#85: Leinster (H) vs Munster - BKT United Rugby Championship Preview

Show notes

Episode 85, and the interpro is back at the Aviva — Leinster host Munster on Saturday evening in a one-off BKT United Rugby Championship Round 4 return to Lansdowne Road, with Leo Cullen naming Dan Sheehan at number eight, Joey Carbery at out-half for his first Leinster start since 2018, and Jamison Gibson-Park back from groin trouble. Sam Prendergast is out injured; Munster bring seven changes from their Racing 92 Champions Cup win, with Sean O'Brien at 13 for his 50th cap. Leinster arrive off a 48-23 win in Clermont; Munster beat Racing 33-25. Last season's league meeting went Munster's way 31-14 at Croke Park. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:

📰 News Items; Ireland's November squad with 17 Leinster players and Sheehan as captain, the Jonathan Roche link Dobson called preposterous, Saracens versus The Times, France picking ineligible Jeremy Ward, and Northampton's security scare.

🏉 BKT United Rugby Championship Round 4 predictions; Friday's Cardiff-Sharks, Connacht-Zebre and Edinburgh-Lions openers through Saturday's South African double-header, Treviso, the Aviva interpro, and Ospreys-Dragons.

📋 Details of our game; 6pm kick-off at the Aviva, wet and windy Dublin evening, Andrew Brace in the middle, Premier Sports 1 and RTÉ Radio 1 coverage, one-off home while the Laya Arena is the usual URC base, and form lines after Clermont and Thomond.

👕 Team lineups; Pitch-style sheets — Sheehan at 8, Carbery and Gibson-Park in the halves, Osborne at 13, and Munster's seven changes with Daly back and Gordon Wood on the bench.

🎯 Score and MOTM prediction; Interpro margins, Conan and Prendergast absent, and why I'm backing Gibson-Park to boss the derby