Munster make mass changes as they look to bounce back while John Cooney returns for Ulster in Inter-Pro derby
Split with John Cooney and Jack Crowley.
Ulster’s veteran scrum-half John Cooney makes his return for the province while Munster ring the changes as they look to stop the bleeding when the two sides clash in Friday’s derby.
Joining Cooney in the half-backs is Aidan Morgan, who has settled in quite nicely at Ulster. Outside of him Stuart McCloskey and Jude Postlethwaite continue their partnership in the midfield.
Tireless winger Werner Kok starts again with Michael Lowry and Zac Ward in the back three.
Alan O’Connor captains the side from the second-row alongside Kieran Treadwell while props Tom O’Toole and Andrew Warwick join Rob Herring in the front-row.
A back-row of David McCann, Marcus Rea and James McNabney complete the starting XV.
On the pine, academy star Jack Murphy is in line for a debut as a fly-half option with Dave Shanahan and Rory Telfer the other backline replacements.
John Andrew, Eric O’Sullivan and Scott Wilson are front-row subs while Scott Wilson, Harry Sheridan and Matty Rea round out the 23.
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Six changes for Munster
For Munster, captain Jack O’Donoghue is one of the new faces in the back-row alongside John Hodnett and Gavin Coombes. Also returning in the starting pack is Tom Ahern who partners Fineen Wycherley in the second-row.
John Ryan is named at loosehead with Stephen Archer on the other side and Niall Scannell splitting the big men.
Shane Daly returns to the squad and starts on the left wing, joining Mike Haley and Calvin Nash as the outside backs. Meanwhile Tom Farrell and Alex Nankivell are retained in the centres with Jack Crowley and Paddy Patterson the half-backs.
Hooker Eoghan Clarke heads up the bench with prop Dave Kilcoyne and Oli Jager while Evan O’Connell and Alex Kendellen are the remaining forward options. Ethan Coughlan, Rory Scannell and Brian Gleeson round out the matchday squad.
The teams
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Jude Postlethwaite, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Zac Ward, 10 Aidan Morgan, 9 John Cooney, 8 David McCann, 7 Marcus Rea, 6 James McNabney, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Harry Sheridan, 20 Matty Rea, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Jack Murphy, 23 Rory Telfer
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Paddy Patterson, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Jack O’Donoghue (c), 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 John Ryan
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Oli Jager, 19 Evan O’Connell, 20 Alex Kendellen, 21 Ethan Coughlan, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Brian Gleeson
Venue: Kingspan Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 GMT
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Andrew Cole (Ireland), Sam Holt (Ireland)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)
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