Munster taking no chances against weakened Zebre

Michael Bradley, the former Ireland scrum-half and now head coach of Italian side Zebre, was last night casting an envious eye at the strength of the squad announced by his Munster counterpart Johann van Graan ahead of tonight’s Guinness PRO14 tie at Thomond Park.

Whereas Bradley is without eight first choice Italians who are on duty at the Aviva Stadium this afternoon, van Graan has announced as many as 12 changes from the side that ran up 48 points against Castres in the Champions Cup and is still putting out a formidable-looking outfit.

Billy Holland resumes the captaincy in a pack that sees James Cronin returning from Ireland camp to start at number one while John Ryan, who featured in the dramatic victory last week over France, is on the bench with Brian Scott at tighthead prop.