Tipoki to partner Lewis in middle for Munster

Munster coach Declan Kidney is likely to partner former New Zealand Maori captain Rua Tipoki with former Leinster centre Kieran Lewis across his midfield when they play Llanelli Scarlets at Musgrave Park on Saturday.

At the moment, Kidney has named a 25-man squad with Lifeimi Mafi, Paul Warwick, Shaun Payne and Federico Pucciariello included among the homegrown batch of players.

Munster will announce their starting line-up on Thursday afternoon.

MUNSTER SQUAD (v Llanelli): M Lawlor, S Payne, A Horgan, I Dowling, K Lewis, R Tipoki, L Mafi, J Manning, P Warwick, G Hurley, T O'Leary, F Pucciariello, D Hurley, T Buckley, T Ryan, D Fogarty, S Cronin, M Essex, M Melbourne, B Holland, M O'Driscoll, T O'Donnell, J Coughlan, N Ronan, A Foley.