Munster v Cardiff Blues: Teams
Former Lions skipper Paul O'Connell will make his long awaited return to action for Munster off the bench on Saturday.
Last Updated: 03/12/10 1:06pm
Former British and Irish Lions skipper Paul O'Connell will make his long awaited return to action for Munster off the bench on Saturday.
O'Connell has been named among the replacements for the visit of Cardiff Blues, with the powerhouse lock having been sidelined since March.
Munster also welcome back Ireland internationals Denis Leamy, Keith Earls, Ronan O'Gara, Damien Varley, Tony Buckley, Mick O'Driscoll and Peter Stringer.
Blues boss Dai Young has been buoyed by the return of five internationals for the trip to Ireland.
Dan Parks, Richie Rees, Tom Shanklin, Sam Warburton and Gethin Jenkins come back into the side after being involved in the autumn internationals.
There is also a first Magners League start of the season for hooker Gareth Williams.
Munster: 15 Johne Murphy, 14 Lifeimi Mafi, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Sam Tuitipou, 11 Darragh Hurley, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Paul Stringer, 8 Alan Quinlan, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Denis Leamy (c), 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Wian du Preez, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Tony Buckley.
Replacements: Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Dave Ryan, 18 John Hayes, 19 Paul O'Connell, 20 David Wallace, 21 Tomas O'Leary, 22 Paul Warwick, 23 Barry Murphy.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Chris Czekaj, 14 Richard Mustoe, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tom Shanklin, 11 Gavin Evans, 10 Dan Parks 9, Richie Rees, 8 Xavier Rush, 7 Sam Warburton 6, Mamma Molitika, 5 Paul Tito, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Taufa'ao Filse, 2 Gareth Williams, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Tom Davies, 18 Sam Hobbs, 19 Bryn Griffiths, 20 Ben White, 21 Tom Slater, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Dafydd Hewitt.
