Fifth hosts third in what should be a mouth-watering encounter at Limerick’s Thomond Park.
It's a welcome return to home soil for Munster after four successive away games in the league and Champions Cup.
There are four changes to the side that lost to Bordeaux-Begles last week as Seán O’Brien, Niall Scannell, Tom Ahern and Alex Kendellen all come into the side. On loan Leinster hooker Lee Barron is included among the replacements and in line for his Munster debut
The Bulls’ Challenge Cup campaign ended last weekend with a 34-28 quarter-final defeat to Edinburgh.
Their URC four-game finish includes two tough tour matches against Munster and Glasgow followed by home games against Cardiff and Dragons.
There are five changes from last week for the game in Limerick, Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Cobus Wiese coming into the pack and Embrose Papier, Johan Goosen and Canan Moodie into the backline.
Where and when is it? Thomond Park, Limerick, Saturday
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy, 51st league game)
What time is kick-off? 5.15pm
What TV channel is it on? RTÉ, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Flo Rugby & URC.tv
Quotes corner
Munster boss Ian Costello: “We’ve been on the road a lot, so it’s really nice to be at home. Three of our last four games are at home which is really important to us.”
"The Bulls’ physicality is huge. They are big powerful men. How we deal with their power game will be a key factor to winning.
“They have got a very strong and varied kicking game, as well. So they pose a lot of threats and we will have to be very, very close to our best to get a result.”
Bulls coach Jake White: “Tactically we will need to be smart. You need to match them with the things they do well and find a way to be tactically aware of the things they don’t like because if they get the things they like from the opposition, they are very good at it.
“Both of us have lost in the quarter-finals of our European cup campaigns, we will both want a rebound performance. That’s something I’m looking to get from the group tomorrow – a rebound based on the fact that we didn’t play our best last week.
“It’s the best side we can put onto the field, we’ve had to give players like Ruan Nortje, Embrose Papier and Johan Goosen game time [off the bench] to find their feet [after returning from injury] and they’re now ready to start. Ideally we would have liked to have done that with Cobus Wiese too, but he’s coming straight in.
Betting odds
Munster 2/5
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Draw: 3/1
Bulls: 11/5
Teams
Munster: Thaakir Abrahams, Seán O’Brien, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Andrew Smith, Jack Crowley, Craig Casey, Josh Wycherley, Niall Scannell, Oli Jager, Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (Capt), Tom Ahern, Peter O’Mahony, Alex Kendellen
Replacements: Lee Barron, Mark Donnelly, Stephen Archer, Fineen Wycherley, Jack O’Donoghue, Conor Murray, Diarmuid Kilgallen, Ruadhán Quinn
Vodacom Bulls: Devon Williams, Sebastian de Klerk, David Kriel, Harold Vorster, Canan Moodie, Johan Goosen, Embrose Papier, Jan-hendrik Wessels, Akker van der Merwe, Wilco Louw, Cobus Wiese, Ruan Nortje (capt), Marcell Coetzee, Jannes Kirsten, Cameron Hanekom
Replacements: Johann Grobbelaar, Simphiwe Matanzima, Mornay Smith, JF van Heerden, Nizaam Carr, Zak Burger, Keagan Johannes, Stravino Jacobs
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