Champions Cup
Ulster team to face Leinster announced.
Team announced.
The Ulster squad has been named for Saturday’s sold-out Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final clash against Leinster (Aviva Stadium, 5.45pm).
Luke Marshall has been included in the match day panel for the first time this season, after overcoming an ACL injury sustained against Ospreys in May last year.
Marshall is joined among the replacements by Sean Reidy, who is set to make his 100th Ulster appearance.
Rory Best will captain the Province in what will be his 75th European game and he will pack down alongside Eric O’Sullivan and Marty Moore in the front row.
Iain Henderson has recovered from injury and will partner Kieran Treadwell in the second row.
Jordi Murphy will play against his former club for the first time since his move to Ulster last summer; he’s selected in a back row that also includes Marcell Coetzee and Nick Timoney.
John Cooney and Billy Burns will continue their half-back partnership that has been so pivotal in Europe this season, with the latter having made five try assists.
Stuart McCloskey and Darren Cave are again paired in midfield, while Jacob Stockdale, the competition’s joint top try scorer (six), is joined in the back three by Abbey Insurance Ulster Academy players Michael Lowry and Robert Baloucoune.
Rob Herring, Andy Warwick, Wiehahn Herbst, Alan O’Connor, Dave Shanahan and Angus Kernohan will join Marshall and Reidy on the bench.
The game is sold out and 13,000-15,000 Ulster fans are expected to be in attendance.
Ulster team and replacements to play Leinster, Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final, Aviva Stadium, Saturday 30th March (5.45pm):
(15-9): M Lowry; R Baloucoune, D Cave, S McCloskey, J Stockdale; B Burns, J Cooney;
(1-8): E O’Sullivan, R Best (captain), M Moore, I Henderson, K Treadwell, N Timoney, J Murphy, M Coetzee;
Replacements (16-23): R Herring, A Warwick, W Herbst, A O’Connor, S Reidy, D Shanahan, L Marshall, A Kernohan.
Leinster team can be found here.
A 28-man Munster travelling squad has been named ahead of Saturday’s Champions Cup round of 16 clash against the Sharks in Durban (12.30pm Irish time/1.30pm local).
Preparations for the game started on Monday, see today’s best training pics from Thomond Park here.
Players and management will fly out tonight and arrive in Durban tomorrow evening (Wednesday) ahead of the game.
16 forwards and 12 backs will make the trip with Munster’s 23-man matchday squad to be named at 12pm on Friday.
On the injury front, Niall Scannell (shoulder) has returned to full team training and has been selected in the travelling group.
Antoine Frisch is also included after recovering from a low-grade leg injury.
On the club front, there were seven Munster players in AIL Division 1A action at the weekend.
Daniel Hurley helped Cork Constitution to a 36-19 victory over a Shannon side that included Darragh McSweeney and Daniel Okeke.
Dan Goggin, Patrick Campbell and Shay McCarthy started for Young Munster in their win over UCD.
Tony Butler was in action for Garryowen as they were beaten by Terenure College.
Munster Travelling Squad
Forwards: Dave Kilcoyne, Josh Wycherley; Diarmuid Barron, Scott Buckley, Niall Scannell; Stephen Archer, Keynan Knox, Roman Salanoa; Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman, Fineen Wycherley; Gavin Coombes, John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue, Peter O’Mahony.
Backs: Craig Casey, Conor Murray, Paddy Patterson; Joey Carbery, Jack Crowley, Ben Healy; Malakai Fekitoa, Antoine Frisch; Shane Daly, Mike Haley, Calvin Nash, Simon Zebo.
Images & Content from Munster Rugby
Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen has issued an injury update ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Champions Cup match against Ulster in Aviva Stadium.
Over 48,000 tickets have already been sold for the match. You can buy the last remaining tickets for the Round of 16 clash here.
Johnny Sexton will see a specialist on Tuesday and have a procedure on the groin injury picked up in Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations game against England which will likely keep him sidelined for the remainder of the Leinster Rugby season.
Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan and Caelan Doris will continue to follow the Graduated Return to Play Protocols this week.
Ed Byrne came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a knee injury.
There are no further updates on:
Jamie Osborne (knee), Rónan Kelleher (shoulder), Joe McCarthy (ankle), Cormac Foley (hamstring), Martin Moloney (knee) and Charlie Ngatai (hamstring)
Images & Content from Leinster Rugby
Munster Rugby and the IRFU are pleased to confirm the signing of centre Alex Nankivell and contract extensions for tighthead prop Stephen Archer and loosehead prop Dave Kilcoyne.
Nankivell will join the province on a two-year contract at the start of the 2023/24 season, making the move from New Zealand where he plays with Super Rugby side Gallagher Chiefs.
Alex Nankivell in action for the Chiefs against the Waratahs last April.
The 26-year-old, originally from Christchurch, has been a regular in the Chiefs’ midfield since 2017, making 58 appearances to date.
An impressive 2019 campaign saw him earn selection for the Māori All Blacks against Fiji and he also lined out for the side against an Ireland XV last summer. In November 2022 he was selected for the All Blacks XV that played Ireland ‘A’ and the Barbarians.
Front row duo Stephen Archer and Dave Kilcoyne have both put pen to paper on one-year extensions.
Between them, Archer and Kilcoyne have made 468 appearances for the province.
Munster’s second most-capped player of all time, Archer has made 255 appearances for the province since making his debut in October 2009.
The 35-year-old, who has also earned two Ireland caps, is an ultra-reliable presence in the front row and is 13 appearances short of equalling Donncha O’Callaghan’s record 268 Munster appearances.
Stephen Archer at Munster training on Tuesday.
Kilcoyne is in a rich vein of form and earned his 50th Ireland cap at the weekend with 213 Munster appearances to his name.
The 34-year-old made his Munster debut against Connacht in December 2011 and has overcome a difficult time with injuries to make 13 appearances so far this season.
Dave Kilcoyne at Munster training last month.
Images & Content from Munster Rugby
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