Ulster make seven changes for Munster derby as Tadhg Beirne returns

Ulster have made seven changes for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship match against Munster in Belfast, bringing Ireland internationals Stuart McCloskey and Nick Timoney into the starting side. Munster captain Tadhg Beirne returns from injury as one of nine changes for the visitors. The selections put several returning players at the centre of the first interprovincial match of the URC season, although their participation remains subject to matchday availability.

Ulster head coach Richie Murphy has named McCloskey at inside centre alongside summer signing Jamie Benson. McCloskey is set for his 218th appearance for the province, which would put him level with former captain Rory Best in joint third on Ulster’s all-time appearance list. It is a significant personal marker in a fixture where both teams have changed much of their starting line-ups.

How Ulster’s starting side has changed

Timoney returns to Ulster’s back row with Ireland team-mate Cormac Izuchukwu and Juarno Augustus. Recent recruits Ben Donnell and Eli Snyman form a new second-row pairing. The front row stays together: Eric O’Sullivan and Keynan Knox start either side of captain Tom Stewart. Those selections give Murphy a changed pack behind a familiar front row.

Nathan Doak makes his first start of the season at scrum-half. Jack Murphy remains at fly-half after scoring a try in last week’s 33-33 draw with Glasgow. Jacob Stockdale is named on the left wing for what would be his 150th Ulster appearance, a milestone delayed when injury forced him out of the Glasgow match. Robert Baloucoune returns on the right wing after missing that game because of concussion, with Ethan McIlroy retained at full-back.

Beirne returns in Munster’s nine changes

Beirne’s return gives Munster head coach Clayton McMillan his captain back in the second row. Beirne missed the end of last season through injury before playing for Ireland over the summer. Munster arrive after a bonus-point victory over the Bulls last weekend, but McMillan has made nine changes for the trip to Ulster.

Jeremy Loughman and Kieran Brookes return at prop alongside hooker Marnus van der Merwe. Munster have an entirely changed back row of Jack O’Donoghue, Alex Kendellen and Gavin Coombes. Ben O’Connor returns at full-back, Alex Nankivell at outside centre and JJ Hanrahan at fly-half. The named side shows how widely McMillan has reshaped the team after the Bulls match.

Twenty-year-old Charlie O’Shea is among Munster’s replacements after his first appearance against the Bulls. McMillan told BBC Sport NI that O’Shea had ‘not missed a beat’ since arriving less than two months ago. Speaking earlier in the week to The Irish Times, McMillan urged patience with the young fly-half, saying the response to his performance should leave him room to develop.

What Munster’s injury update says

Munster’s win over the Bulls brought injury concerns into this week’s preparation. The Irish Times reported before the teams were named that wing Diarmuid Kilgallen had a hamstring injury, prop Michael Milne an ankle injury and second-row Fineen Wycherley a shoulder injury. All three were unavailable for the Ulster match. The report gave Kilgallen a two-to-three-week prognosis and said Milne and Wycherley might return the following week.

That earlier update also said Brian Gleeson and John Hodnett had passed head injury assessments and were available for selection. Hooker Diarmuid Barron, flanker O’Donoghue and centre Nankivell were completing return-to-play protocols at the time. O’Donoghue and Nankivell have since been named in Munster’s starting side, while Gleeson and Hodnett are among the replacements. Selection does not establish every player’s final matchday condition.

The form and recent history behind the derby

The Irish Times reported that Munster won every scrum on their own feed against the Bulls, secured 94 per cent of their lineouts and conceded five penalties. McMillan credited the work of forwards coach Jimmy Duffy, who joined from Ulster during the summer, while acknowledging that the scrum had been a problem at times last season. Those figures describe the Bulls game; Saturday’s contest will test Munster against a different pack.

McMillan has played down the idea of revenge for Munster’s 28-3 defeat on their last trip to Belfast. Munster later beat Ulster 41-14 at Thomond Park. ‘If we consume ourselves with what happened 12 months ago, then we might do ourselves a disservice,’ he told The Irish Times, saying the team’s attention had to be on its own preparation and execution.

He also described Ulster as a quality team and said Munster were ‘a long way short of where we need to be’. For now, the confirmed development is the two named teams: Ulster’s seven changes, Munster’s nine and Beirne’s selection as captain. The result, the appearance milestones and the effect of the returning players will be settled on matchday.