WITH eight victories already on the trot, it looks as if Munster will conclude their league run with another win over Ulster this Saturday evening at Thomond Park (5.15pm).
Heading the table in this URC competition, the holders are in the happy position that a win of any kind will be enough to see them retain the top spot and with it a home quarter final the following weekend.
Graham Rowntree’s charges have been in flying form and there is little doubt that they will not slip up in this one.
Going to press, there are no reports of further injuries in the home squad, which gives the Munster boss an opportunity to finish off a terrific run-in to this competition in style.
Looking further ahead and banking on the current top eight making the cut, the quarter-finals would read: Munster v Benetton, Bulls v Edinburgh, Leinster v Ulster, and Glasgow Warriors v Stormers.
This weekend is one of two derby games, with Leinster hosting Connacht on Friday night, and Welsh and South African opponents also facing off.
Leinster will be particularly eager to get back to winning ways following the disappointment of their Champions Cup loss to Toulouse.
That defeat hurt, and post-match interviews proved difficult.
Co-captain James Ryan was looking ahead, saying: “We want to win trophies, we want to bounce back, we have another competition to go after, and we will try to do well in that.”
The past few days have seen a number of news releases from Munster Rugby with Simon Zebo announcing his retirement and Antoine Frisch transferring to Toulon. The 28-year-old has scored nine tries in 39 Munster appearances to date, and he will be a big loss to the province.
It is good to note that three key Munster players, namely Calvin Nash, Stephen Archer, and Dave Kilcoyne, have extended their contracts.
