Munster to mix and match

DOUG HOWLETT is just one of a number of senior players set tointensify Munster’s pre-season effort when they take on Gloucester at Musgrave Park tonight (7pm).

It’s just a week away from Munster’s Magners League opener against debutante Italian side Aironi at the same venue, and Gloucester – mighty foes of Munster in past Heineken Cup encounters – will enter into the spirit after announcing an experience-laden international team for the match.

Munster coach Tony McGahan has taken the opportunity to strengthen his outfit following last week’s defeat to Leicester (13-17), but hasn’t neglected the claims of younger players despite utilising the obvious experience of Howlett and others in his starting XV.

Johne Murphy, signed from Leicester, will play for the first time, alongside Sam Tuitupou, Ian Dowling, Paul Warwick, Peter Stringer, Tony Buckley, Alan Quinlan and Denis Leamy; but McGahan also gives starting spots to younger talent in the form of Felix Jones, Ian Nagle and Tommy O’Donnell.

Dave Ryan, Stephen Archer, Scott Deasy, Duncan Williams, Danny Barnes, Simon Zebo and Ivan Dineen feature in a low-age profile bench of 12 players.

Gloucester, for their part, will feature several internationals in their starting line-up, amongst them Olly Morgan, James Simpson-Daniel, Tom Voyce, Rory Lawson, Alisdair Dickinson, Scott Lawson and the entire back five of Will James, Alex Brown, Alisdair Strokosch, the captain Luke Narraway and Andrew Hazell.

New team advisor Mick Galwey, who led Munster through the bulk of the early years of the Heineken Cup, is looking forward to seeing the old merge with new as he enthused about last week’s display against Leicester Tigers.

“Leicester had a much more experienced side out but I was particularly pleased with the way the young guys responded, especially in the last quarter. It was a good game, a good contest and I wouldn’t worry much about being beaten by four points against a side with that type of experience and pedigree.”

He looks forward to tonight as well, saying: “It’s a step up because we’re moving forward to the start of the season. They (Gloucester) will be strong but we’ll be stronger than last week too, albeit allowing for the introduction of younger players to give them exposure at this level.”

Galway is delighted to see Denis Leamy, Ian Dowling and Donnacha Ryan work their way back from injury which, he said, played a part in Munster not quite making the cut at the back end of last season.

“Munster had to do without such quality players – including Paul O’Connell – for a lot of last season and I suppose if you look back on the successful years you will find that they were far more injury free. Having said that, the positive side is that it forced alterations to be made and that helped bring on youngsters who might not otherwise have got an opportunity.

“Significantly, the introduction of the British and Irish Cup gave the young players more opportunity again and I cannot emphasise the importance of that in the development of players.

“It forced them to participate in a competition that was out of their comfort zone and they did really well.”

MUNSTER: F Jones; D Howlett, J Murphy, S Tuitupou, I Dowling; P Warwick, P Stringer; W du Preez, D Varley, T Buckley; I Nagle, D Ryan; A Quinlan, T O’Donnell, D Leamy (capt).

Replacements: D Fogarty, Dave Ryan, S Archer, M O’Driscoll, N Ronan, P O’Mahony, B Holland, D Williams, D Barnes, S Deasy, S Zebo, I Dineen.

GLOUCESTER: O Morgan; J Simpson-Daniel, T Molenaar, E Fuimaona-Sapolu, T Voyce; T Taylor, R Lawson; A Dickinson, S Lawson, P Capdevielle; D James, A Brown; A Strokosch, a Hazell, L Narraway (capt).

Replacements: D Dawidiuk, Y Thomas, R Harden, D Attwood, B Deacon, J Pasqualin, H Trinder, C Sharples, M Cox, P Buxton, J May.