The 26-man Munster squad to face Leinster in Saturday’s crunch Magners League clash includes 11 of Ireland’s RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam heroes.
Marcus Horan, Jerry Flannery, John Hayes, Paul O’Connell, Donncha O’Callaghan, Mick O’Driscoll, David Wallace, Denis Leamy, Tomás O’Leary, Peter Stringer and Ronan O’Gara have all been selected in the 26-man squad.
Alan Quinlan and Keith Earls, who were with the Irish team in Cardiff and provided injury cover throughout the Six Nations, have also been named in the squad for the Leinster game by Munster coach Tony McGahan.
Stringer, O'Driscoll, Quinlan and Earls had already returned to provincial action, lining out in the victory over the Glasgow Warriors last weekend.
But the return of key frontliners - not least captain Paul O'Connell and out-half Ronan O'Gara - means McGahan will be able to name his strongest team for some months.
With eight Grand Slam players available in the forward pack alone, former Auckland Blues back rower Nick Williams, who had racked up a number of Magners League appearances during the RBS 6 Nations, has not made the cut. Back row James Coughlan, who started against Glasgow last week, and hooker Michael Essex also miss out.
The outside backs, none of whom lined out for Ireland during the Grand Slam, are more settled. There is still no sign of Rua Tipoki, who is not yet fit after a knee injury sustained last year. However, Ian Dowling, on the road to recovery from a hamstring injury, is named.
But the challenge for McGahan is to re-integrate his Ireland stars and he will have several difficult choices to make, not least at half-back.
There, he will only be able to pick one of Ireland’s Grand Slam winning scrum-halves – either O’Leary or Stringer – to start.
At out-half, McGahan will surely opt for O’Gara, Ireland's drop goal saviour against Wales. However, with Paul Warwick showing excellent form in the Corkman's absence, McGahan may decide to incorporate the Australian-born utility back at full-back.
Munster and Leinster are currently top of the Magners League table, with Munster ahead by three points on 45 to Leinster's 42. Both will have just four games left in League after Saturday's clash, and a win for either side would represent a major step towards claiming the title currently held by Leinster.
Munster squad (v Leinster, Saturday, 4 April) M Horan, F Pucciarello, J Flannery, D Fogarty, J Hayes, T Buckley, P O'Connell, D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll, A Quinlan, N Ronan, D Ryan, D Wallace, D Leamy, T O'Leary, P Stringer, R O'Gara, P Warwick, J Manning, L Mafi, B Murphy, K Earls, K Lewis, D Howlett, I Dowling, D Hurley.
