Tricky opener for patched-up Munster

When Rob Penney was still coaching Canterbury to NPC success back in New Zealand, he received a delegation of coaches from Edinburgh, eager to pick the Kiwi’s brains and discover the secrets of his success.

Tonight those coaches, led by Michael Bradley, will be doing their utmost to ensure Penney gets his Munster career off to the worst possible start when Edinburgh host their opening-round encounter in the RaboDirect Pro12 league campaign.

As first-day fixtures go, the province’s new head coach could have been dealt a kinder hand but just as Penney is striving to get his new team to play what they see in front of them, he must get on with trying to eke out a winning start on the road against last season’s Heineken Cup semi-finalists.