on a side note, good to see jerry flannery there in the clan and god knows where paul o connell popped out of at full time.

fingers crossed the gentleman you collaped at half time is grand. he walked out with medics and had a nice smile on him.

dont care what any plastic paddy says but we do find the worse of the worse refs.
he got booed at the end and if you could see the smile on his face you would think he won the lotto.

10mins of scrums early second half was a joke. if it was the other way around it would of been a penalty try to them. our scrum distroyed them. bj botha is on more than half our squad.

mod got his yellow which was fair, but how mafi didnt get at least a yellow is beyond everyone that was there.

there 15 took out frank murph of the ball, which also should of been a yellow. game was there for the taking.

rodney's first game time since injury was a worry. bye bye gentle giant.

nikora was 10/10. gets his chance and takes it.

Connacht might rue not getting points just before half-time.
Set pieces are going very well. Mul, Swifty and Macca are awesome in broken play.
Frank is getting the ball away quickly and Nikora is running the game pretty well. Gav is really solid again.
Need to stop them scoring early in the second half and the game is there for us.
Atmosphere sounds awesome, a win here could really ensure we keep the the season ticket sales high for next year.

Not the worst, should have put away another opportunity by the sound of things on the radio and the updates im reading. Connacht seem to be playing some good rugby. Need a big second half now and take care of the lead

Its tough Task but its great that with the very poor league run we have had and with the Heineken Cup over for this year,we are still looking at a record breaking attendance for a inter provincial match.. Good to see the support still there!!

Ill be there tonight cheering you on... missed the two scottish game through work commitments but I am back!

I live in hope, our record against munster along with our losing streak this season, says Munster should have a field day. Weighing up the sides, and playing at home, I can see us challenge, we haven't been getting thrashed on the scoreboards much this season so we are always in with a fighting chance (well, its all good in theory anyways). Big challenge to keep their backrow quiet

Being honest having seen the 2 teams don't see much hope for us in this one, its a pretty patched together looking Connacht squad. Worried about us in a lot of positions. I can only assume Vainikolo picked a late knock as he was given in the Advertiser as starting which is usually 100%. Tonetti at 14 would be the least of my concerns though.

With Du Preez and Botha starting its a big ask for our props especially with the lack of backup on the bench. Munster pack as a whole is strong, can't see us getting any change in the backrow. O'Callagahn looks a good prospect, Wallace and Coughlan. O'Leary as scrum half is the one area we might get joy if we target him.

In one way happy to see a strong Munster side, usually inspires a bigget effort from our players than if a weakers side.

Looking at the teams this could be a close one. Fets, whether injured or not, would be targeted by this Munster side after his poor display down in Thomand, which also brings the reverse in that he would have a greater point to prove if uninjured (not speculating that he is injured). I will never forget the last time we beat Munster in the Sportsground, and with a bit of hope after seeing the sides I will put my money where my mouth is, 5/1 for Connacht to win by a margin of 1-5, although would be happier if they won by more.

He wasn't mentioned in the injury list, though

I wouldn't be speculating too much on Fets being dropped, I would say he is more likely injured than anything else.

I guess we knew it was coming, but still don't like Muldoon at 8. Playing him out of position is basically tying an arm behind his back. Think there were other options available and management think they are playing it smart/safe/conservative because of the opponent.

I'm fine with Tonetti on the wing, but feel Vainikolo has just as much to offer there. Besides dealing with the change in environment I think he has suffered from not having enough players around him that play with the same mind set. There's often enough young guys inside him taking some wrong options. Judging him after another season might be better, but it makes a certain amount of sense to try Tonetti there.

I hope OldSchool is right and Munster are content to play 10 man rugby, if Connacht's defense isn't on their toes I could see the Munster backline scoring a good 2-3 tries. I guess I'll be happy enough if Connacht don't concede a try from a breakaway from a maul.

Should be a tight one, hope TOL continues his form from the England game. Would like Connacht's odds then.

edit

I have seen very little evidence that vianikolo is good enough to hold an niq slot for us, plenty of Irish backs good enough to take that slot and leave the niq spots for problem positions.

Good call for Tonnetti to start, he will have an impact on the game.

Reynecke has done very well from the bench, deserves a start.

Be interesting to see if Finley bealham gets a few minutes.

It’s a good defensive back line that he has selected
As with all the games in the past there is not going to be too much open rugby
Simple crash ball with plenty of body’s to compete at the breakdown

Interesting Tonetti at 14. He played there as a replacement in the Glaws match if I remember correctly and we looked lively.

Sorry for Fets, but if you score once in a season you can't expect to keep your place. I have to say I like the look of out back line.

Glad to see Keatley has been picked, hope the Clan stand gives him a warm welcome back.

Eight Changes From Last Time
23 March 2012, 10:28 amBy The Editor
Munster make eight changes to their starting line-up for the trip to Galway tomorrow and the RaboDirect PRO12 clash with Connacht (7.45pm).
Five of those changes come in the pack where there's a return to action for Damien Varley and James Coughlan, neither of whom played against Aironi while in the backline London Irish bound Tomas O'Leary partners Ian Keatley at half back and Johne Murphy is paired with Perpignan destined Lifeimi Mafi in the centre.
Birmingham born second year Academy player, Luke O'Dea, who was added to the Heineken Cup squad yesterday, is listed among the replacements. The Shannon wing marked his debut at senior level with a try against Edinburgh in November and followed up with tries against Ulster and Newport Gwent Dragons. He'll take up a Development contract next season.

Mafi's move to Perpignan was officially confirmed on Wednesday and coach Tony McGahan was fulsome in his praise of the 29 year old Tongan. "He has been an outstanding contributor to the Munster set up. A thorough professional on and off the field and an extremely populer squad member with both players and management." he said.

" He has played an integral part in the success Munster have enjoyed in League and Heineken Cup since joining in 2006 and I believe that when it comes to discuss the greats who have worn the Munster jersey, Lifeimi will be right up there among them."

Besides the consistency he brought to his play, Mafi was also one of Munster most regular performers, averaging 23 games a season. Tomorrow he plays his 21st game of 2011/2012, 20 of those in the starting XV.

Munster:
F Jones;
D Hurley,
J Murphy,
L Mafi,
S Zebo;
I Keatley,
T O'Leary;
W du Preez,
D Varley,
BJ Botha;
I Nagle,
M O'Driscoll capt;
Dave O'Callaghan,
D Wallace,
J Coughlan.
Replacements:
M Sherry, M Horan, S Archer, B Holland, T O'Donnell, D Williams, S Deasy, L O'Dea.