Munster delay naming team
Illness is forcing Munster to delay naming their team to play Leinster in the Celtic League at Musgrave Park on Saturday (5.30pm).
Coach, Alan Gaffney confirmed a number of players have been laid low and he won’t be in a position to finalise the starting 15 until later in the day at the earliest.
“We’re training in Limerick today and we should know more after that, but we won’t risk
anyone,” he told the .
Gaffney is mindful of the bigger picture with crucial back-to-back Heineken Cup games looming large on the horizon.
Munster are hoping to select as close to full-strength as possible with the focus of attention on the composition of the back-row and the midfield pairing.
David Wallace is in contention again, having trained yesterday after recovering from a neck injury which forced him to miss the last two games.
He joins Alan Quinlan, Denis Leamy, Jim Williams and Stephen Keogh in the battle for two places either side of number eight and captain, Anthony Foley.
The centre combination will come from Rob Henderson, Mike Mullins, Shaun Payne and Jason Holland with Payne also a contender for a place on the wing.
John Kelly, who injured an ankle on international training duty, is not expected to recover in time.
Meanwhile, Gaffney welcomed the selection of Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell in an international team of the year selected by French sports newspaper L’Equipe.
“Their high levels of consistency have been rewarded.
“It’s a boost to their confidence and being recognised in this manner never hurts,” he said.
The pair are joined by Ireland skipper Brian O’Driscoll in a team featuring four Australians, three South Africans, two each from New Zealand and France and lone English player, Lawrence Dallaglio.
O’Driscoll is included in a 26-strong Leinster squad for the game in Cork, when the visitors anticipate fielding a full-strength side.
