MUNSTER CAPTAIN PETER O’Mahony has been passed to fit start tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship semi-final clash with Leinster at Aviva Stadium [KO 5.30pm, RTÉ/Premier Sports/URC TV].
O’Mahony’s inclusion is a major boost for the province, who saw Conor Murray, RG Snyman, Calvin Nash and Malakai Fekitoa all ruled out due to head injuries sustained in last weekend’s quarter-final win in Glasgow.
O’Mahony was a doubt for tomorrow’s fixture after suffering an elbow injury in the same fixture, but is named as captain in a strong Munster team for tomorrow’s semi-final meeting.
Meanwhile Robbie Henshaw and Ronan Kelleher have both recovered from injury to start for Leinster.
The Munster team shows four changes and two positional switches from the team which won in Glasgow last Saturday.
Keith Earls is named on the wing after recovering from a groin injury, with Shane Daly and fullback Mike Haley completing the back three.
Jack Crowley moves to inside centre to partner Antoine Frisch, with Ben Healy and Craig Casey starting the starting half-backs.
Diarmuid Barron is also passed fit after recovering from a shoulder issue, and starts alongside Jeremy Loughman and Stephen Archer in an unchanged front row.
Tadhg Beirne moves to the second row, where he is joined by Jean Kleyn, with O’Mahony, John Hodnett and Gavin Coombes completing the side.
Jack O’Donoghue, Neil Cronin and Rory Scannell are all named on the Munster bench. The province have also confirmed that Cronin has signed a new contract extension until the end of January 2024.
Leinster will be captained by Luke McGrath, who starts at scrum-half, with Harry Byrne continuing at out-half.
Jimmy O’Brien is named at fullback, with Tommy O’Brien and Dave Kearney on the wings, while Henshaw and Charlie Ngatai start at centre.
In the Leinster front row, Michael Milne and Michael Ala’alatoa are joined by Ireland hooker Kelleher, who starts for the first time since January.
Ryan Baird and Jason Jenkins continue in the second row, while Max Deegan, Will Connors and Jack Conan start in the back row.
Replacements:
Replacements:
Referee: Frank Murphy (IRFU)
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