Edogbo returns to Munster matchday squad as McMillan names side for Edinburgh clash

Last season’s Player of the Year Tom Farrell, Calvin Nash, Andrew Smith and Michael Milne all start on their first appearances of the new season.

Thu, 09 Oct, 2025 - 12:09

Simon Lewis

Clayton McMillan has made sweeping changes to his Munster side for Friday’s URC round three clash against Edinburgh in Cork with 10 new faces from last Saturday’s narrow win over Cardiff.

The new head coach, who has earned nine points from a possible 10 from the opening two games of his maiden season at the helm, has handed first appearances of the season to outside centre and last season’s Munster Player of the Year Tom Farrell, wings Calvin Nash and Andrew Smith, and loosehead prop Michael Milne.

Also coming into a heavily rotated side are hooker and captain Diarmuid Barron, full-back Mike Haley, centre Seán O’Brien, fly-half JJ Hanrahan, scrum-half Paddy Patterson and flanker Jack O’Donoghue.

Second-row Edwin Edogbo is in line for his first appearance since December 2023 after recovering from a long-term Achilles injury after being named among the replacements, while veteran prop John Ryan is set for his first appearance of the season after overcoming an elbow problem which kept him out of the first two rounds, wins at Scarlets and the 23-20 home win at Thomond Park over Cardiff last weekend.

The changes mean McMillan has now selected 35 players in his three matchday squads of the new URC campaign.

The five retained players from last time out are all forwards, tighthead prop Oli Jager, lock partners Jean Kleyn and Fineen Wycherley, openside flanker Ruadhan Quinn and No.8 Gavin Coombes.

Haley replaces academy full-back Ben O’Connor after missing the Cardiff game with a bruised thigh, Ireland wing Nash replaces Shane Daly (head injury) on the right wing while Smith has recovered from a pre-season chest injury to start on the left wing as Thaakir Abrahams is rested.

There is a new centre partnership of Farrell and O’Brien after Alex Nankivell and Dan Kelly combined well in the first two matches while fly-half Hanrahan returns having missed last week due to return to play protocols and partners Patterson, the pair coming in for last weekend’s man of the match Jack Crowley and Ethan Coughlan respectively.

Milne, capped for the first time by Ireland during the summer, comes in for Jeremy Loughman, while Barron replaces Niall Scannell (hand laceration) as captain and hooker as he did at half-time during the Cardiff game.

O’Donoghue starts at blindside flanker, replacing Tom Ahern, who has begun return to play protocols for a head knock.

Of the other injured players, hooker Scannell has been given a return date of one to two weeks, as has wing Diarmuid Kilgallen (ankle), while the window for first-choice number nine Craig Casey’s comeback from a thigh/hamstring issue he sustained in round one has been pushed out from an initial assessment of one to two weeks to one to three weeks, placing his availability for the round four trip to play Leinster at Croke Park on Saturday week into some doubt.

Munster on Thursday added that John Hodnett (cheek) will return in two to three weeks.

but fellow openside flanker Alex Kendellen (ankle) has a six-to-eight-week comeback pencilled in as does tighthead prop Conor Bartley (thigh).

Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Seán O’Brien, Andrew Smith; JJ Hanrahan, Paddy Patterson; Michael Milne, Diarmuid Barron (C), Oli Jager; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Jack O’Donoghue, Ruadhán Quinn, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements:

Lee Barron, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Edwin Edogbo, Brian Gleeson, Ethan Coughlan, Tony Butler, Dan Kelly.

Edinburgh Rugby: Wes Goosen; Darcy Graham, Piers O’Conor, James Lang, Duhan van der Merwe; Ben Healy, Ben Vellacott; Pierre Schoeman, Ewan Ashman, D’arcy Rae; Marshall Sykes, Sam Skinner; Liam McConnell, Dylan Richardson, Magnus Bradbury (C).

Replacements: Paddy Harrison, Boan Venter, Paul Hill, Glen Young, Freddy Douglas, Ben Muncaster, Charlie Shiel, Harry Paterson