Jack Crowley back at 10 as Munster name team for URC showdown with Lions 

The hosts remain weakened through injuries as they bid to rebound from their 26-7 defest in Galway. 

ON YOUR MARKS: Munster's Jack Crowley in rugby training this week. Pic: INPHO/Tom O’Hanlon

Jack Crowley’s return to Munster’s number 10 jersey has been confirmed with Thursday’s team announcement for Saturday’s URC final-round clash at home to Lions, with Diarmuid Barron free to play after having his red card rescinded.

Munster remain weakened through injuries as they bid to rebound from their 26-7 derby loss at Connacht last weekend with Edwin Edogbo (shoulder) and Lee Barron (neck) adding to a casualty list following the Dexcom Stadium game, when Crowley was one of seven Ireland-capped players unavailable.

Michael Milne (calf), Oli Jager (head), captain Tadhg Beirne (knee), Jean Kleyn (bicep), Tom Farrell (shoulder), and Calvin Nash (hamstring) are still sidelined for the final game of the regular season and their future participation in the season is dependent on their replacements delivering a victory at Thomond Park to secure knockout rugby in the play-off quarter-finals at the end of this month.

The return of Ireland fly-half Crowley is an undoubted boost in that regard, as is hooker Barron’s clearance to play following an Independent Disciplinary Committee hearing.

Crowley has overcome the leg injury he sustained in the pre-game warm-up before the Round 16 home win over Ulster on April 25 and will start in the half-backs alongside Craig Casey, who continues his captaincy of the side in Beirne’s absence and is set to lead Munster for the first time at Thomond Park.

Crowley is one of five new faces from the side beaten in Galway last time out, with Niall Scannell in line for potentially his final game at the Limerick stadium before retiring at the end of the season. Scannell starts at hooker, backed up by Diarmuid Barron on the bench, from where veteran tighthead John Ryan could also make his Thomond Park farewells with the former Ireland prop also set to retire at season’s end. Scannell is set for his 211th Munster appearance, Ryan his 257th.

The other changes to the starting team see Seán O’Brien named on the left wing, and Jack O’Donoghue and Brian Gleeson starting in the back row at blindside flanker and No.8 respectively A new-look bench sees Diarmuid Barron, Josh Wycherley and Ryan provide front row cover with Evan O’Connell, Gavin Coombes and Alex Kendellen completing the forward back-up and academy scrum-half Ben O’Donovan and senior fly-half JJ Hanrahan providing the backline support.

Barron was cleared to play after his 20-minute red card was not upheld by an Independent Disciplinary Committee. He had been shown a yellow card, subsequently upgraded to the 20-minute red after review in the 17th minute of last Saturday’s URC derby defeat at Connacht, for a “croc roll” on Dylan Tierney-Martin.

While Barron accepted he had committed an act of foul play the committee determined his actions did not merit a red card having found that the level of danger could not be clearly justified in order to upgrade the sanction from a yellow card.

MUNSTER (v Lions): Mike Haley; Andrew Smith, Alex Nankivell, Dan Kelly, Seán O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey - captain; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Michael Ala’alatoa; Tom Ahern, Fineen Wycherley; Jack O’Donoghue, John Hodnett, Brian Gleeson.

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Evan O’Connell, Gavin Coombes, Ben O’Donovan, JJ Hanrahan, Alex Kendellen.