Munster In Musgrave On Saturday Night

Munster host Zebre at Musgrave Park for the first time on Saturday night in the RaboDirect PRO12 at 6:45pm.

Munster have led the PRO12 table for the majority of the season, thanks in no small part to their 100% home record, and will be looking to extend the three-point lead they hold over second-placed Leinster.

It could be a landmark occasion for Donncha O’Callaghan as he looks set to eclipse Ronan O’Gara’s record of 240 caps for Munster.

Zebre lie second-bottom of the table after 13 games and face Irish opposition for the second successive week after losing 31-8 to Leinster at Stadio XXV Aprile last Sunday.

The northern-Italy based side are on 14 points after two wins and a draw in their opening 13 fixtures. When the sides met in Italy back in September, Munster trailed by nine points at the break before coming away with a 43-21 victory thanks to two tries from CJ Stander and further efforts from Paddy Butler and substitute Ian Keatley.

Tommy O’Donnell and Felix Jones both returned from international duty to train with the Munster squad and could feature on Saturday.

“It’s nice to have them back in the mix for selection this week,” said Head Coach Rob Penney, who will name his squad for the clash tomorrow.

“It’s always good to get the boys back from the national camp, they’re desperate for a bit of footie if they haven’t had it and they also want to reiterate their selection choice. They want to put a stamp on the game and say ‘yeah, Joe you made the right call when you picked me’ and also they want to bring something back to Munster.

"They want to bring something they may have learned or that bit of international intensity and let the others feed off their intensity and their desire,” the New Zealander added.

Munster go into the game on the back of their biggest win of the season so far after a 54-13 victory over Cardiff Blues at Thomond Park last Saturday.

Scrum-half Cathal Sheridan, who returned from injury as a substitute in that game, has said that the squad haven’t dwelled on that bonus-point win.

“We’re pretty happy at the moment but we always look ahead to the next game. You have a quick review of your last game but you always keep looking ahead. We’ve got Zebre this weekend and we have to keep up that 100% home record that we have this season and that’s the goal at the moment.”

Munster face Zebre at Musgrave Park on Saturday at 6:45pm with tickets available here.