Hayes will win his 217th Munster cap when he starts this one alongside the other Munster front rower, Marcus Horan, who has also reached the 200th cap mark and in front of the next two - Donncha O'Callaghan and skipper Mick O'Driscoll who are in line to join the elite 200 club.

The experience up front is contrasted by a youthful backline where Sean Scanlon makes his senior debut at full back while Luke O'Dea who scored on his debut against Edinburgh last month is named on the wing.

Munster: Sean Scanlon; Luke O'Dea, Keith Earls, Danny Barnes, Simon Zebo; Ian Keatley, Tomas O'Leary; Marcus Horan, Denis Fogarty, John Hayes; Donncha O'Callaghan, Mick O'Driscoll capt; Billy Holland, Niall Ronan, Paddy Butler. Replacements: Sean Henry, Dave Kilcoyne, BJ Botha, Ian Nagle, James Coughlan, Duncan Williams, Scott Deasy, Tom Gleeson.