CJ Stander and Conor Murray miss out as Munster and Ulster name teams for derby clash

It's not all bad news for the Reds.

CJ Stander and Conor Murray will miss tomorrow’s PRO12 provincial derby between Munster and Ulster at Thomond Park, writes Stephen Barry.

The Ireland duo, who are rehabilitating ankle and shoulder injuries respectively, now face a race against time to be fit for the Reds’ Champions Cup semi-final against Saracens on Saturday week.

There was better news for Tyler Bleyendaal and Donnacha Ryan, who have both been passed fit to start this weekend.

Both players passed return-to-play protocols this week after sustaining concussions in last Saturday’s 10-7 victory over Glasgow Warriors.

Ian Keatley returns to act as back-up for Bleyendaal after recovering from a knee ligament injury. He is named on the bench alongside James Cronin, who is back to fitness after receiving a bang to the knee against Glasgow.

In all, Erasmus makes nine changes to his side, which lines out as follows:

Munster: Simon Zebo; Darren Sweetnam, Francis Saili, Rory Scannell, Keith Earls; Tyler Bleyendaal, Duncan Williams; Dave Kiloyne, Niall Scannell, John Ryan; Donnacha Ryan, Billy Holland; Peter O’Mahony Capt., Tommy O’Donnell, Jack O’Donoghue.

Replacements: Rhys Marshall, James Cronin, Stephen Archer, Dave O’Callaghan, Jean Deysel, Angus Lloyd, Ian Keatley, Andrew Conway.

Ulster will be without full-back Jared Payne for the trip south due to an ankle injury. His place is taken by 21-year-old Jacob Stockdale.

There are only two other changes to the team that drew 24-all with Cardiff Blues, as Andrew Trimble gets the nod ahead of Craig Gilroy and Chris Henry comes into the pack.

Les Kiss’s team in-full is:

Ulster: J Stockdale, A Trimble (Capt), L Marshall, S Olding, C Piutau, P Jackson, R Pienaar; A Warwick, R Best, W Herbst, K Treadwell, A O'Connor, I Henderson, C Henry, S Reidy;

Replacements: R Herring, C Black, R Ah You, R Diack, C Ross, P Marshall, S McCloskey, C Gilroy.