The battle to finish in the pivotal top eight spots of the United Rugby Championship (URC) table continues on Friday as Cardiff face Munster at the Arms Park.
With the sides split by just one point (Cardiff 41, Munster 40), a win for either of them would not only boost their own play-off aspirations but also put some breathing space between them heading into the final few rounds of the season.
And, as a result, both coaches have gone as full strength as they can.
Strong sides
Matt Sherratt has made three changes to his Cardiff side that beat Ospreys last weekend, with Danny Southworth, Josh McNally and Thomas Young all coming into the starting XV.
Cam Winnett is named at full-back, with Josh Adams and potential Wales bolter Gabe Hamer-Webb completing the back-three. Harri Millard and Ben Thomas once again partner in midfield, with Callum Sheedy and Johan Mulder in the halves.
British and Irish Lions hopeful Taulupe Faletau starts at number eight once more, with the aforementioned Young joining James Botham on the flanks.
Teddy Williams partners the returning McNally in the locks, with the former Bath man back from RAF duty. Keiron Assiratti and skipper Liam Belcher join the aforementioned Southworth in the front-row.
Sherratt has adopted a 6:2 split on the bench for this one, with the likes of Evan Lloyd, Corey Domachowski and Ben Donnell named as replacements.
For Munster, Ian Costello has made a whopping seven changes from the side that lost to the Bulls last weekend, with Ireland internationals Calvin Nash, Craig Casey and Gavin Coombes the headline returnees.
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Mike Haley comes back into the team at 15, joining Nash and Springbok hopeful Thaakir Abrahams in the back-three. Tom Farrell once again starts alongside Alex Nankivell in midfield, with Jack Crowley partnering Casey in the halves.
Up front, Coombes comes straight into the back-row alongside Alex Kendellen and Jack O’Donoghue. Lions hopeful Tadhg Beirne once again leads the side into battle from lock, joined by Fineen Wycherley. John Ryan and debutant Michael Milne both come straight into the starting front-row too, with Niall Scannell at hooker.
On the bench, academy forwards Ronan Foxe and Ruadhan Quinn are in line for their professional debuts.
The teams
Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Gabe Hamer-Webb, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Thomas Young, 6 James Botham, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Ben Donnell, 22 Aled Davies, 23 Tinus de Beer
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Tom Farrell, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Alex Kendellen, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Fineen Wycherley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Michael Milne
Replacements: 16 Diarmuid Barron, 17 Mark Donnelly, 18 Ronan Foxe, 19 Jean Kleyn, 20 Ruadhan Quinn, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Tony Butler, 23 Sean O’Brien
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park
Kick-off: 19:35 BST (18:35 GMT)
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
Assistant Referees: Mike English (WRU), Aaron Parry (WRU)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (FIR)
READ MORE: ‘I’m just focusing on the Lions’ – Coach addresses Connacht top job links
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/cardiff-v-munster-teams-ireland-stars-among-seven-changes-for-visitors-in-potential-play-off-decider
