Preview: Gloucester v Munster
It's the tie of the Heineken weekend, no mistake. Guinness Premiership pace-setters Gloucester hosting Ireland's Heineken Cup pride from the south. And there's a little twist of history for some extra flavour.
It's the tie of the Heineken weekend, no mistake. Guinness Premiership pace-setters Gloucester hosting Ireland's Heineken Cup pride from the south. And there's a little twist of history for some extra flavour.
In truth, there are not so many players from either team who were at Thomond Park in 2003 when John Kelly's last-minute try saw Munster through to the quarter-finals and Gloucester dumped out of a competition they had been favourites to win that year.
But the memories will live long in the minds of the fans, as will the memories of the first match, when Gloucester won 35-14 at Kingsholm, and the the back-to-back matches the following season, when Munster won 35-14 at home, and Glocuester won 22-11 at Kingsholm.
Munster are specialists at ties like these though, and even a trip to an expanded Shed will not faze a team bursting with experience of big must-win matches. This, after all, is the team that scrambled through the Pool of death in the first round.
Seven of the pack are first choice for country as well as club, and most of them have played together for an awfully long time. Behind, there is more of a cosmopolitan air and flair, with Rua Tipoki and Doug Howlett providing a touch of Kiwi class to the finishing of Ronan O'Gara's service. Gloucester can boast about being top of the strongest league in Europe all they want, but there is rarely a team like this to be faced in the Guinness Premiership.
Gloucester have recalled Mike Tindall to their squad, albeit as a replacement. Tindall has not played since seriously damaging his liver against Wales in the first round of the Six Nations in February.
“The situation was pretty new for everybody,” said head coach Ryan on Tindall's situation.
“We didn't want to take a risk with Mike for the sake of one game and we left the decision pretty much to him. Needless to say, to have a player of his experience and understanding available for a game of this magnitude is huge for us.
“He has done everything that he needs to do – he will bring a level of expertise that are key in these games.”
The majority of Ryan's line-up remains intact from the one that lost 17-14 to Worcester last weekend but there are also significant alterations.
Chris Paterson comes in on the wing in place of the injured Iain Balshaw, Peter Buxton returns to the blindside flank and Andy Hazell comes in for Fijian star Akapusi Qera, who is also ruled out through injury.
Buxton has been an ever present in Gloucester's Heineken Cup campaign so far this season and replaces Alasdair Strokosch. Because of injury, this will be Hazell's first Heineken Cup appearance of the season and he will complete a back row alongside number eight Luke Narraway.
“I say this regularly but this is a side picked purely on the challenges we face this weekend,” Ryan said.
“The Heineken Cup is capable of doing unique things to individuals and we are up against a side who have a special relationship with this competition and we want to get to the levels they have attained in the past.
“For us, home advantage gives us a little bit more of a lift – it gives us more confidence and maybe could be the margin that works for us on the day.
“It is up to us to go out and put a performance together we can be proud of and if we can do that then we can definitely be a threat, of that I have no doubt.
“We want to be moving and if we can do that I am sure we can challenge Munster.”
Form: Bizarrely, since the Six Nations, Gloucester have been in woeful form, losing their last three matches against Sale, Leicester and Worcester. There's no such qualm for Munster, who have won two on the trot, including a 42-6 spanking of Ulster. Munster's epic qualification story from a Pool including Clermont, Wasps, and the Scarlets needs little recounting, while Glocuester will need little reminding that, convincing though the five won games were, they came up dreadfully short in the crunch game away at the Ospreys.
Head to head: There are several intriguing match-ups around. Doug Howlett might have his hands full with Lesley Vainikolo, and there's the precociousness of Ryan Lamb against the reliability of Ronan O'Gara. Up front, Italian Carlos Nieto can have another crack at Marcus Horan of Ireland.
Prediction: Glocuester's season appears to be on the wane, while Munster are the experts at such games. It's another Irish fairy-tale. Munster by eight.
Gloucester: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 Chris Paterson, 13 James Simpson-Daniel, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Luke Narraway, 7 Andy Hazell, 6 Peter Buxton, 5 Alex Brown, 4 Marco Bortolami (capt), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Andy Titterell, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Jeremy Paul, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Will James, 19 Gareth Delve, 20 Gareth Cooper, 21 Willie Walker, 22 Mike Tindall.
Munster: 15 Darragh Hurley, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Rua Tipoki, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Ian Dowling, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Alan Quinlan, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Frankie Sheahan, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Anthony Foley, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paul Warwick, 22 Kieran Lewis.
Date: Saturday, 5 April
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 17:30 BST (16:30 GMT)
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch Judges: Nigel Whitehouse, Hugh Watkins (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Citing Commissioner: Ray Wilton (Wales)