Preview: Munster v Northampton
January 21 2010
Munster have adopted a 'throw away the calculator' approach as they know victory over Northampton will seal their Heineken Cup progression.
The Irish giants currently sit atop of Pool One on 20 points with Saints lying second on 18 going into the final round of group fixtures.
Yet the province are not looking to play it safe on Friday as they look to book a home quarter-final in the competition they love so much.
Team selection from Tony McGahan has seen Jean de Villiers preferred over Lifiemi Mafi at centre as the Bok lines up alongside Keith Earls.
Elsewhere and Niall Ronan is at seven while David Wallace continues to fill in for injured number eight Denis Leamy.
Meanwhile, the Saints head to Munster on Friday knowing that a win will automatically qualify them for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
Although the Irish province has a formidable record on their home turf, Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder says that his team is prepared to meet the challenge head on.
Phil Dowson moves to openside for Neil Best, with Courtney Lawes brought back in at blindside. Euan Murray plays at tighthead, displacing Brian Mujati.
"We had a massive game against Munster in October but we will need to play much better tomorrow night," Mallinder said.
"Many of their players are familiar faces from their exploits for Munster, Ireland and the Lions. But when the whistle blows it is just 15 men against 15, and if we play to our potential and stick to our game plan there is no reason why we can't win.
"The atmosphere in the squad has been very positive all week and there is plenty of belief that we can come home with the points."
The teams:
Munster: 15 Paul Warwick, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Denis Hurley, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 David Wallace, 7 Niall Ronan, 6 Alan Quinlan, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Denis Fogarty, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Tony Buckley, 19 Donncha Ryan, 20 James Coughlan, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Lifiemi Mafi, 23 Ian Dowling.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Jon Clarke, 12 James Downey, 11 Bruce Reihana, 10 Shane Geraghty, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Brett Sharman, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Christian Day, 20 Neil Best, 21 Alan Dickens, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Chris Mayor.
Date: Friday, January 22
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 20.00 GMT
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Eric Soulan (France), Bernard Dal Maso (France)
Television match official: Jean-Christophe Gastou.