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Munster make three changes but no Peter O'Mahony, Saracens alter two

Munster's Peter O'Mahony (Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Former Ireland captain Peter O’Mahony will be an Investec Champions Cup absentee when Munster host a Saracens side showing two changes at Thomond Park on Saturday.

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Conor Murray has sufficiently recovered from his recent elbow injury, joining Jack Crowley and Jack O’Donoghue in a Munster selection that has three alterations from the December 27 United Rugby Championship loss to Leinster.

Crowley was rested for that Irish derby while O’Donoghue was nursing a shoulder injury. However, there is no return for O’Mahony, whose last appearance came in the December 13 defeat at Castres. The 35-year-old was “unavailable for selection as he continues to recover from a calf contusion”.

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      Saracens, meanwhile, have added Liam Williams and Phil Brantingham following last weekend’s Gallagher Premiership win at home to Bristol. Director of rugby Mark McCall said: “We are going to one of the great European grounds. It is going to be a great experience for this new group.

      “If you think Munster at home are vulnerable you are probably pretty stupid. People have short memories. They won the URC two years ago, they were top of the log in the URC after the regular season last season.

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      “We have been to Thomond Park a couple of times since I have been at Saracens and we haven’t won there but it is a great, great place to go. Some of our players who have been there have talked to some of the players who have not been there about what to expect but hopefully what to enjoy as well.

      “It is a good test for us. It will be a beneficial experience come what may but we do also have an opportunity and let’s see if we can take it.”

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      MUNSTER: 15. Mike Haley; 14. Calvin Nash, 13. Tom Farrell, 12. Rory Scannell, 11. Shane Daly; 10. Jack Crowley, 9. Conor Murray; 1. Dian Bleuler, 2. Niall Scannell, 3. Oli Jager, 4. Fineen Wycherley, 5. Tadhg Beirne (capt), 6. Jack O’Donoghue, 7. Alex Kendellen, 8. Gavin Coombes. Reps: 16. Diarmuid Barron, 17. John Ryan, 18. Stephen Archer, 19. Tom Ahern, 20. John Hodnett, 21. Paddy Patterson, 22. Billy Burns, 23. Brian Gleeson.

      SARACENS: 15. Elliot Daly; 14. Liam Williams, 13. Alex Lozowski, 12. Nick Tompkins, 11. Lucio Cinti; 10. Fergus Burke, 9. Ivan van Zyl; 1. Phil Brantingham, 2. Jamie George, 3. Marco Riccioni, 4. Maro Itoje (capt), 5. Harry Wilson, 6. Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7. Ben Earl, 8. Tom Willis. Reps: 16. Theo Dan, 17. Eroni Mawi, 18. Alec Clarey, 19. Max Eke, 20. Nathan Michelow, 21. Gareth Simpson, 22. Olly Hartley, 23. Tobias Elliott.

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      N
      NB 51 minutes ago
      Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

      https://www.london.edu/think/how-claudio-ranieri-transformed-leicester-city


      He jts knew how to use that deep well of knowledge accumulate over many years of management. A true Moneyball story!

      167 Go to comments
      f
      fl 58 minutes ago
      Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

      “Two comparable achievements 15 years apart (at different clubs in different leagues) represent failure and not continued success for an elite level coach/manager? Not even a hint of consistency? Just gradual, inevitable decline? And all because he is in his sixth decade?”

      Why don’t you try reading what I wrote before you start inventing a load of other random things that I didn’t say. I said “Pep hasn’t gotten better with age”. He hasn’t. I don’t think he’s got much worse, and yeah, he’s been fairly consistent over his career and has had more success than almost any other coach. But he hasn’t gotten better.


      “You’ve missed that Mourinho’s early start in football was as a translator for Bobby Robson (ironically a much older manager at the time!).”

      I was actually aware of that. I didn’t mention it because it wasn’t relevant to the fact that Mourinho - aged 52 - had more experience than Arteta does at 43. It also isn’t ironic that Bobby Robson was a much older manager at the time - it actually confirms by point that a lot of the top football managers used to be older than they are today.


      “You suggested that Les Kiss would not be suited to an international coaching role because of his age profile…that seemed to relate to rugby”

      That did relate to rugby. Let me walk you through the thread…


      NB suggested that Les Kiss should become Australia head coach in 2027.

      I said: “Given the drop off so many top coaches seem to experience as they get older (e.g. Jones, Gatland) Kiss could be a riskier appointment than you’d think!”

      NB said: “Drawing a parallel with the NFL and NBA, plenty of coaches stay well into their 70’s”

      I said: “Not all sports are going the same way though” then gave the example of football.


      The example of football was introduced in order to make the point that the age profile of managers is not the same in every sport. If you had read the thread you were replying to you would know this!

      167 Go to comments
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