O'Mahony and Carbery return to starting XV for Munster against Exeter Chiefs
BACK AT TEN: Joey Carbery
Peter O’Mahony will return to captain Munster in Saturday’s make or break Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16 decider at home to Exeter Chiefs.
Head coach Johann van Graan also welcomes back Simon Zebo and Joey Carbery after the international trio missed last Saturday’s 13-8 first-leg defeat at Sandy Park through injury or illness.
There are five changes to that starting line-up in all as Munster seek to book a quarter-final spot away to the winner of Saturday evening’s Ulster versus Toulouse tie. Josh Wycherley starts at loosehead prop in place of Jeremy Loughman while there is also rotation at tighthead with John Ryan starting ahead of Stephen Archer.
O’Mahony (hamstring), Carbery (leg/knee) and Zebo (illness) were all unavailable last weekend but are recalled for the Thomond Park clash. O’Mahony returns to lead the side at blindside flanker with last Saturday’s stand-in skipper Jack O’Donoghue moving to No.8 as Alex Kendellen drops to the bench in a starting back-row also featuring John Hodnett at openside.
Carbery’s return at fly-half comes at the expense of Ben Healy, who has moved onto the replacements, while Zebo, a late withdrawal with acute gastroenteritis having been named on the left wing seven days ago, is back on the left wing as last Saturday’s try scorer Shane Daly drops out of the matchday squad.
Zebo starts in a back three with Mike Haley at full-back and Keith Earls on the right wing.
Damian de Allende and Chris Farrell continue their centre partnership with Conor Murray partnering Carbery in the half-backs.
Josh Wycherley’s selection means a first time starting alongside his brother, lock Fineen Wycherley in a European tie with the second row completed by Jean Kleyn.
On the bench, Archer is set to make his 50th Champions Cup appearance in a replacement front row that also features Loughman and hooker Diarmuid Barron, who has recovered from illness. With six forwards on the bench, van Graan has named Tom Ahern, Jason Jenkins and Kendellen to cover the back five of the pack with the latter having completed his return to play protocols following a head injury in the first half at Sandy Park.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, will have to protect their five-point lead at the midway point of this tie without the competition’s leading try-scorer Sam Simmonds. The England and Lions No.8 is the only absentee from last Saturday’s home victory, his place prompting a back-row reshuffle as Jacques Vermuelen, a try scorer last week, moves from openside flanker to cover Simmonds with Jannes Kirsten handed the number seven jersey by director of rugby Rob Baxter. Kirsten’s place on the bench has been given to Santiago Grondona while there is also a change of replacement fly-half as Tom Hendricksen replaces Harvey Skinner.
: M Haley; K Earls, C Farrell, D de Allende, S Zebo; J Carbery, C Murray; J Wycherley, N Scannell, J Ryan; J Kleyn, F Wycherley; P O’Mahony (c), J Hodnett, J O’Donoghue.
S Hogg; O Woodburn, H Slade, I Whitten, T O’Flaherty; J Simmonds, S Maunder; A Hepburn, J Yeandle – captain, H Williams; J Gray, S Skinner; D Ewers, J Kirsten, J Vermuelen.
J Innard, B Keast, P Schickerling, R Capstick, S Grondona, J Maunder, T Hendricksen, J Hodge.
Mathieu Raynal (France)
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