Munster will rely on the Thomond Park factor against Toulon
Munster will face Toulon in the second round of games in the Heineken Cup at Thomond Park this Saturday.
Players to watch, players to miss
Irish hooker Jerry Flannery has been named in the squad to face Toulon and he is expected to feature at some point in the match.
The player came through a club game with Shannon over the weekend and had no reaction to his calf and back injury.
Munster will be without Sam Tuitupou who was cited for a high-tackle on the London Irish scrum half Paul Hodgson in last week’s Heineken Cup game. The centre was banned for three weeks and Keith Earls
is now expected to start, despite just returning from injury and limping off in last week’s encounter.
Munster manager Tony McGahan will be concerned over his midfield. Lifeimi Mafi is also suspended and will miss the match.
Inspirational captain Paul O’Connell is carrying a long term injury, while scrum half Tomas O’Leary will be out for a month.
Toulon are expected to pick Felipe Contepomi and may rest Jonny Wilkinson who had a sore knee after their Heineken Cup match with the Ospreys.
However, Toulon manager Phillipe Saint-Andre may still pick Wilkinson in such an important match and move Contepomi to inside centre.
Form
On paper the two sides appear evenly matched, but the smart money has been placed on Munster.
Munster have been in fine form in the Magners League and secured a bonus point in their opening Heineken Cup fixture in the 23-17 defeat to London Irish.
Toulon held off a stern test from the Ospreys in their match and ran out 19-14 winners in France. Paul Sackey scored the decisive try.
The crowd
The Irish province will go into the match as favourites, despite their long list of injuries and suspensions. Munster have a formidable home record and very few teams have travelled to Limerick and come
away with a result.
The Munster side seem to show higher level of intensity with their passionate home support behind them and they will look to take on Toulon up front and rely on the kicking of Ronan O’Gara.
If Toulon are to beat Munster they will have to silence the home crowd and start well. The forwards will have to dominate the scrum and they will expect to beat the likes of Tony Buckley and Marcus Horan
in the front row.
However, they will also have to cope with Munster’s strong line out and mauls. The Munster back row of David Wallace and Denis Leamy will look to take on the likes of Fernandez Lobbe and that will be one
of the fascinating battles on the pitch.
If Wilkinson starts he will look to take the sting out of the game in the early stages and will kick for the corners and play for territory. However, O’Gara will seek to put Munster on the front foot.
The battle of the fly halves could be crucial and the fans will be excited to see two of the best out halves in the world come face to face.
With the home support, Munster will be favourites even if Toulon have a dozen star players at their disposal.
Prediction: Munster 20- 17 Toulon
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