Munster v Aironi: Teams
Six of Ireland's World Cup representatives were named in Munster's starting XV for Friday's clash against Aironi at Musgrave Park.
Last Updated: 28/10/11 12:13pm
Six of Ireland's World Cup representatives have been named in Munster's starting XV for Friday's clash against Aironi at Musgrave Park.
Keith Earls, Conor Murray, Ronan O'Gara, Donnacha Ryan, Paul O'Connell and Denis Leamy are the chosen ones, while Donncha O'Callaghan is listed among the replacements alongside Tomas O'Leary, who is also set to make his seasonal senior debut having had a run out with the A side in Galway last week.
Will Chambers is at outside centre which means a switch to 12 for Danny Barnes and the return of O'Connell naturally sees him take over as captain, although Peter O'Mahony - who assumed that role in O'Connell's absence - keeps his spot in the starting XV.
Five players - Johne Murphy, Doug Howlett, Barnes, Wian du Preez and O'Mahony - retain their places from the team on duty last time out, while James Coughlan missed that Ospreys clash through injury.
The selection reflects a certain urgency to get the World Cup players back into action as coach Tony McGahan explained that Munster "need to hit the ground running."
"I think you'll have seen South African, English and other countries players come back and play as soon as they were out of the quarter finals," he said.
"The Irish players had two weeks rest. We're already at least a week and a bit behind so we need to look at all the possibilities and people who are going to be best for us short term and long term in this 4 week block that we have."
Debuts
Meanwhile, there are two long-awaited debuts and two other returns from the World Cup in the starting XV chosen by Aironi's head coach Rowland Phillips.
The two debutants are Andrea Masi and Luciano Orquera. Both will play their first PRO12 game after spending several years in France.
Masi will start at outside centre alongside Gilberto Pavan, with youngster Trevisan at full-back. No changes on the wings, where Sinoti Sinoti and Giovanbattista Venditti continue to pair up.
Luciano Orquera will wear the number 10 shirt in a new half-back pairing with New Zealander Tyson Keats at scrum-half.
Roberto Santamaria - Aironi captain during the World Cup - starts from the bench, Fabio Ongaro is at hooker in a front row completed by props Fabio Staibano and Matias Aguero.
In the second row Joshua Furno plays alongside Bortolami, while an unfamiliar back row takes the field in Cork.
Aironi must do without Nick Williams, former Munsterman and top try scorer in this PRO12 season with 5. Josh Sole takes his place at number eight, with Simone Favaro and Nicola Cattina at flanker.
Three other members of the Azzurri - Salvatore Perugini, Quintin Geldenhuys and Giulio Toniolatti - return from the World Cup and start from the bench.
Munster: 15 Johne Murphy, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Danny Barnes, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Peter O'Mahony, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez
Replacements: 16 Denis Fogarty, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 John Hayes, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Niall Ronan, 21 Tomas O'Leary, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Lifeimi Mafi
Aironi: 15 Ruggero Trevisan, 14 Sinoti Sinoti, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Gilberto Pavan, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Josh Sole, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Nicola Cattina, 5 Marco Bortolami (capt), 4 Joshua Furno, 3 Fabio Staibano, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Matias Aguero
Replacements: 16 Roberto Santamaria, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Luca Redolfini, 19 Quintin Geldenhuys, 20 Filippo Ferrarini, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Naas Olivier, 23 Giulio Toniolatti