Senior worries hit Foley’s A squad

MUNSTER A coach Anthony Foley has been forced to leave a vacancy in his side for tonight’s British and Irish Cup clash with Llanelli in Waterford (7.30pm) as a selection crisis intensified in the province’s Heineken Cup squad.

With Munster not quite sure whether to appeal against a three-week ban on centre Sam Tuitupou in advance of tomorrow’s clash at Thomond Park against Toulon, Foley named only 14 of his starting 15; the vacancy is on the right wing, suggesting that youngster Danny Barnes might be on the cusp of making a European Cup debut, either from the start or off the bench. at Thomond Park against Toulon,

Barnes (22), New Zealand-born and Tralee-raised, has played wing and centre for the province, would be one of four players, alongside fellow youngster Scott Deasy, or the vastly more experienced Paul Warwick and Johne Murphy, to come under consideration for selection as a replacement for Tuitupou.

In the meantime, Foley has to prepare his side for the game at the Waterford Regional Ground and he is blessed with a generally healthy panel — not withstanding that one possible demand from the senior team.

Munster reached the final of the inaugural competition last season and Foley will be happy that he can call on five of the pack that started. A return for Declan Cusack after injury, to play alongside the highly-talented Conor Murray, will be a further boost.

Llanelli warmed up for this clash with a 23-13 away win over Glammorgan Wanderers last Sunday despite the loss of wing Ryan Baylis who was yellow-carded for a high tackle.

The Welsh side lay in fifth position in the Welsh Premiership table, a point ahead of Neath who lost to Munster last year and they will benefit from having played more matches.

But Munster have impressed to date in matches against Leinster particularly and the return of Cusack will be seen as a significant boost. There looks to be considerable potential out wide through Simon Zebo and maybe even more from the back row combination of Billy Holland, Tommy O’Donnell and Peter O’Mahony behind a sturdy front five.

It’s no wonder that Foley is optimistic and that optimism extends to the quality he also has on the bench. By any stretch of the imagination, Munster have a decent chance of making a winning start to this new campaign and Waterford, based on the huge crowd that turned up to the same venue last year, might well be the perfect geographical launching pad.

Ulster are second up of the Irish teams with a clash against Swansea at St Helen’s tomorrow (2.30pm) while Leinster start their campaign with an away game to Newport (Rodney Parade 2.30pm) on Sunday.

MUNSTER: S Scanlon; AN Other, I Dineen, T Smith, S Zebo; D Cusack, C Murray; D Ryan, S Henry, D Hurley; D Foley (captain), I Nagle, B Holland, T O’Donnell, P O’Mahony.

Replacements: M Sherry, S Archer, D O’Callaghan, P Butler, P Rowley, G Quinn McDonagh, AN Other.