be acting a bit too cute with their bench, the coach is saying all the right things but he's in the departure lounge and the signs are there that the Chiefs expected to be the best team in finals simply because they had the best bench.


They're now under the pump and the winner of this year's super final will almost certainly be whoever wins this Friday in Christchurch.

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