Patient Coughlan aims to take out frustrations on the Dragons

James Coughlan returns to the Munster starting line-up tonight a relieved man following the exploits of his back row comrades in his absence during the November Test window.

Coughlan, still patiently waiting for an Ireland debut after another four weeks in camp with the national squad, will vent his frustrations on the Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade this evening as RaboDirect Pro12 leaders Munster look to at least maintain their four-point lead at the top of the table and gear up for back-to-back Heineken Cup pool games with Perpignan next month.

Coughlan was re-integrated into his provincial set-up last Saturday night as a replacement in the victory at Cardiff Blues having been overlooked for the third Test in succession by Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt. Yet the 32-year-old Dolphin No 8 is not wasting any time wondering about ‘what ifs’ on the international front.