Bring on Ulster, declares eager coach Penney

The prospect of avenging the shock Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat by Ulster at Thomond Park last April will loom large in the minds of the Munster players when the teams meet in Saturday’s (5.30pm) eagerly awaited RaboDirect Pro 12 showdown at the same venue.

Munster coach Rob Penney still hadn’t arrived in this part of the world when that game was played but he has heard a lot about it in the meantime. On top of that, Ulster came out in a hectic meeting of the sides at Ravenhill earlier in the current Rabo campaign, one that sees them unbeaten after 11 rounds of the competition.

They are runaway leaders with 47 points, nine ahead of second placed Scarlets with Munster third on 33 and Leinster fifth with 31, its own graphic picture as to how the pecking order in Ireland seems to have changed in recent years.