Munster have been given a boost ahead of Saturday night’s Vodacom URC clash with Leinster at Thomond Park.
All of their Irish internationals are fit and available, including captain Tadhg Beirne and scrumhalf Craig Casey, who were rested for last weekend’s victory over the Ospreys. Calvin Nash (shoulder) and Fineen Wycherley (hand) have both returned from injury, while hooker Diarmuid Barron and centre Dan Kelly are also available again.
URC round-eight action takes place on 26 and 27 December, but without the South Africans team, who prefer to take a break over Christmas. The Lions’ fixture against the Sharks at Ellis Park has been moved to 21 February, while the Stormers will travel to Loftus to face the Vodacom Bulls on 14 March.
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Munster begin the round three log points behind the Stormers and know that a home win would see them move into pole position.
Munster beat Leinster 31-14 when the sides last met at Croke Park in October, but assistant coach Alex Codling believes that result will have little bearing on Saturday’s contest.
“I think it was a great day, but ultimately it was a long time ago,” Codling said. “I don’t think it’s going to have a massive bearing on the game this weekend.
“They’ve had five wins since and four of those have been bonus-point wins where they scored over 30 points. So we’ve got massive respect for them as a team, both in terms of the quality they have and what they’ve done.”
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Leinster have also been boosted by the return of several key players, with Andrew Porter, Will Connors and Cormac Foley all back in full training. Charlie Tector has completed his return-to-play protocols, while Jack Conan will be further assessed later in the week.
There were no further updates on the availability of Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose, Jordan Larmour or Bok lock RG Snyman.
Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images
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