Preview | Munster v Cheetahs

Round one of the Guinness PRO14 kicks off this weekend with Munster facing Cheetahs in Thomond Park on Saturday (5.15pm).

Buy tickets online here, from the Munster Rugby Ticket Offices in Irish Independent Park and Thomond Park, or by calling 061 421103.

With the conferences unchanged for the season Munster will again face their Conference A opponents home and away this year.

This is the second trip to Thomond Park for the South African visitors after a very competitive debut season that saw them go on to reach the semi-final qualifiers against Scarlets.

Although the province won this tie on a convincing scoreline last year, the Free Staters will no doubt draw inspiration from their performance against the men in red in Bloemfontein in April which saw a hard-fought battle end in a 17-19 defeat.

The new season sees the introduction of Franco Smith as director of rugby and head coach. Having worked as assistant coach with the Springboks since 2016 – simultaneously acting as director of rugby for the Cheetahs – he has now committed fully to the Bloemfontein-based club.

While managing Currie Cup and Guinness PRO14 commitments during these early rounds, a touring squad of 26 set off for Ireland on Wednesday with first rounds fixtures against Munster and Ospreys.

Full match-day and ticket information can be found here.