Time to test game plan

Rob Penney may now have a defeat on his record as Munster head coach, but the New Zealander sends a much-changed team out tonight at Thomond Park (8pm) against Newport Gwent Dragons confident his players are heading in the right direction with a big month coming up in October.

With the opening Heineken Cup pool games just around the corner and a key RaboDirect Pro12 fixture against European champions Leinster on October 6, Munster’s new game plan may still be a work in progress but it is set for a series of litmus tests.

The first comes tonight against a Dragons team easily dismissed on account of their regularly low ranking in the league table but full of fight up front and no little talent.