Francis Saili set to make Munster debut against Connacht

Francis Saili, Munster’s big name signing from Auckland, is set to make his first appearance in the red jersey in Friday’s friendly against Connacht at Thomond Park.

Saili helped New Zealand to win the Junior World Cup in 2011 and a couple of years later made two appearances in the All Black jersey while a member of the Auckland Blues Super 14 side. He wasn’t due to arrive in Ireland for another month or so but Munster were able to negotiate an early release for the burly centre – Saili stands 5’11” and weighs in at 15½ stone – and there is every reason to hope he will follow in the footsteps of other successful overseas signings in the position like Trevor Halstead, Rua Tipoki and Lifeimi Mafi and make a similar impression.

The inclusion of Saili, the return of long term injury victims Mike Sherry and Dave O’Callaghan and the inclusion of Ian Keatley, James Cronin, Stephen Archer, Jack O’Donoghue, CJ Stander, Duncan Williams, Shane Monahan and CJ Stander should make for greater interest in the Connacht game as little more than a handful turned up for last week’s clash with Grenoble.