Kidney banks on experience in opener
The Munster coach played Denis Hurley at full-back and Ian Dowling on the left wing in last week’s 16-13 Magners League defeat of Edinburgh at Musgrave Park. Both turned in impressive performances but Kidney clearly holds the view that Shaun Payne, 35, and Antony Horgan, 31, provide him with better options on this occasion.
There are two other changes in the side with New Zealander Rua Tipoki in at centre for Kieran Lewis and Marcus Horan taking over his usual number one jersey to the exclusion of Freddie Puciarello.
Wasps director of rugby and former Lions supremo Ian McGeechan has also opted for a number of alterations even though his side turned in a magnificent performance on Sunday when recovering from a 26-8 deficit against Gloucester in the EDF Cup to win 29-26.
Back-row forward James Haskell was the inspiration of that rally as he came off the bench in the 52nd minute and duly crashed over for two tries.
That tour de force earns him a starting place at number six with livewire Tom Rees on the openside and veteran Lawrence Dallaglio at eight. World Cup hero Simon Shaw is back for his first club game of the season in the
second-row while in the back division, the highly rated Danny Cipriani switches to out-half to make way for the experienced South African Mark Van Gisbergen at full-back.
The other change sees Riki Flutey, formerly of London Irish, preferred to Rob Hoadley in the centre.
As expected, England captain Phil Vickery and the versatile fullback/ wing Josh Lewsey have not recovered from the injuries picked up in the World Cup which in turn offsets Munster’s loss of skipper Paul O’Connell for much the same reason.
McGeechan welcomed the return of man-mountain Shaw, stating that “It’s great to have Simon back this weekend. He is looking refreshed and ready to go after a good break following an intense but very successful World Cup campaign.”
On the prospects for a match pitting the champions of the last two years against each other, McGeechan pointed out that “the quality of play takes a step up in European games and Munster are a quality side. We know we have to play positive rugby in order to challenge them and that accounts for the selection decision we have made in midfield.”
That is certainly putting it up to the New Zealand twin axis of Topeki and Lafeimi Mafi in the Munster centre and much will depend on how that combination fares in its first serious test. Their defensive strengths and those of former Rugby League star Brian Carney on the right wing will be severely tested by a Wasps team that likes to spread the play wide once good ball comes their way.
There are several interesting subplots in the game, most notably at the base of the respective scrums where Eoin Reddan and Peter Stringer go head to head. Reddan’s selection ahead of Stringer for the French World Cup game was something of a sensation and accordingly, the undertones this evening are nothing short of massive. Few felt the pain of the World Cup debacle as keenly as Jerry Flannery and he, too, will be trying to make a point as he battles with the French captain Raphael Ibanez.
Several other World Cup players; Marcus Horan, Donncha O’Callaghan, David Wallace, Denis Leamy and
Ronan O’Gara will also see this as the ideal opportunity to prove that they are far better players than appeared to be the case in the Coupe du Monde. O’Connell, of course, would also have relished the opportunity to make a point against the likes of Simon Shaw.
In his case, though, Munster are fortunate to have an outstanding replacement in Mick O’Driscoll, a great Heineken Cup warrior and they were also given a huge boost by the man-of-the-match performance turned in by O’Gara last week.
“We are setting ourselves up for Test match level rugby,” O’Gara, the stand-in Munster captain, asserted. “From the very start, Heineken Cup games are every bit as intensive as internationals. Wasps are a highly experienced and battle-hardened side with a great record in the competition. They are one of the most professional teams in club rugby as they showed against us in the 2004 semi-final at Lansdowne Road.”
Well, yes and no. There remains a certain residue in the Munster camp concerning the validity of the match winning try awarded that day to the Wasps hooker Trevor Leota and it has come to the surface once more thanks to a frank admission by Lawrence Dallaglio, the Wasps captain, in his recently published book.
“After two or three rucks, Trevor went over in the corner,” writes Dallaglio. “It wasn’t certain that he got the ball down properly — and even after seeing a video replay, I still wasn’t sure — so we needed a little luck and that was one of those 50-50 decisions.”
The popular perception is that Wasps will carry a slight advantage in most areas and that will carry them home against a Munster side that has failed to spark on all cylinders so far this year, having faded tamely enough from the scene last season.
That case is far from proven. In a similar situation at this time last season, Munster and O’Gara’s mighty right boot carried off the most unlikely of single-point victories at the Leicester Tigers fortress of Welford Road. The Ricoh Stadium carries no such cachet for London Wasps and we shouldn’t be surprised if it’s a sea of red around 6.45 this evening.
* The originally appointed referee, Joel Jutge, has been replaced by Malcolm Changleng of Scotland.
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