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Stander back for Munster's Champions Cup semi, O'Brien misses out for Leinster
By Tom Webber
Munster have received a boost ahead of their European Champions Cup semi-final against Saracens with the return of CJ Stander, but Sean O'Brien will miss Leinster's clash versus Clermont Auvergne.
Stander sustained an ankle injury in his side's quarter-final victory over Toulouse and missed subsequent Pro12 triumphs against Glasgow Warriors and Ulster.
However, the Ireland international - named in Warren Gatland's 41-man British and Irish Lions squad on Wednesday - is in the starting XV to face Saracens at Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
The match comes too soon for fellow Lions pick Conor Murray, however. The scrum-half has been absent with a shoulder issue since March and Gatland suggested Murray could lose his place on the tour to New Zealand if he does not return before the end of the season.
Munster's semi final team named for #MUNvSAR 5 changes with @CJStander back from injury #RedWave https://t.co/G4gbrIQUez pic.twitter.com/98k9rxvutk
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) April 21, 2017
Saracens' starting XV features all six of their Lions representatives: Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George and George Kruis.
Leinster have suffered a blow ahead of their semi-final against Clermont, with O'Brien ruled out due to hamstring tightness. The Lions back-rower will be reassessed before next Friday's Pro12 clash with Glasgow Warriors.
David Strettle replaces Noa Nakaitaci (ruptured anterior cruciate ligament) in the only change to Clermont's quarter-final line-up, after Davit Zirakashvili, Benjamin Kayser and Sebastien Vahaamahina were all passed fit.
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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