Munster v Argentina XV: kick-off time, TV details and team news
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW: Munster will face Argentina XV on Saturday, November 1 in Thomond Park. Picture: James Crombie/Inpho
Munster will welcome Argentina to Limerick on Saturday in what will be the second clash between the two sides. The two sides met last in 1973 in Thomond Park, in a game that featured the current Munster Branch president Brendan Foley, with proceedings ending in a draw, 12-12, with Barry McGann scoring four penalties for the home side.
Munster are on a five-game winning streak in the URC, sitting in second place in the table just behind Stormers on scoring difference and will be hoping to continue their winning run against Los Pumas. Argentina will also take on Bristol Bears before their clashes against Wales, Scotland, and England as part of their northern hemisphere tour.
Here's all you need to know ahead of the game.
The game will take place in Thomond Park in Limerick.
The match kicks off at 5pm on Saturday November 1.
The game will be streamed exclusively on Access Munster.
Australia's Angus Gardner will be in charge for the clash. The IRFU's Peter Martin and Jack MacNeice will be the assistant referees with Mark Patton in the TMO hotseat.
Jack O’Donoghue is set to captain a Munster side against Argentina A at Thomond Park on Saturday showing 11 changes from the starting line-up which beat Connacht last Saturday.
The 17-15 victory rounded off an unbeaten start to the new URC campaign with a fifth straight league win and with internationals away for the November Test window, head coach Clayton McMillan is using this match against a touring side to broaden his wider squad’s experience levels.
Academy tightead prop Ronan Foxe earns his first senior start for Munster in a front row also featuring loosehead Josh Wycherley and hooker Lee Barron and there is a senior debut at lock for Conor Ryan alongside Evan O’Connell, who is set make his first start of the season after a maiden appearance of 2025-26 in last Saturday’s derby win.
O’Donoghue captains Munster from blindside flanker with Gavin Coombes retaining the No.8 jersey while Ruadhán Quinn comes into the back row to join them at openside.
There are new pairings at half-back, with Paddy Patterson and Tony Butler lining out, and at centre with Seán O’Brien starting at inside centre alongside Fionn Gibbons on his first Munster start in his third Munster appearance.
Diarmuid Kilgallen keeps his spot on the right wing after a try-scoring return from an ankle injury last weekend while Shay McCarthy is rewarded for a strong performance off the bench last time out with the left wing berth as Mike Haley returns at full-back.
There are four Academy players among the replacements in hooker Max Clein, back-rower Luke Murphy, scrum-half Jake O’Riordan, who made a successful debut against Connacht, and Ben O’Connor. Both Clein and Murphy are in line for their first senior Munster appearances, bringing the number of players used by McMillan already this season to 47.
With Tadhg Beirne, Jack Crowley and Craig Casey set to face New Zealand in Chicago on Saturday night and Tom Ahern and Tom Farrell also in the Ireland squad for the November Tests, McMillan also must do without South Africa lock Jean Kleyn, who has joined the Springbok’s European Tour.
Wing Thaakir Abrahams and hooker Niall Scannell have entered return to play protocols following head injuries against Connacht, while flanker John Hodnett sustained a foot injury in the same game and all three also miss out for Munster.
Assistant coach Mossy Lawler, whose late uncle Colm Tucker was in the Munster side which famously beat the All Blacks at Thomond Park in 1978, has an understandable affinity with such fixtures against international opposition, with Saturday’s game a first meeting with Argentina since a draw in Limerick in 1973.
“It's something to just get really excited about,” Lawler told the . “I know the history goes back to, I suppose it all started with beating the All Blacks and beating Australia.
“You have the South African game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and teams are keen to come and experience that Thomond Park atmosphere and the crowd really buy into it and we buy into it and it's just really exciting.
“Some of these guys who play on Saturday may never ever get an opportunity to play against an international team (again). So I think from our point of view, it's one that we're really, really looking forward to.”
M Haley; D Kilgallen, F Gibbons, S O’Brien, S McCarthy; T Butler, P Patterson; J Wycherley, L Barron, R Foxe; C Ryan, E O’Connell; J O’Donoghue (c), R Quinn, G Coombes.
M Clein, M Donnelly, K Ryan, F Wycherley, L Murphy, J O’Riordan, JJ Hanrahan, B O’Connor.
: T Wade; S Pernas, L Gea Salim, F Sánchez Valarolo, M Soler; J Hernandez, A Sugasti; M Medrano, L Oviedo, F Moreno; L Simes, F Albrisi; N D'amorim, A Bildosola, JC Perez Rachel (captain).
: J M Vivas, D Correa, O Filippa, L Colidio, J P Bernasconi, E Pregot, B Farise, A Fraga.
: N Scannell (HIA), T Abrahams (HIA), E Edogbo (HIA), O Jager (HIA), J Hodnett (Foot), C Nash (Shoulder), C Bartley (Hamstring), D Barron (Neck), A Kendellen (Ankle), B Gleeson (Elbow), A Smith (Knee/Hamstring).
Munster boss Clayton McMillan has two objectives heading into this Saturday’s clash with a touring Argentina XV at Thomond Park — building both the experience of his players and the bolstering the province’s reputation against international opposition.
Munster signed off on the first block of URC games with a fifth-successive victory last Saturday night as they saw off interprovincial rivals Connacht 17-15 in Limerick. Their next league fixture will be against fellow unbeaten side the Stormers back at Thomond Park on November 29, so a challenge match against a quality touring side represents a chance for McMillan to build depth and rotate a winning squad outside of the race for league points. Read Simon Lewis' full article here.
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