By Brendan Cole
Glasgow v Munster, Pro12, Scotstoun Stadium, Saturday, kick-off 1440
Munster emerged with plenty of credit and a bonus point from their trip to Clermont in the European Champions Cup but could struggle to take much more from this clash.
After a meek performance at home a week earlier, Anthony Foley’s men put it up to the French side in the opening part of last week’s match and then showed determination to hang on to their coat tails during the inevitable power surges later in the game.
Some might argue that a few calls went Munster’s way, but they got their just reward when Duncan Casey’s intercept and Ian Keatley’s penalty earned them a bonus point. It almost felt like a win and should boost morale ahead of this trip.
Similar to Munster, Glasgow were beaten twice in their European double-header. In their case, Toulouse inflicted the damage.
Glasgow had their chance both at home and away, but struggled with place-kicking and gameplan over the two matches in what was a generally bad weekend for Pro12 rugby.
That the league has slipped back in the European context – in truth an effect that has been underway for two or three years – is a worry, but one that has to be parked for this weekend.
This meeting sees Glasgow name a strong side with their best open-field runners starting, though notably Stuart Hogg is absent. Even so, playing at Scotstoun their instinct is likely to be to seek their trademark high-tempo, loose rugby early on.
The exciting Leone Nakarawa will test Munster’s open-field tackling just as Clermont’s power-runners did in France, while the likes of Richie Vernon, Niko Matawalu and Sean Lamont are also a handful when given license to try things.
It was a tough two weeks for Glasgow and a return to form from the highly-rated Finn Russell is just one of the things Gregor Townsend and his coaching team will be hoping to see on Saturday afternoon.
On the Munster side, BJ Botha and Dave Foley are among the tight-five frontliners given the afternoon off, but no pack with Paul O’Connell and Peter O’Mahony in it can be underestimated.
Dave Kilcoyne is out for six to eight weeks with a knee problem and looks set to miss the start of Six Nations.
Having favoured ball-carriers in Europe, Sean Dougall gives Anthony Foley’s men something a little different from openside wing-forward.
In the backline, JJ Hanrahan gets an opportunity to impress from the number ten position alongside Conor Murray. The Kerry native is approaching his 50th Munster cap and with Ian Keatley generally showing improvement from last season, opportunities to stake a claim for that particular jersey may be starting to run out.
But Hanrahan showed in Clermont that he has plenty to offer on the big stage and has a quickness and mobility. The 22-year-old also has an accurate kicking game out of hand and if he can tie it all together with good composure and decision making it may just re-open the debate.
Overall, though, Munster face an uphill task and while the momentum behind the Glasgow project has stalled a touch over the last few months, an edge in the tight-five and their all-action running game could just be enough to see Munster edged out.
Prediction: Glasgow 23-17 Munster
Glasgow Warriors: 15. Peter Murchie, 14. Sean Lamont, 13. Richie Vernon, 12. Peter Horne, 11. DTH van der Merwe, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Niko Matawalu, 1. Gordon Reid, 2. Fraser Brown, 3. Euan Murray, 4. Leone Nakarawa, 5. Jonny Gray, 6. Rob Harley, 7. Tyrone Holmes, 8. Josh Strauss (captain).
Replacements: 16. Dougie Hall, 17. Alex Allan, 18. Jon Welsh, 19. Tim Swinson, 20. Ryan Wilson, 21. Henry Pyrgos, 22. James Downey, 23. Tommy Seymour.
Munster: 15. Johne Murphy; 14. Andrew Conway, 13. Pat Howard, 12. Denis Hurley, 11. Simon Zebo; 10. JJ Hanrahan, 9. Conor Murray; 1. John Ryan, 2. Kevin O'Byrne, 3. Stephen Archer; 4. Billy Holland, 5. Paul O'Connell; 6. Peter O'Mahony (captain), 7. Sean Dougall, 8. Robin Copeland.
Replacements: 16. Niall Scannell, 17. Eusebio Guinazu, 18. BJ Botha, 19. Donncha O'Callaghan, 20. Dave O'Callaghan, 21. Duncan Williams, 22. Ian Keatley, 23. Felix Jones.
