Kidney gives famous five well-earned rest as Munster wrap up season

MUNSTER heroes captain Anthony Foley, half backs Ronan O’Gara and Peter Stringer and second-row partners Paul O’Connell and Donncha O’Callaghan will be at Thomond Park on Saturday, but not on the pitch, as the Heineken Cup champions take on Cardiff Blues (5.30pm).

The Munster coach Declan Kidney has decided to give these heroes a well deserved rest, but the 13,000 supporters should still have plenty to enthuse about.

Seventeen of the 22 players involved in Cardiff have been named in the 23-man squad that includes five of Saturday’s back division and five from the pack as well. Federico Pucciariello, Mick O’Driscoll and Alan Quinlan, all of whom came into last week’s European final against Biarritz, are named in the squad.

As that group of five, all of them named in the Irish squad to tour New Zealand and Australia, bow out, coach Kidney has named four departing players in his squad.

Paul Burke moves on to Leicester, Trevor Hogan and Stephen Keogh have signed for Leinster, while Mike Prendergast is retiring.

The other two in the squad are Eugene McGovern and John O’Sullivan. The actual team to meet Cardiff Blues and fight out for third position in the Celtic League — before a sell out crowd (no prizes for guessing why) — will be named tomorrow.

Elsewhere, Ulster Coach Mark McCall has named his team to face the Ospreys tomorrow at The Liberty Stadium, in what is the final game of the season and the title decider.

The starting line-up shows just one changes with Justin Fitzpatrick coming into the starting 15 in place of Simon Best who was badly injured against Llanelli. Rod Moore takes Fitzpatrick’s place as a replacement and James Topping is named as a replacement instead of Tyrone Howe.

In the meantime, Connacht have made two changes to their side for the season finale with Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground on Friday (6:30).

Conor McPhillips and David Gannon are the only changes to the starting line up that lost to the Ospreys last time out.

All six of Connacht’s Ireland A touring squad members will be on show and they will be looking for the win that would provide the perfect send off for their trip to the USA and Canada.

Michael Bradley will coach the Ireland A side that includes, Chris Keane, John Hearty, Ray Hogan, John Fogarty, David Gannon and John Muldoon.

Glasgow are chasing the Border Reivers for the second of Scotland’s Heineken Cup places and must win to stay in contention.

MUNSTER (from): Backs: S Payne, A Horgan, J Kelly, T Halstead, R Henderson, Ian Dowling, P Burke, J Manning, M Prendergast, T O’Leary. Forwards: M Horan, D Fogarty, J Hayes, E McGovern, J Flannery, F Pucciariello, T Hogan, S Keogh, M O’Driscoll, A Quinlan, J O’Sullivan, D Wallace, D Leamy.

ULSTER:B Cunningham; T Bowe, A Trimble, P Wallace, A Maxwell; D Humphreys, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, R Best, B Young; J Harrison, M McCullough; N Best, S Ferris, R Wilson. Replacements: N Brady, R Moore, R Caldwell, N McMillan, K Campbell, J Bell, J Topping.

CONNACHT: M Mostyn, D Yapp, J Hearty, G Williams, C McPhillips, M McHugh, C Keane; R Hogan, J Fogarty, S Knoop, D Gannon, A Farley, J Muldoon, M Lacey, C Rigney.

Replacements: J Merrigan, AJ Clarke, D McGowan, M Swift, T Tierney, D Slemen, T Robinson.