Both John Hayes and Alan Quinlan are set to make their seasonal bows tomorrow evening when Munster welcome the Cardiff Blues to Musgrave Park. Hayes has been named in the starting XV while Quinlan is among the replacements for the sell-out in Cork.
Quinlan has overcome the groin strain that curtailed his involvement in Ireland's summer tour of Australia and New Zealand and is in line to make his first run out of the new campaign.
Hayes had been due to face Edinburgh at the start of the month but was laid low with a viral complaint on the eve of that match. Jeremy Manning could also feature having been handed a place on the bench.
Elsewhere, Denis Hurley returns to full-back as coach Tony Gahan rests scoring sensation Keith Earls while Rua Tipoki comes in for Barry Murphy at outside centre.
Ronan O'Gara and Peter Stringer return at half-back while there are no fewer than six changes in the pack with Paul O'Connell and Jerry Flannery among those back in the front line.
Munster: D Hurley; D Howlett, L Mafi, R Tipoki, I Dowling; R O'Gara, P Stringer; T Buckley, J Flannery, J Hayes; P O'Connell capt, M O'Driscoll; D Ryan, N Ronan, J Melck. Replacements: D Fogarty, F Pucciariello, J O'Sullivan, A Quinlan, M Prendergast, J Manning, B Murphy.
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