Munster set to gamble on O’Mahony’s fitness

Munster are likely to take a gamble on captain Peter O’Mahony’s fitness when head coach Rob Penney names his starting line-up to face French powerhouse Toulouse in tomorrow’s Heineken Cup quarter-final at Thomond Park.

With the four-time champions posing such an immense physical threat at the breakdown and through turnover ball, Penney is desperate to have O’Mahony on the field.

Yet O’Mahony, star in Ireland’s breakdown demolition of Wales on February 8, has been struggling with hamstring issues for the past month, failing to make Ireland’s team to play Italy on March 8. The Corkman returned for the decider with France in Paris a week later but has not played since being replaced on 65 minutes and was a late withdrawal from the Munster side that lost at Leinster last Saturday, replaced before kick-off by CJ Stander.

O’Mahony has been on a “managed workload” this week in training, according to Penney, but with Donnacha Ryan set to miss out with a foot injury, the head coach can ill afford to miss another big gun from his armoury, even if Yannick Nyanga and Louis Picamoles fail to pass fit in the opposition back row.

Ryan’s absence should mean Dave Foley getting the nod ahead of Donncha O’Callaghan to continue alongside Paul O’Connell in the second row while Denis Hurley looks set to be retained at inside centre for a second week alongside Casey Laulala, Penney having experimented with the midfield partnership in Dublin last weekend.