O'Mahony a welcome returnee as Munster's red army aim to conquer Franklin's Gardens

Jack Crowley, left, and Peter O'Mahony during a Munster Rugby squad training. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Munster will finally get to unleash summer signing Diarmuid Kilgallen at Northampton Saints on Saturday, one of three new faces for the Champions Cup pool decider alongside Peter O’Mahony and Diarmuid Barron.

Kilgallen, 24, has been restricted to just one appearance since his arrival from Connacht in pre-season, but made a big impression on the wing against the All Blacks XV on November 2 having recovered from a leg issue. 

He has not been since that day, sidelined by a wrist injury but both interim head coach Ian Costello and attack coach Mike Prendergast have been eager to talk of Kilgallen’s potential impact on the Munster attack with fellow wing summer singing Thaakir Abrahams suggesting his positional rival is the fastest player at the province.

Abrahams, no slouch himself, is one of two injured wings having suffered a long-term injury with a dislocated shoulder at Castres in December while Kilgallen takes over the left-wing berth from Shane Daly, ruled out following a failed Head Injury Assessment in the last 10 minutes of last Saturday’s pool win over Saracens.

Barron’s start at hooker sees him come in for Niall Scannell, who moves to the bench while O’Mahony ends a month’s absence following a calf contusion caused by a misplaced stud at Castres, replacing Jack O’Donoghue at number six.

That Munster kept their Champions Cup hopes alive without the veteran flanker with a win against an abrasive Saracens side seven days ago did not go unnoticed but replacement hooker Scannell is glad of his fellow Corkman’s presence for a difficult and high stakes away trip.

"I'm not going to sit here and say I didn't notice that he wasn't playing, he definitely leaves a bit of a void when he's not playing, from a vocal perspective as well,” Scannell said.

"We have lads who are very capable of executing the job and we were able to put in a big performance without him but there's just no doubt that he's going to add to any team in the world that he goes into, so 100 per cent it's good to have him back.

Scannell’s inclusion on the bench alongside fellow starter last week O’Donoghue are just two of four changes among the replacements, which are once again comprised of six forwards and two backs.

Brian Gleeson is one of the three back-five forwards alongside O’Donoghue and Tom Ahern while scrum-half Paddy Patterson is retained as cover for Conor Murray while Tony Butler comes in for Billy Burns as back-up fly-half.

Saints, still seeking top seeding for the knockout rounds, welcome back England fly-half Fin Smith to the number 10 jersey after an illness, one of six changes from last Saturday’s 45-35 defeat at Stade Francais, when a try bonus point secured their progress to the Round of 16.

This is a much stronger side, with captain and fellow England back Fraser Dingwall back in midfield alongside Scotland inside centre Rory Hutchinson, who filled in at 10 following Smith’s late withdrawal from the trip to Paris.

Forwards Curtis Langdon, Alex Coles, Tom Pearson and Ulster-bound Juarno Augustus boost the Northampton pack on their return.