THOMOND PARK will become a cauldron of raw emotion on Saturday as Munster begin their Champions Cup campaign against Glasgow Warriors (1pm).
The match comes just a day after the funeral of head coach Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley, who died suddenly in Paris last Sunday ahead of the province’s scheduled opener against Racing 92. Those in attendance will be sure to pay tribute from the stands, while Munster have retired the number eight jersey for the game, with CJ Stander instead wearing number 24.
The tragic circumstances make analysing the match both difficult and almost inconsequential. The events of the last week will play a part in Munster’s performance. The emotion that will fill the air could be a driving force or, just as easily, it could lead to a more disjointed performance.
The fact that director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has had little or no time to prepare for the match will not have helped either, especially against a Glasgow side that has won five of their seven competitive matches this season. There is one change to the Munster side that was due to take on Racing last weekend with Keith Earls starting on the left wing in place of Ronan O’Mahony.
The Scottish side paid their respects to Anthony Foley outside Thomond Park yesterday, but they know that they must take a professional approach to the game as they try to build on last weekend’s scintillating 42-13 victory over Leicester Tigers in Pool 1.
Leonardo Sarto (2), Fraser Brown, Henry Pyrgos and Mark Bennett all went over for Gregor Townsend’s side to ensure Leicester’s highest point concession in European competition. Sarto misses out today with a shoulder injury.
Connacht will travel to the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi on Sunday for the second time this season, but a lot has changed since last month’s trip to face Zebre. They had started with back-to-back PRO12 losses before that first game in Parma, and three defeats on the trot looked likely as they trailed 22-10 at the interval.
Weather conditions intervened though and the match was postponed. Buoyed by that stroke of fortune, the side has won three of their four fixtures since. The most impressive of those was last weekend’s 23-21 win over Toulouse in their Champions Cup Pool 2 opener. The sensational Bundee Aki scored the crucial try in the 67th minute to secure a famous night for the Irish province, and a win in Italy would leave them sitting in a great position in the group.
Leinster are also in action on Sunday as they travel to Montpellier (2pm). Leo Cullen has made a number of changes to the side that defeated Castres 33-15 last weekend. The most notable will see the return of Johnny Sexton and Sean O’Brien while Cian Healy, James Tracy, Mike Ross and Mike McCarthy also come into the starting XV as they try to make it two wins from two in Pool 4.
