Injured trio return as Munster shuffle pack
Henderson, having recovered from a nasty mouth injury he received against Llanelli two weeks ago, takes over from Mike Mullins in the centre, where he will be partnered by Shaun Payne, who switches from the wing position he occupied in Glasgow.
John Kelly retains his place on the wing, having come on as a replacement centre for James Storey in Scotland.
In the pack, Paul O’Connell comes into the second row to accompany the in-form Trevor Hogan.
Jim Williams, recovered from the elbow injury he received against Leinster, replaces Alan Quinlan in a back row that sees Denis Leamy in the open side position instead of David Wallace, while captain Anthony Foley, as expected, starts at number eight.
According to coach Alan Gaffney, Leamy and Williams have been restored to the back row for good reason.
“Denis and Jim have been outstanding in their appearances to date,” he said. “Last week we felt Denis needed a rest and Jim wasn’t available.
“There is also the question of giving players the opportunity to stake a claim and to that end we are trying to give squad members as much game time as possible.”
Munster’s recent signing from Rugby league outfit Widnes, Paul Devlin, is named among the replacements.
Devlin, was capped for Ireland at U21 level when he was a teammate of Leamy.
MUNSTER: C Cullen; J Kelly, S Payne, R Henderson, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes; T Hogan, P O'Connell; J Williams, D Leamy, A Foley capt. Replacements: J Flannery, G McIlwham, T Bowman, A Quinlan, M Prendergast, P Burke, P Devlin.
Elsewhere, Ulster coach Mark McCall has made three changes and a positional switch to his pack for Saturday’s crucial Celtic League clash against Glasgow at Hughenden.
McCall, who has seen his Ulster side lose the last three home games, rearranges his front-row with Nigel Brady making his first competitive start in place of hooker Paul Shields, while Ronan McCormack comes in at loose-head and Simon Best switches to tight in place of Rod Moore.
The other change in the pack sees the relatively unknown Gary Brown take over from the injured Roger Wilson at number eight.
“I felt that our set-pieces against the Dragons were not good,’’ said McCall, whose side have won their two away games in the Celtic League this season.
“We must get a win this week, rather than a decent performance. A win is imperative. Rod Moore has played every game so far this season, so I think it was only fair for him to have a rest. Nigel Brady came on for the last 20 minutes against the Dragons and did very well, and he deserves a chance to start.’’
Brown, who came on as a second-half replacement against Edinburgh last month, is a surprise choice as he is not registered in Ulster’s 34-man Heineken Cup squad. But McCall had no hesitation in giving him a start.
“He’s a good line-out jumper, has a great pair of hands and has a real edge to his game,’’ he said.
ULSTER: B Cunningham, T Bowe, K Maggs, P Steinmetz, T Howe, D Humphreys (captain), K Campbell; R McCormack, N Brady, S Best, G Longwell, M McCullough, C Feather, N Best; G Brown. Replacements: P Shields, R Moore, R Frost, M Mustchin, N Doak, P Wallace, J Bell.
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