Ospreys v Munster: Guinness PRO12 preview
Last Updated: 07/03/15 4:43pm
Donnacha Ryan is poised to make his first Munster appearance in almost a year in Saturday’s Guinness PRO12 meeting with the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium.
The Ireland international hasn’t played since suffering a foot injury against Treviso in March 2014, but has been named on the bench as Munster look to extend their unbeaten run to five games.
The Irish province were 22-10 winners in their table-topping clash with Glasgow Warriors last weekend, and head coach Anthony Foley has made three changes to his starting line-up.
Felix Jones replaces Andrew Conway on the wing after featuring for Ireland in Sunday’s Six Nations victory over England, while fellow international Dave Kilcoyne comes into the front row at loosehead.
The final change comes in the back row, where Dave O’Callaghan replaces in-form youngster Jack O’Donoghue on the blindside.
The Ospreys have dropped down the PRO12 standings after three games without a win, but they are boosted by the return of Wales flanker Justin Tipuric.
Tipuric and prop Ryan Bevington will both make their 100th appearances for the region as head coach Steve Tandy makes four changes to the side that drew with Leinster last week.
James King switches to the blindside to accommodate the return of Tipuric, who captains the side. Aaron Jarvis and Lloyd Peers also come into the pack, with Tom Habberfield preferred to Martin Roberts at scrum-half.
The Ospreys were 19-14 winners when the teams met in Limerick last September and are seeking a first season double over the Irishmen since the 2011/12 season.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Tom Habberfield; 1 Ryan Bevington, 2 Scott Otten, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 4 Lloyd Peers, 5 Tyler Ardron, 6 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 8 Dan Baker.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Dmitri Arhip, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Morgan Allen, 22 Martin Roberts, 23 Ben John.
Munster: 15 JJ Hanrahan, 14 Felix Jones, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Denis Hurley (c), 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Duncan Williams; 1 Dave Kilcoyne, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 3 BJ Botha, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland, 6 Dave O'Callaghan, 7 Sean Dougall, 8 CJ Stander.
Replacements: 16 Kevin O'Byrne, 17 John Ryan, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Jack O'Donoghue, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Andrew Smith, 23 Andrew Conway.
Watch the Ospreys v Munster live on Sky Sports 1 on Saturday from 2.30pm
