Six Nations blow for Munster's Conor Murray and Keith Earls

OMITTED: Conor Murray has been left out of Munster's Heineken Cup squad. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie

Six days out from an Ireland squad announcement for next month’s Six Nations, Conor Murray and Keith Earls hopes of making the cut were dealt the worst blow imaginable when they were omitted from Munster’s matchday squad on Friday.

Munster will welcome Northampton Saints to Thomond Park on Saturday afternoon (3:15pm) for a vital Heineken Champions Cup pool clash without the veteran duo as head coach Graham Rowntree continues to select on form rather than reputation and the repercussions of that policy could have a major impact on Ireland boss Andy Farrell’s thinking as he takes his world number one-ranked side into a World Cup year.

Neither scrum-half Murray nor wing Earls have mustered the game time necessary this season to stake a claim to a green jersey in 2023. Murray, 33, was injured winning his 100th Ireland cap against South Africa in November and has just four starts in red and four more off the bench for his province though he was Rowntree’s number nine for the reverse fixture at Saints on December 18 and he retained his place for the following week’s derby at home to Leinster.

Earls, 35, started those two games as well but also has only four starts in five appearances for Munster this season and he missed Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series campaign through injury, leaving him on 98 Test appearances.

Missing out his 199th Munster cap on Saturday makes the prospect of international number 99 coming against Wales in Cardiff on February 4 less likely with Farrell already preferring James Lowe on the left wing and Mack Hansen on the right while Leinster’s Jordan Larmour’s return to red-hot form and Jimmy O’Brien’s assurance on the international stage suggests they will be the Ireland boss’s next ports of call.

Calvin Nash and Shane Daly will be Munster’s starting wings in Limerick with Mike Haley at full-back as Rowntree makes nine changes and one positional switch to the starting line-up which claimed a bonus-point, 33-3 BKT URC win over the Lions in Cork eight nights ago.

Captain Peter O’Mahony leads a host of frontline players returning to the team while the head coach has handed a first European start to prop Roman Salanoa.

Flanker O’Mahony, lock Tadhg Beirne and fly-half Joey Carbery all return to the side having been rested under IRFU player welfare protocols while scrum-half Craig Casey, centre Antoine Frisch and wing Nash come back into the backline after being given last weekend off.

Dave Kilcoyne is promoted from last week’s bench to start at loosehead prop with Niall Scannell coming in at hooker for the injured Diarmuid Barron, who sustained a shoulder injury shortly after kick-off against the Lions at Musgrave Park.

Beirne partners Jean Kleyn in the second row with Gavin Coombes, a starting lock in Cork, returning to his more familiar position at No.8.

Casey and Carbery renew their half-back partnership with Crowley and Frisch starting together in the centres for the third time this season.

Murray’s place on the bench goes to the in-form Paddy Patterson, who along with wing and try scorer last week Liam Coombes, and back-rowers John Hodnett and Alex Kendellen, all retain their places in the matchday 23 by moving onto the bench.

Last Friday’s starters, centre Malakai Fekitoa and fly-half Ben Healy, drop out of the squad to face the Saints as do last week’s replacements Murray, tighthead Stephen Archer, lock Cian Hurley, back-rower Jack O’Sullivan, and backs Dan Goggin and Patrick Campbell.

Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson has made four changes to the side beaten at Exeter last Saturday, with England and Lions forward Courtney Lawes, fly-half Fin Smith, lock David Ribbans and centre Rory Hutchinson all returning to the starting line-up.