Munster, Leinster and Ulster name teams for URC week 3 action as big names and debutants included
A debut for RG Snyman and Ciaran Frawley's return at No.10 for Leinster, Munster rolling out Tadhg Beirne and more big guns and Ulster looking to new talent in Pretoria among the URC selection highlights
URC round three sees Munster and Leinster roll out the big guns for their Saturday fixtures, while Ulster turn to some fresh faces in South Africa.
Fresh from their shock defeat at Zebre last weekend, Munster had made eight changes for the visit of Ospreys to what is expected to be a stormy evening at Virgin Media Park in Cork.
As expected, Graham Rowntree has handed first appearances of the season to his new captain Tadhg Beirne and also to Peter O'Mahony and Jack Crowley.
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It is a timely return to action for the trio as the province needs to get back to winning ways as soon as possible after their surprise set-back.
But centre Alex Nankivell misses out with a shoulder injury after it was hoped he would be available, so he joins the casualty list with Shane Daly (elbow) and Thaakir Abrahams (leg).
Bryan Fitzgerald makes his first start for the Reds after making a good impact off the bench last week, while 21-year-old academy winger Shay McCarthy, Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell and Jack O’Donoghue also come into the starting side.
Mike Haley, Calvin Nash and McCarthy start in the back three. Craig Casey and Crowley are in the half-backs as Fitzgerald and Tom Farrell start together in midfield. A positional change sees Farrell return to outside centre.
Loughman, Scannell and Oli Jager are the front row picks, with Jean Kleyn and Beirne in the second row. O’Mahony, John Hodnett and O’Donoghue make up the back row, with Gavin Coombes, Conor Murray and Tony Butler among the replacements.
Munster: Haley, Nash, Farrell, B Fitzgerald, McCarthy, Crowley, Casey; J Loughman, N Scannell, Jager, Kleyn, Beirne (c), O’Mahony, Hodnett, O’Donoghue. Replacements: Barron, Ryan, Archer, Wycherley, Coombes, Murray, Butler, J Daly.
RG Snyman will make his Leinster debut, Ciarán Frawley starts at No.10 while Caelan Doris makes his season bow as the Blues' new captain in their clash with Benetton at Stadio Comunale di Monigo in Treviso tomorrow.
Leo Cullen has made 12 changes to his starting line-up from the one that beat Dragons last Friday. The three survivors all line up in different positions from last week - Jimmy O'Brien switches to the right wing, Jamie Osborne moves into the centre after making his 50th appearance last week and Jack Conan will start as outside flanker.
After two wins and 10 points accumulated, Leinster welcome back eight Irish internationals into the side with Hugo Keenan returning after his Olympic Sevens adventure. James Lowe is also named in the back three, while Garry Ringrose partners Osborne in the centre.
Jamison Gibson-Park returns at scrum-half and partners Frawley, who was Ireland's hero in Durban with his drop-goals to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the second summer tour Test game against South Africa.
Andrew Porter, Rónan Kelleher and Tadhg Furlong come into the front row for their first appearances of the new campaign. After he was on the bench last week, Joe McCarthy comes in from the start and partners Snyman, who has recovered from the foot injury he suffered on duty with the Springboks in the Rugby Championship.
Josh van der Flier is also in from the start this week while Conan and Doris complete the back row. Ryan Baird is set for his first action of the campaign from off the bench, with Leinster opting for a 6-2 split. Ross Byrne and Fintan Gunne are the backs kept in reserve.
Leinster: Keenan, O'Brien, Ringrose, Osborne, Lowe, Frawley, Gibson-Park; Porter, Kelleher, Furlong, McCarthy, Snyman, Conan, van der Flier, Doris (c). Replacements: Barron, Milne, Clarkson, Baird, Deeny, Gunne, R Byrne, Penny.
Ulster are in Pretoria to face the Bulls and Richie Murphy has handed first competitive starts to three players at Loftus Versfeld - and may use three senior debutants.
Academy lock Charlie Irvine will make his Ulster debut and can count on the experience of skipper Iain Henderson to help him in the second row, while hooker James McCormick and centre Ben Carson are to start for the first time for the province. Two more young players could make their debuts, with hooker Tadhg McElroy and out-half James Humphreys on the bench.
Andrew Warwick and Corrie Barrett - who scored his first Ulster try in the loss to the Lions last weekend - join McCormick in the front row. David McCann comes in at No.8 in a back row that also includes James McNabney and Sean Reffell.
In the backs, Aidan Morgan will be hoping to keep his run going after scoring two tries from his first two games as the province's new out-half. He'll be partnered by Nathan Doak.
Carson will be joined in the centre by Stewart Moore, while Werner Kok - another try scorer last week - is named on the right wing, Jacob Stockdale on the opposite side and Mike Lowry at full-back.
Ulster: Lowry, Kok, Moore, Carson, Stockdale, Morgan, Doak; Warwick, McCormick, Barrett, Henderson (c), Irvine, McNabney, Reffell, McCann. Replacements: McElroy, O'Sullivan, O'Toole, O'Connor, Timoney, Shanahan, Humphreys, Moxham.
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