Munster Set For Irish Independent Park Debut

We give you the pre-match stats and get the thoughts of scrum-half Duncan Williams as Munster get set to host Cardiff Blues in the province’s first game at the newly redeveloped Irish Independent Park on Valentine’s Night – KO 7:35pm.

The game sees Munster return to Guinness PRO12 action for the first time in five weeks. In Round 14, Cardiff will look to redress the defeat to Anthony Foley’s charges in November and, if history is anything to go by, the Welshmen will travel to Cork with some justifiable confidence.

Despite Munster taking the spoils last time out, it took a last ditch effort – including incredible footwork from Gerhard van den Heever and multiple phases through the pack – for Paddy Butler to touch down and steal victory in the dying minutes of the game.

Knowing they had the beating of the province that night, Cardiff travel in the knowledge that they have won three of their last five encounters on Leeside, the last of which saw them comprehensively defeat Munster on a 6-17 scoreline in January 2013. Then Blues player Robin Copeland capped an impressive performance on the night by touching down for the Welsh outfit.

Also, Cardiff’s last three matches in the PRO12 have all strangely been won by the away side on the day with the Welshmen winning their most recent away trip in the competition 11-9 against the Dragons at Rodney Parade.

Speaking after training today, scrum-half Duncan Williams looked ahead to Saturday’s return to league action.

“It’s our first game here since the redevelopment works finished so we’ll want to give the crowd something to cheer about. It’ll be important to start off this block of games on a good note and get the crowd behind us. A good performance would also set us up for the games ahead.

“Cardiff are a very dangerous side, especially on the counter attack. Last time we played them our kick-chase wasn’t particularly good and that opened up a lot of holes for them. Between their counter attack and their good continuity they almost ripped us up. This weekend we’ll need a better chase and must try to get the ball back after two or three phases and stop their offloads.

“They are an entertaining side when they get up and running."

Munster v Cardiff Blues, Guinness PRO12 Round 14, Saturday February 14^th at Irish Independent Park – KO: 7:35pm.

Tickets from just €;15 can be purchased online by clicking here, while the Ireland v France 6 Nations game will be televised on the big screen before kick-off so you won’t miss a second of the action – both international and provincial!