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Ulster welcome back Irish World Cup trio for Munster clash
By Josh Raisey
Ulster will be boosted on Friday by the return of some of their World Cup players for their clash against United Rugby Championship winners Munster at the Kingspan Stadium.
Centre Stuart McCloskey, lock Iain Henderson and hooker Rob Herring, three of Ireland's four Ulster players at the World Cup, are set to feature in the all-Ireland affair. The fourth member of Ulster's World Cup quartet, Tom O'Toole, has already featured this season, but will not face Munster.
McCloskey is straight back into the starting XV, while Herring and Henderson will start on the bench. This will be Henderson's first game since starting in Ireland's narrow World Cup loss in the quarter-finals against the All Blacks.
Meanwhile, Munster have already started to blood their Irish contingent back into their team, although they have held back some of Ireland's frontline players. Despite having played already this season, this will be a first start together for the halfback pairing of Craig Casey and Jack Crowley- seldom used by Andy Farrell in France.
Munster will arrive in Belfast in second place in the URC table, while Ulster sit in eighth.
Ulster XV: Ethan McIlroy, Rob Baloucoune, Stewart Moore, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale, Billy Burns, Nathan Doak; Eric O’Sullivan, Tom Stewart (C), Greg McGrath, Cormac Izuchukwu, Kieran Treadwell, David McCann, Marcus Rea, Nick Timoney
Replacements: Rob Herring, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Iain Henderson, Dave Ewers, John Cooney, Jake Flannery, Jude Postlethwaite
Munster XV: Shane Daly; Calvin Nash, Antoine Frisch, Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron (C), John Ryan; Edwin Edogbo, Fineen Wycherley; Alex Kendellen, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes
Replacements: Scott Buckley, Josh Wycherley, Stephen Archer, Tom Ahern, Brian Gleeson, Paddy Patterson, Rory Scannell, Ben O’Connor
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Latest Comments
Agreed. As a Saffa I have much respect for the ABs. I also have to say given any option I would ONLY prefer to lose to ABs. To lose to England is probably the most embarrassing think to happen to either of us.
There was a time when both of us lost to England and we both hated it. Thankfully those days are behind us. Kudos to you guys, kudos to ABs. But dear old BS seems to hate us Boks. No idea why.
Go to commentsI got the sense that holding him to it was kickback from SB and the rfu smarting at being jilted quite so soon, so unexpectedly and so publicly.
Seem to remember that they spoke to Gustard before appointing Joe and you really have to think he would have come in at a higher level?
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