Same again for Munster
Fri, 23 May 2008 16:29
Munster coach Declan Kidney has kept faith with the starting XV that edged Saracens in the semifinal last month, as he heads into the Heineken Cup Final showdown with Toulouse in Cardiff on Saturday with an unchanged XV.
The only changes to the matchday 22 are on the bench, where Keith Earls and Tony Buckley have been named.
The good news for the Irish province is that international star Ronan O'Gara and Doug Howlett have been cleared from their injury niggles and will take their places.
Kidney, despite fielding his preferred selection, warned that the French giants pose a serious threat at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
"They are the sort of team who could beat you comfortably or you could lose by a point," the Munster coach told a media gathering.
"They can be flamboyant or they can tough it out. So can we beat them? Of course we can."
And when it was suggested to him that Toulouse like a lot of French sides, have a reputation for not 'travelling well', Kidney replied with a smile" "Well, they [Toulouse] won the title in Cardiff, they won it again in Edinburgh and again in Dublin, so I'd say they travel well enough."
Toulouse's All Black scrumhalf Byron Kelleher, speaking to the French newspaper Le Parisien, said he is expecting a big onslaught from the Irish outfit.
"If the quarter and semifinals are anything to go by, it's going to be a great occasion and one I am certainly looking forward to," Kelleher said.
Munster: 15 Darragh Hurley, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Lifeimi Mafi, 12 Rua Tipoki, 11 Ian Dowling, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Alan Quinlan, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Frankie Sheahan, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Paul Warwick, 22 Keith
Earls.
Date: Saturday, May 24
Kick-off: 17.00 (16.00 GMT)
Venue: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales), Hugh Watkins (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
