Munster v Ulster: Teams
Munster coach Tony McGahan has made three changes for his final Thomond Park game against Ulster un Saturday.
Last Updated: 04/05/12 2:36pm
Munster coach Tony McGahan has made three changes to last week's starting line up for his final home game against Ulster on Saturday.
The prize for Munster and McGahan, as he prepares to return home to take up a coaching role with the Wallabies, will be a trip to Liberty Stadium a week from now for a semi-final joust with the Ospreys.
McGahan, who is to be replaced by Super Rugby's Cantebury coach Rob Penney next season, has opted to swap Dave Kilcoyne with Wian du Preez in the front-row.
The other change is purely positional, with Johne Murphy switching onto the right wing to allow Ivan Dineen to partner centre Lifeimi Mafi.
It will also be a final appearance in front of home fans for Mafi and Ireland scrum-half Tomas O'Leary, both of whom will join new clubs at the end of the season.
Ten changes for Ulster
Brian McLaughlin in contrast, has made ten changes to his Ulster XV for the RaboDirect PRO12 clash at Thomond Park.
Ireland U20 star Iain Henderson, who made an impressive appearance as a second-row replacement against Connacht last month, will make his first senior start at blindside flanker.
Phoenix Academy player Chris Cochrane has also been given a chance to impress after being handed a starting berth on the left wing.
With Ulster having a Heineken Cup final on the horizon, and only an outside chance of securing a play-off spot, McLaughlin has decided to rest a raft of regulars.
Captain Johann Muller, Ruan Pienaar, Rory Best and Stevie Ferris are among those handed a well-earned weekend off.
Andrew Trimble, Paddy Jackson, Declan Fitzpatrick, Dan Tuohy and Willie Faloon are the only players who remain in the starting line-up.
In the backs, Paul Marshall combines with Jackson at half-back, Ian Whitten and Nevin Spence come in to form a centre partnership and Adam D'Arcy lines out at full-back.
Trimble and Cochrane will look to capitalise on chances from the wings, while up front Nigel Brady will captain the side from hooker, where he is joined by Fitzpatrick and Paddy McAllister.
Lewis Stevenson replaces Muller at lock alongside Tuohy, while Henderson and Faloon are joined by Robbie Diack in the back row.
Chris Henry (ankle), Andi Kyriacou (shoulder/neck) and Neil McComb (neck) have been ruled out by injuries.
"We are reliant on other results," said McLaughlin. "But we will approach the game trying to do our job and we will wait to hear other results coming through.
"Obviously the ideal outcome is to get a semi-final spot but we realise it's unlikely.
"Munster are always tough opponents, particularly at home, but the Heineken Cup quarter-final win down there proved that we can do it.
"We set the bar very high that day and I expect the boys to go out and defend our reputation."
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Johne Murphy, 13 Ivan Dineen, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Mick O'Driscoll, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Wian du Preez
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Tomas O'Leary, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Keith Earls
Ulster: 15 Adam D'Arcy, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Nevin Spence, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 Chris Cochrane, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Declan Fitzpatrick, 2 Nigel Brady (c), 1 Paddy McAllister
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Callum Black, 18 Tom Court, 19 Mike McComish, 20 Ali Birch, 21 Blane McIlroy, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Craig Gilroy