Munster v Ospreys: Teams
Munster have made seven changes for the visit of the Ospreys in the Magners League play-off semi-finals on Saturday.
Last Updated: 13/05/11 5:27pm
Munster have made seven changes for the visit of defending champions the Ospreys in the Magners League play-off semi-finals at Thomond Park on Saturday.
The hosts have recalled their big names after the dead rubber with Connacht at the end of the regular season, while two positional changes have also been made.
Danny Barnes switches to outside centre from the No. 12 shirt while Donnacha Ryan moves to flanker from lock, with Denis Leamy dropping to the bench.
Donncha O'Callaghan comes back into the second row alongside captain Paul O'Connell, while the all-new back row consists of Ryan, David Wallace and James Coughlan.
Lifeimi Mafi will partner Barnes in the midfield, while Keith Earls takes his place on the wing and Conor Murray replaces Tomas O'Leary at scrum-half.
Munster have faced the Ospreys a total of four times already this season in all competitions, with the Welsh outfit trailing 3-1 in the current tally.
Changes
The Ospreys welcome back lock Ian Gough and hooker Huw Bennett to their starting XV after scraping into the play-offs with a 12-10 win over Aironi last time out.
Ryan Jones switches to the back row from lock, with Richard Hibbard and Marty Holah both dropping to the bench.
Despite Munster running away with top spot in the league and being big favourites to reach the final, Ospreys director of coaching Scott Johnson says the tie is still completely up for grabs.
"It is all down to what happens on Saturday night, and the 80 minutes at Thomond Park," he told his side's official website.
"We've said all year that we wanted to defend our title, we've finished in the top four and now we're at the business end of the season.
"It's big games like that being involved in professional rugby is all about. It'll be a real test alright, but we know plenty about Munster just like they know plenty about us. I can see it being a real arm wrestle, but it's a really exciting prospect."
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Danny Barnes, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 David Wallace, 6 Donncha Ryan, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Niall Ronan, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Paul Warwick, 23 Simon Zebo.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 James Hook, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (capt), 4 Ian Gough, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Paul James.
Replacements 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Cai Griffiths, 19 Jerry Collins, 20 Tom Smith, 21 Marty Holah, 22 Tom Isaacs, 23 Ashley Beck.
