Payne hopeful of ‘full deck’

BARRING injuries to Barry Murphy (ankle) and long-term absentee Ciaran O’Boyle (hamstring), Munster hope to be able to select from what team manager Shaun Payne described yesterday as a full deck for the visit to the RDS on Saturday.

A neck injury sustained by Alan Quinlan in Munster’s victory over Dragons on Sunday might yet keep him out of this eagerly-awaited clash with Leinster, but Payne still gives the veteran flanker a chance of selection as David Wallace becomes available to strengthen the squad.

Payne hopes Keith Earls will be back in training today after being kept out of the Dragons match with a stomach bug, while South African signing Jean de Villiers will also be ready despite suffering cramp in the last minute of Sunday’s match.

Munster have held back on naming a squad until today, based on the fact that so many players — including Peter Stringer, Ian Dowling, Jerry Flannery, Niall Ronan and Denis Leamy — have become available after injury.