Thursday, March 18, 2010
IAN DOWLING has recovered from the ankle injury sustained against Edinburgh last month and starts for Munster in tonight’s Magners League clash with Llanelli Scarlets at Musgrave Park.
Niall Ronan was injured against the Scottish outfit but returns to take his place in a back row which includes Dolphin team colleagues Nick Williams and James Coughlan.
Tony McGahan, without several front-line players on international duty, makes eight changes from the team beaten by Newport Gwent Dragons last time out.
An additional alteration is the switch of Paul Warwick to out half with Scott Deasy moving to full back.
Magners League rules dictate that Lifeimi Mafi has an enforced rest of one game after accumulating three yellow cards and it opens up another opportunity for young Tom Gleeson to play alongside Jean de Villiers in midfield for a second time this season.
Damian Varley is given an opportunity at hooker instead of Denis Fogarty and Julien Brugnaut is selected at tight head in the absence of both John Hayes and Tony Buckley.
Having recovered from injury, the highly-rated young prop Dave Ryan is on the bench.
Billy Holland is proving to be one of Munster’s most versatile forwards these days; he has played most of his rugby this season in the back row but showed up well in Newport and will once again partner skipper Mick O’Driscoll in the second row.
Munster team manager Shaun Payne yesterday described the clash as a must-win tie, insisting there must be a big improvement in form over their last game.
He said: "Scarlets have been playing pretty good rugby and they will have their own goals to aim for. They’re not about to come here to make up the numbers. Having said that, we have a lot of guys who did well with the A team; there are a good few promising young players, so we’re looking forward to seeing how they go.
In the overall battle to win a top-four place, Payne said it was imperative for Munster to enhance an unbeaten home record in the competition this year.
"There is no doubt, if you want to win a place in the play-offs you must win every home game and pick up a few away from home as well," he said.
Having plotted the downfall of Ulster last time out, the Scarlets coach Nigel Davies believes his side is also capable of pulling off a shock result on the road.
It is a crucial fixture for both sides, with Munster needing a win to strengthen their challenge to finish in the top four, while Llanelli are involved in a ding-dong battle with Cardiff Blues to win automatic qualification for Europe next season.
The visitors are boosted by the return of two Welsh internationals in centre Jonathan Davies and hooker Ken Owens. After his display against Ulster, young 19-year-old scrum half Tavis Knoyle keeps his starting place, as does the 20-year-old full back Dan Newton.
Although Munster will be without several front-liners, Davies expects a tough night. "Munster may not have all their internationals but we know they are still very strong and always capable of putting in those massive performances as they’ve shown in Europe. But that’s the beauty of the Magners League – every game tends to be a different type of challenge – and if we can continue to play as we did against Ulster, then I feel the results will fall into place.
"Our players are developing all the time, they realise there is some real competition for places which is something the coaches want to create. We need to have two quality players in each position. As of now we probably only have that in four or five areas.
"We must realise how important the Magners League has become; the innovations put in this season have made a difference and with the introduction of the Italians, you will end up with two very strong sides with big playing budgets.
"I think that it will add value."
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