Munster defence coach Denis Leamy said a home quarter-final in the URC is their top priority and that a win over Edinburgh at Musgrave Park on Friday night (7.35pm) would help in that regard.
They have had to deal with a lot of off-field activity this week, most notably the appointment of a new head coach and the announcement of the retirement of Peter O’Mahony and the departure of Conor Murray at the end of the season.
But they need to put all that noise aside and concentrate on nailing a fifth win in their last six URC games — and a third victory in a row in the competition — when they host Edinburgh in Cork.
At least they now have some stability on the coaching front with confirmation that the interim management team headed up by Ian Costello will continue for the remainder of the season before Clayton McMillan arrives in the summer to take charge.
The Munster side shows eight changes from the team which defeated Scarlets 29-8 last time out, four of them due to injuries.
Winger Diarmuid Kilgallen, injured in that win over Scarlets, is replaced by Shay McCarthy. Fellow winger Shane Daly and tighthead Oli Jager were injured playing for Ireland A. Calvin Nash comes in on the wing and John Ryan starts at tighthead. Jack O’Donoghue’s absence forces a changed back five up front. A third backline change sees Alex Nankivell return after being sidelined since December with a hamstring injury. He takes over from Rory Scannell in the centre.
There are five changes up front. Niall Scannell swaps the hooker position with Diarmuid Barron and Evan O’Connell comes into the second row, with Tom Ahern switching to O’Donoghue’s position at blindside.
John Hodnett comes in for Alex Kendellen and Brian Gleeson takes over from Gavin Coombes at No 8.
Defence coach Leamy said it’s important that they continue to build momentum heading into the business end of the season.
“We want to get a home quarter-final; we set high standards for ourselves,” he said. “It’s a very tough League, very competitive… every game is a battle.
“We’ve done really well over the last couple of weeks to put ourselves back into fifth.
“The run-in is going to be very difficult, but that’s the way the League is. It’s about racking up as many points as you can to ensure you’re in that top eight, first and foremost.
“A home quarter-final is what we aim for. They’re (Edinburgh) having a good season, they’re going to present loads of challenges,” said Leamy.
Edinburgh Rugby Head Coach Sean Everitt added: “We’re excited about the challenge, but we know it won’t be easy to get a result away against Munster, whether they’re in Cork or Limerick, they’re strong at home. We’ve had a good week at training, and we’re ready to bounce back.”
In Friday night’s other game, it is the battle of the bottom two as rock bottom Dragons make the trip to face Zebre who are currently in 15th spot.