De Villiers returns to centre stage

LIFEIMI MAFI relegated to make way for a centre alignment of Jean de Villiers and Keith Earls while David Wallace switches to number eight… those are the major talking points in the Munster team to play the Llanelli Scarlets at Musgrave Park tomorrow.

Although there is absolutely no sign of an easing-off in the weather, hopes are still high that the game can go ahead. Munster are especially anxious for the game to go ahead because the first XV need some competitive action before the resumption of the Heineken Cup while a postponement would almost certainly see the match rescheduled for a week during the Six Nations Championship when all the senior internationals would be missing.

Apart from John Hayes, who is afforded another week’s rest, coach Tony McGahan has named his strongest available side and it shows only three changes from that which began the Heineken Cup game in Perpignan on December 20. De Villiers takes over from Mafi in the centre, Tony Buckley replaces Hayes at tight head prop and Niall Ronan comes in for the injured Denis Leamy in a reshuffled back-row.

The demotion of Mafi could be viewed as harsh given the Kiwi’s magnificent contribution to the cause over the past few years.

However, there is a strong case to be made for de Villiers, who impacted so memorably in Perpignan and brought his tally of tries in as many outings to three against Ulster last week. Furthermore, there is considerable merit in the belief that Mafi’s skills are best employed as an impact sub.

The clear message, though, is that no player is sure of his place in the threequarter line regardless of reputation and Mafi and Ian Dowling will be keen to make that point if they get the call tomorrow.

Wallace’s selection at number eight with Ronan on the open side flank suggests McGahan views this as the best means of overcoming the loss of Leamy. Wallace, of course, is no stranger to the berth having played there in his school days and on many other occasions over the years, most notably when Leamy was again laid low by injury. One such occasion was last season’s crucial Heineken Cup clash with Clermont Auvergne at Thomond Park when Wallace and Ronan each scored a try.

Nevertheless, the call is a little harsh on James Coughlan, who had a fine game last week in Belfast, but at least there’s a place on the replacement bench for the Dolphin man and he may well be given a well deserved 20 minute run in the second half. With Marcus Horan deprived of game time for the second successive week by the weather, the highly promising Stephen Archer is again included among an impressive-looking replacement list.

Scarlets, deprived by injury of almost half their first choice team, need to take something from the game as only three of the four Welsh regions are sure of their place in the Heineken Cup next season. Right now the Scarlets are in ninth place with 17 points, immediately behind the Cardiff Blues (19) and the Newport Gwent Dragons (23) while the Ospreys with 29 appear relatively secure at this stage.

Accordingly, coach Nigel Davies and his players need to get things moving quickly and try to cope as well as possible without the services of players of the calibre of Stephen Jones, polished Kiwi centre Regan King, flying winger Mark Jones, Lions hooker Matthew Rees and back-row forwards Dafydd Jones of Wales and Ireland’s Simon Easterby.

In fairness, they have had to do without some of these players for much of the season and accordingly going out with a makeshift line-up will be nothing new. Rhys Priestland stands in for Jones at out-half, the threequarter line includes Scotland’s Sean Lamont and the highly-rated Jon Davis while the most familiar faces among the forwards are the former Australian number eight David Lyons, who captains the side, and the Samoan prop Deacon Manu.

Munster for their part also have injury problems and once again will be without Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery and Denis Leamy. But their plight is nothing like as serious as that of the Scarlets and they will be all out to reproduce the level of performance that swept Perpignan away on their home patch five days before Christmas.

Anything other than a home win would come as a rude shock to the Red Army and it should be a four-pointer at the very least for Paul O’Connell’s men.