TONY McGahan, Munster, Rugby head coach, has opted to give three up and coming player their competitive debuts for the Province as Under 20 international wings Simon Zebo and Danny Barnes and Thomond’s Declan Cusack are named in the side that will be led by Mick O’Driscoll for the trip to Galway to face Connacht this Sunday.
The opportunity presents itself because of the injury situation among the backs in the Munster squad that sees Denis Hurley, Doug Howlett, Ian Dowling, Keith Earls Jean de Villiers and Barry Murphy all nursing injuries of varying degrees but in pre season and British & Irish Cup games, the backline trio have shown what they’re capable of and Sunday’s step up, according to the head coach, is well within their capabilities.
Zebo was a regular on this year’s internations 20s Championship winning side while Barnes was called into the U20s squad last summer for the World Cup in Japan as was replacement scrum-half for Sunday, Conor Murray.
Declan Cusack has been director of operations on Anthony Foley’s Britist & Irish Cup side playing a crucial part in their march to the semi-final.
Paul Warwick and Peter Stringer provide the wily presence in the backs, with Warwick at inside centre alongside Tom Gleeson and Scott Deasy at full-back.
Munster:
Scott Deasy; Simon Zebo, Tom Gleeson, Paul Warwick, Danny Barnes; Declan Cusack, Peter Stringer; Dave Ryan, Damien Varley, Tony Buckley; Mick O’Driscoll capt; Billy Holland; Nick Williams, Niall Ronan, James Coughlan.
Replacements: Denis Fogarty, Julien Brugnaut, Dave Foley, Peter O’Mahoney, Conor Murray, Jeremy Manning, Sean Scanlon.
The Connacht team to play Munster in the Magners League has also been named and the team shows one change from that which defeated Bourgoin in the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup, with Bernie Upton starting in the second row and Michael McCarthy reverting to the bench.
Connacht:
Gavin Duffy, Troy Nathan, Niva Ta’auso, Keith Matthews, Fionn Carr, Ian Keatley, Frank Murphy, Brett Wilkinson, Sean Cronin, Jamie Hagan, Michael Swift, Bernie Upton, John Muldoon (captain), Johnny O’Connor, George Naoupu
Replacements: Adrian Flavin, Ronan Loughney, Michael McCarthy, Mike McComish, Conor O’Loughlin, Miah Nikora, Aidan Wynne
