Munster will be the cannon fodder on the Dodder!

Here’s an amazing fact I gleaned from uber Leinster blogger Harpin on rugby – more people are going to watch Leinster and Munster at the Aviva stadium than all the Pro 12 matches last weekend put together! Irish fans are putting their money where their mouths are.

There’s a lot of good looking derbies this weekend,  with Dragons/Blues and Ospreys/Scarlets also likely to be fiery affairs with the high Welsh rugby is on at the moment.

For Leinster and Munster, it’s time to put aside the disappointments and triumphs of the world cup, and get ready to knock lumps out of each other.  There’s nothing like it the satisfactions stakes compared to putting in a really good hit on an erstwhile Ireland team mate. The ladyboys of Leinster were the perennial  whipping boys for Munster, up until a few seasons ago. Then, the unthinkable happened, they grew a pair, and for a good few years it was Munster who couldn’t buy a win. Now it’s sitting somewhere in middle , tilted a little on the Munster side, with 2 from 3 last year, and the Magners league to go with it.  This’d be the most keenly contested derby match outside of the Gaelic fixtures , and it’s a stereotypical town versus country match as well. Although players like the Tullow Tank, Sean O’Brien,  Dublin boys like Felix Jones, and international stars like Dougie Howlett and Isa Nacewa  don’t quite fit into that mould.

Munsters team from last week was as follows, and as they are sticking with the same squad  I’d expect O’Callaghan, Niall Ronan and Mafi to start this week. Pretty damn strong so.

15 Johne Murphy, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Will Chambers, 12 Danny Barnes, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Coughlan, 7 Peter O'Mahony, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 BJ Botha, 2 Damien Varley, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Denis Fogarty, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 John Hayes, 19 Donncha O'Callaghan, 20 Niall Ronan, 21 Tomas O'Leary, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Lifeimi Mafi.

This was Leinster’s team from last week, and I’d hope to see O’Brien, Heaslip , Nacewa and O’Driscoll back, and strauss to start. Oh, and it’d be great to have Healy back as well. So what’s it going to be?   I have to back Leinster, with home support, and to me Sexton is the man who’s going to make the difference.


Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Eoin O'Malley, 12 Fergus McFadden, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Leo Auva'a, 7 Dominic Ryan, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Nathan White, 19 Steven Sykes, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 John Cooney, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Fionn Carr

Fri 4 Nov	19:05		Dragons		v		Blues		Rodney Parade		BBCw
Fri 4 Nov		20:00		Leinster		v		Munster		AVIVA Stadium	TG4
Sat 5 Nov		14:30		Aironi		v		Warriors		Stadio Zaffanella
Sat 5 Nov		15:00		Treviso		v		Edinburgh		Stadio di Monigo
Sat 5 Nov		17:35		Ulster		v		Connacht		Ravenhill	BBCni/RTE
Sat 5 Nov		18:30		Ospreys		v		Scarlets		Liberty Stadium	S4C