CONNACHT travel to Thomond Park as the opening weekend of the new URC season throws up an inter-provincial derby for Irish fans.
The headline news item around the match-up is that Mack Hansen will finally make his first competitive appearance since New Year’s Day.
Saturday’s all-Irish affair will be preceded on Friday by Edinburgh hosting Leinster while Ulster’s home game against champs Glasgow Warriors will also fall on Saturday evening.
Here’s everything you need to know around how to catch The Reds versus The Westerners:
What TV channel is Munster vs Connacht on?
Saturday’s tussle will kick-off at 5:30 pm. It will be shown live on RTE Two with coverage from 5 pm.
So you have the free streaming option provided by the RTE Player.
What are the teams?
Munster: Mike Haley; Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Shane Daly; Billy Burns, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron (capt), John Ryan;
Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Ruadhán Quinn, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Oli Jager, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue, Ethan Coughlan, Tony Butler, Seán O’Brien.
Connacht: Santiago Cordero; Mack Hansen, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde, Shayne Bolton; Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier;
Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray; Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast (capt).
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Caolin Blade, David Hawkshaw, Sean Jansen.
What are the odds?
The home side are 2/9 favourites while Pete Wilkins’ charges are 10/3 outsiders.
A draw is priced at 22/1 while the handicap is eight points.
Main storylines?
Apart from the return of the Mack after a prolonged shoulder problem, it’s probably that Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell and Billy Burns all make their debuts.
Jean Kleyn is also back in the mix after his own long-term layoff as he’s been out for 10 months due to an eye injury.
Diarmuid Barron will be Graham Rowntree’s captain on the day, although Tadhg Beirne was earlier this week confirmed as their new skipper.
Speaking to Munsterrugby.com, Rowntree said of the 32-year-old: “Tadhg is a world-class player who always leads by example.
“He is the right man to lead Munster into the new season.
“A player of his calibre commands respect and he has grown into a key leader for us since coming here in 2018.
“As a 52-cap Ireland international and British & Irish Lion, he demands the best out of everyone and drives standards within the group.
““He is an extremely calm presence on and off the field.
“It was very impressive to see how he was able to perform at his usual high level while captaining the squad in a number of big games last season.”
