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Two late changes for Munster, including the absence of Simon Zebo

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Irish hopes that Munster can ambush Exeter in their round of 16 Heineken Champions Cup clash in England on Saturday evening have been dented by two late withdrawals from their matchday 23, with Simon Zebo among the casualties. 

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The 32-year-old had come through unscathed after completing his recent return to play protocols for a head knock and was named on Friday in the Munster team to start at Sandy Park. However, his province have now confirmed that he will miss the match along with replacement Diarmuid Barron as both have taken ill.

A tweet from Munster read: “Team changes for #EXEvMUN. Shane Daly will start in place of Simon Zebo and academy hooker Scott Buckley takes the place of Diarmuid Barron in the replacements. Both Zebo and Barron are ruled out with acute gastro.”

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The loss of Zebo is the latest big blow for Munster heading into the first leg of the two-legged tie against the 2020 Gallagher Premiership and Champions Cup double champions. 

It was Friday when they confirmed they would be without skipper Peter O’Mahony and out-half Joey Carbery for the difficult assignment in Devon. Both will be reassessed on Monday to check their availability for next Saturday’s second leg in Limerick.  

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“A hamstring complaint has ruled out O’Mahony with the Munster captain to be reassessed on Monday ahead of the return fixture at Thomond Park,” read the Munster team announcement. “Carbery presented with a low-grade leg/knee injury following the Leinster clash but is expected to make his return to full training on Monday.”

All these absences have come on top of the loss of Gavin Coombes, the No8 whose ankle injury in last weekend’s URC loss to Leinster required surgery that will sideline him until next month.

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MUNSTER (revised, vs Exeter): Mike Haley; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Shane Daly; Ben Healy, Conor Murray; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer, Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley, Jack O’Donoghue (capt), John Hodnett, Alex Kendellen. Reps: Scott Buckley, Josh Wycherley, John Ryan, Jason Jenkins, Thomas Ahern, Craig Casey, Rory Scannell, Jack O’Sullivan.

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Trevor 9 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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