Preview: Munster v Ulster

Munster have made two changes to their XV ahead of hosting Magners League leaders Ulster at Thomond Park this Saturday.

Munster have made two changes ahead of hosting Magners League leaders Ulster at Thomond Park.

Both those alterations come in the pack with Academy prop Stephen Archer replacing the injured Darragh Hurley and Alan Quinlan adding his experience to the back-row ahead of Niall Ronan who is named among the replacements.

Frenchman Julien Brugnaut will operate in his favoured loosehead position having started the previous game against Edinburgh on the opposite side of the front-row.

And Quinlan, surprisingly omitted from Declan Kidney's international squad, comes back in at the expense of Ronan who is preferred on the Munster bench to Donncha Ryan who is included in Kidney's squad.

Although they're only five points off the pace, all the talk is of Munster's current performances with Team Manager Shaun Payne saying that they need to improve if they are to maintain their unbeaten home record this season.

“We are acutely aware that our performances to date haven't been up to scratch and we'll be looking to do something about that Saturday.” he said.

“There has been a fair bit of disruption recently but we're not using that as an excuse.

“I think there has been parts of our play that has been very good at times in recent games but we're lacking consistency and that's an area we're looking to improve.

“There's also a confidence factor when things aren't going the way you have planned so if we can get a little rhythm into our play, get the confidence levels up then I think we'll see a performance nearer to what we expect of ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Ulster are boosted by the return of captain Paddy Wallace after being rested last week under the IRFU World Cup Programme.

He takes the place of Ian Whitten, who starts on the bench while Stephen Ferris returns to the number six shirt after recovering from an injury which kept him out of the Leinster game last weekend. Ed O'Donoghue replaces an injured Dan Tuohy in the second row.

“You've always got to be wary of Munster,” said Head Coach Brian McLaughlin.

“When you think of what has happened to them in the past month, they are going to want to get back on track. They are playing at Thomond, where they're extremely strong, so we are under no illusions about what we're going to face down there.

“It will be a very confrontational full-strength Munster side, so it's going to be a very hard game. We just have to concern ourselves with going down there with the right attitude, playing with the confidence we have been and looking for a good performance.

“It's going to be a good check for us. It's going to be a good place to go, take them on and test ourselves.

“The season is relentless. Yes, after Munster there is a short break, but then we have Glasgow at home followed by two really tight back-to-back games against Stade Francais.

“So it's about us playing consistently at our best. That's what will determine our season.”

Form: Ulster have won their last three clashes with Munster which already represents their best run of success against the men from the south-west since the early 1990s. Munster have slipped to successive defeats in the Magners League, but at home the champions continue to be formidable with ten straight victories at their two grounds in all competitions. Ulster's only reversal in their last five matches was 13-17 at Edinburgh in the European Cup on 17 October. The Ulstermen are going for a third straight away victory in the Magners League, something they have achieved only once before – in season 2001/02.

The teams:

Munster: 15 Paul Warwick, 14 Ian Dowling, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Keith Earls, 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 Stephen Archer, 2 Denis Fogarty, 1 Julien Brugnaut.
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Niall Ronan, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Denis Hurley, 22 Felix Jones.

Ulster: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Chris Henry, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Ed O'Donoghue, 3 Brendon Botha, 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Andy Kyriacou, 17 Bryan Young, 18 Tamaiti Horua, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Paul Marshall, 21 Ian Whitten, 22 Simon Danielli.

Date: Saturday, October 31
Kick-off: 17:00 GMT
Venue: Thomond Park
Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: D Keane (IRFU), K Beggs (IRFU)
TMO: Tony Redmond (IRFU)