URC Round 12 - teams an predictions
FRIDAY FRENZY: Munster faces another tough Scottish hurdle when they host Edinburgh in Limerick on Friday.
And the good news for Munster fans is that, like the other Irish provinces, they will benefit from having a clutch of international players back in tow thanks to Ireland coach Andy Farrell's decision to release 14 players from his Six Nations squad to play for their teams in the United Rugby Championship.
Craig Casey, Gavin Coombes and Dave Kilcoyne will be the trio of players that bolster the Munster team that was beaten by an agonising two points by Glasgow Warriors on the Astroturf surface at The Scotstoun last weekend.
There's a bit of an over-exaggeration of Munster's plight among media pundits, which is perhaps a consequence of the announcement in December that this is coach Johan van Graan's last season with the red-clad team - before he heads to take up a new challenge at English club Bath.
Former Munster and Ireland legend Keith Wood led the charge made by critics before Christmas that because of the announcement, there was a lack of commitment.
Although they lost this past weekend, there has been little evidence in the past two months of that lack of commitment, and Munster took quite a rich vein of form into their battle with the Warriors.
Nonetheless, it should be clear to Van Graan by now that the longer his team remains off the pace in the race for top spot on the overall log, and continue to occupy their current position outside of the top four, the pressure will increase.
Even their log position is a bit distorted though, for even though Munster are only fifth, they are still just six points behind leaders Ulster - and they have a game in hand.
The knowledge they will be travelling to the Highveld soon should put more pressure on Munster to win against Edinburgh as they could do with a bit of a buffer in order to ease some pressure.
Friday's teams and predictions!
Friday, February 18
Cardiff v Zebre - postponed
The Cardiff versus Zebre has been postponed due to a red weather warning and the forecast of dangerously high winds.
The game was originally set to be played on Friday, but a decision to reschedule this game has been made in the health and safety interests of all staff and team personnel involved.
Additionally, due to the red weather warning affecting much of the south-east regions in the UK, Zebre's air travel could not be guaranteed while logistical and facilities challenges do not allow for the game to play on either Saturday or Sunday.
The decision has been made in consultation with both teams.
Munster v Edinburgh
(Thomond Park, Limerick - Kick-off: 19.35; 19.35 GMT)
Munster saw their four-game winning run in all competitions end with a 13-11 defeat against Glasgow last Friday.
But they now return to Thomond Park, where they have won their last seven matches since Connacht defeated them during last season's Rainbow Cup.
Edinburgh, though, is no strangers to winning in Limerick and they were the last Scottish side to achieve that feat with a 14-13 success just over seven years ago.
But their only victory over an Irish province in two years was by a solitary point against Connacht in March last year.
Prediction
@rugby365com: Munster by 12 points
Teams
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Dan Goggin, 11 Simon Zebo 10 Ben Healy, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Gavin Coombes, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Jack O’Donoghue, 5 Fineen Wycherley, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Niall Scannell, 17 Jeremy Loughman, 18 John Ryan, 19 Alex Kendellen, 20 John Hodnett, 21 Neil Cronin, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Shane Daly.
Edinburgh: 15 Henry Immelman, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Mark Bennett (captain), 12 James Lang, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Ben Muncaster, 7 Connor Boyle, 6 Nick Haining, 5 Glen Young, 4 Marshall Sykes, 3 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 2 Adam McBurney, 1 Boan Venter.
Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Sam Grahamslaw, 18 Jake Armstrong, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Mesulame Kunavula, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Charlie Savala, 23 Chris Dean.
Referee: Ben Whitehouse
Assistant referees: Chris Busby, Oisin Quinn
TMO: Brian MacNeice
Source: @URCOfficial