Munster v Edinburgh - Heineken Cup match preview
Edinburgh have made five changes to the team for their away clash against Munster on Sunday.
Last Updated: 21/10/12 12:52pm
Head coach Michael Bradley has made one enforced alteration, which sees Greig Laidlaw replaced by Gregor Hunter after the captain failed to recover from the shoulder injury he sustained in last week's match at Murrayfield.
The remaining four are tactical switches, with Ben Atiga and Greig Tonks set to make their European Cup debuts for the club at full-back and centre respectively.
Up front he visitors will feature Scotland tighthead Geoff Cross, while Fiji captain Netani Talei comes in at number eight.
Talei's introduction means back-rower Stuart McInally moves to the openside at the expense of Ross Rennie, while David Denton retains the blindside berth.
After a 22-17 defeat against Racing Metro in their pool 1 clash, Munster will also be looking to return to winning ways at Thomond Park.
They will have to do so without the injured Ronan O'Gara at the weekend, though Donncha O'Callaghan returns to partner Paul O'Connell in the second-row with Mick Sherry starting ahead of Damien Varley.
Ian Keatley gets a predictable first start at 10, with Denis Hurley moving back into the full-back berth.
Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Doug Howlett (capt), 13 Casey Laulala, 12 James Downey, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Mick Sherry, 1 Dave Kilcoyne. Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Felix Jones.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Ben Atiga, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Gregor Hunter, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Stuart McInally, 6 David Denton, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 John Yapp. Replacements: 16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Rob McAlpine, 20 Dimitri Basilaia, 21 Chris Leck, 22 Matt Scott, 23 Tom Brown.
What they said...
Munster coach Rob Penney
"They did some really good things against Saracens. If you look at that game closely you'd be remiss to disregard their display totally. Because they did some really good things.
"And they'll come to Thomond Park, hopefully thinking they're coming in under the radar after that loss.
"But we're certainly doing as much diligent research as we'd done in any other game to ensure that we're as prepared as we can be.
"And I think there's two sides hurting a bit. It could be fireworks."