Former St Finbarr's and Cork GAA talent Ben O’Connor makes his first start for Munster on his eighth appearance for the ...

Injury-returnee Diarmuid Kilgallen, an off-season arrival from Connacht, starts his first competitve game in Munster colours.

Munster v Leinster (19:35 GMT) The teams are finishing off their warmups as Thomond Park begins to fill up. For late December, it's a relatively mild, dry night - ideal conditions for rugby.

For the third time in the space of a year, Munster have fallen to their now familiar Northampton foes. After a pair of defeats last season, including the result which knocked them out of Europe ...