Provincial rugby’s fiercest rivalry renews at 12.30 pm Eastern Time as Munster travel up the N7 to tackle Leinster at the Aviva Stadium. 

Both sides are heavily rotated from their quarterfinal victories, yet this will not take any sting out of the clash, given the downright disdain the two sides harbour for one another. 

Leinster Rugby, Munster Team News 

Munster head coach Graham Rowntree has been forced into making four personnel changes to his side who defeated the Glasgow Warriors last weekend. 

Experienced scrumhalf Conor Murray is joined by Calvin Nash, RG Snyman and Malakai Fekitoa on the injured list. 

Replacing Murray is fellow Irish international Craig Casey who will be tasked with containing the Leinster duo of Luke McGrath and Jamison Gibson Park. 

Snyman’s injury means a positional switch for Tadhg Beirne, who moves from the backrow to the secondrow, with John Hodnett starting on the flank. 

A major boost for Munster, however, is the fitness of captain Peter O’Mahony and hooker Diarmuid Barron both of whom left the quarterfinal with injuries but now return. 

In the backline, Nash is replaced by veteran Keith Earls on the wing, who makes his first Munster appearance since their draw with the Sharks three weeks ago. 

Finally, Fekitoa’s injury sees Jack Crowley shift from flyhalf to centre, with Scottish international Ben Healy promoted from the bench to the starting flyhalf role. 

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has opted to rest several front-line players for next week’s Heineken Champions Cup final meeting with La Rochelle. 

Despite this, he has named a powerful side that will be captained once again by scrumhalf Luke McGrath. The captain will be joined by Harry Byrne, who starts at flyhalf, with Ciaran Frawley providing cover from the bench. 

Returning from injury, star centre Robbie Henshaw starts inside former All Black Charlie Ngatai in what will be a powerful and dynamic centre partnership. 

In the back three, Jimmy O’Brien gets the nod at fullback, with Tommy O’Brien and Dave Kearney starting on the wings. 

For the pack, Cullen starts the returning Ronan Kelleher at hooker alongside Micahel Ala’alatoa and Michael Milne. 

Behind them, Jason Jenkins will face his old team as he starts in the second row alongside Ryan Baird. 

Completing the pack is a well-balanced all, international backrow combination of Max Deegan, Will Connors and Jack Conan.

🏉 @LeinsterRugby 🆚 @MunsterRugby in a Semi-Final clash... What's more to say? Iconic 🔥#BKTURC #URC | #UnitedWeRise | #LEIvMUN | #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/0BNX4mAcH2

— BKT United Rugby Championship (URC) (@URCOfficial) May 12, 2023

Key Match-Up in Munster vs. Leinster Rugby 

The match-up between the key axis of the halfbacks and inside centres will make for an interesting subplot to follow on Saturday after. 

For Munster, there are three relatively inexperienced yet international operators in Casey, Healy and Crowley who will be looking to lay down a marker against their more experienced opponents. 

Leinster’s trio of McGrath, Byrne and Henshaw are not necessarily too familiar with playing together, given their respective positions in the squad. When fit, Henshaw is clearly the first choice, whilst McGrath is the second choice, and Byrne is possibly the third choice in their respective positions. 

Whilst the adage is that Leinster have the ability to rotate without skipping a beat, the Munster trio will be far more familiar with each other, having all played underage rugby together right through to the senior level. 

Should they match or better Leinster in this area, it should put a squeeze on what is otherwise a, by and large, strong-looking Leinster side. 

Ultimately, it is difficult to see where Munster can really get a foothold in this game. Outside of dragging Leinster into a scrap, the men from Limerick are somewhat outgunned. 

Whilst the heart says Munster, the head says Leinster in what will be a closer game than many outside Ireland would believe. Leinster by 6.

Line-Ups For Leinster and Munster: 

Leinster: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Harry Byrne, 9 Luke McGrath (c), 8 Jack Conan, 7 Will Connors, 6 Max Deegan, 5 Jason Jenkins, 4 Ryan Baird, 3 Michael Ala’alatoa, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Michael Milne 

Replacements: 16 John McKee, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Joe McCarthy, 20 Josh van der Flier, 21 Nick McCarthy, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Liam Turner 

Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Antoine Frisch, 12 Jack Crowley, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Jeremy Loughman 

Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Roman Salanoa, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Jack O’Donoghue, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Alex Kendellen