Two miracle recoveries as Munster legends cleared to face Leinster

All eyes will be on the Aviva Stadium this Saturday at 5.30pm as the old foes meet in a season-defining knockout clash.

Leinster v Munster, games don’t come much bigger than this, a fact borne out by the likely sell-out of Lansdowne Road on Saturday evening as the pair go to battle in the URC Semi Final.

Leinster come fresh off the back of a dominant 33-5 display against the Sharks in the Quarter Finals, whilst Munster produced a resolute performance away in Glasgow to seal another crack against the league’s most dominant side.

For the southern province though, that win at the Scotstoun Stadium came at a cost, as the likes of Conor Murray and Malakai Fekitoa miss out due to the pair following the necessary head injury protocols after nasty collisions last weekend.

However, Graham Rowntree will be greatly encouraged by the presence of veteran duo Keith Earls and Peter O’Mahony, who have overcome injury to line out for Munster.

Leo Cullen has opted to rotate ahead of next weekend’s Champions Cup Final, which will see the province seek revenge against last year’s victors La Rochelle.

However, even a changed Leinster lineup sees the squad littered with international talent, with ten Irish capped players in a XV which welcomes back hooker Ronan Kelleher for the first time since January.

The Leinster XV:

15. Jimmy O’Brien

14. Tommy O’Brien

13. Robbie Henshaw

12. Charlie Ngatai

11. Dave Kearney

10. Harry Byrne

9. Luke McGrath (C)

8. Jack Conan

7. Will Connors

6. Max Deegan

5. Jason Jenkins

4. Ryan Baird

3. Michael Ala’alatoa

2. Ronan Kelleher

1. Michael Milne

Subs: John McKee, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, Josh van der Flier, Nick McCarthy, Ciaran Frawley, Liam Turner.

The Munster XV:

15. Mike Haley

14. Keith Earls

13. Antoine Frisch

12. Jack Crowley

11. Shane Daly

10. Ben Healy

9. Craig Casey

8. Gavin Coombes

7. John Hodnett

6. Peter O’Mahony (C)

5. Jean Kleyn

4. Tadhg Beirne

3. Stephen Archer

2. Diarmuid Barron

1. Jeremy Loughman

Subs: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Roman Salanoa, Finn Wycherley, Jack O’Donoghoe, Neil Cronin, Rory Scannell, Alex Kendellen.

D-Day for Connacht too:

Andy Friend’s free-flowing Connacht side are also in action this weekend, as they travel to South Africa to take on the reigning champions the Stormers.

Buoyed by a tremendous away victory at Ravenhill last weekend, the western province will be relishing the chance to test themselves in what could be the squad’s final game under head coach Friend.

The game kicks off at 3pm tomorrow, as an unchanged Connacht seek a repeat of their 2016 league heroics. Catch their lineup below:

15. Tiernan O’Halloran

14. John Porch

13. Tom Farrell

12. Bundee Aki

11. Mack Hansen

10. Jack Carty (C)

9. Caolin Blade

8. Cian Prendergast

7. Conor Oliver

6. Shamus Hurley-Langton

5. Niall Murray

4. Josh Murphy

3. Finlay Bealham

2. Dave Heffernan

1. Denis Buckley

Subs: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Jordan Duggan, Jack Aungier, Oisin Dowling, Jarrad Butler, Kieran Marmion, Tom Daly, Byron Ralston.

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• Paul O’Connell’s favourite rugby memory is just Munster to a tee
• “They can keep thinking that” – Mack Hansen has a Stormers score to settle
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