O'Driscoll to lead Munster side

Mick O'Driscoll will win his 130th competitive Munster cap when he leads the side against Connacht in the Magners League clash on Sunday

Coach Tony McGahan will have his troops primed: "There is no difference in the scale of difficulty when you play against any of the other Irish sides. They're local derbies simple as that and that gives them that extra edge.

"Playing Connacht away is every bit as tough as playing Ulster in Ravenhill or Leinster in Dublin.

"And we only have to remember past games down at The Sportsground to realise what we'll be up against on Sunday. Last year for example, I think we were just barely ahead, a point or two, when we scored a late try that Rog (Ronan O'Gara) converted but there was nothing in it right throughout.

"It was same the year before and there a few 3-0 wins as well. This season they've beaten Glasgow and Leinster here and come into the game on foot of a good Challenege Cup run so we're under no illusions about the scale of the task we face on Sunday."

MUNSTER (v Connacht): K Earls; D Howlett, B Murphy, L Mafi, I Dowling; P Warwick, P Stringer; F Pucciariello, J Flannery, T Buckley; M O'Driscoll (capt), D Ryan; A Quinlan, N Ronan, D Wallace.

Replacements. F Sheahan, T Ryan, J Coughlan, N Williams, M Prendergast, J Manning, D Hurley