Munster enter this year's Investec Champions Cup as one of the four number 1 seeds in the pool stage. This weekend's home opener is crucial for the province with away trips to Sandy Park and the Stade Mayol to come, their pool poses an enormous challenge, with two of the toughest away trips in the competition.
When is Munster v Bayonne?
Munster welcome Bayonne to Thomond Park this Saturday evening, kicking off at 5:30pm.
How to watch Munster v Bayonne
The match is available on RTE in Ireland and TNT Sports in the UK with coverage starting from 5:00pm.
Munster Team News
The reigning URC champions have been finding their feet in recent weeks since the return of their frontline starters from World Cup duty. After a close win against the Stormers, 10-3, at Thomond and narrow defeat to Leinster in the Aviva Stadium, 21-16, it felt as though last weekend in Cork, it all clicked.
It was Munster's best performance of the season to date in a 40-29 victory over URC league leaders, Glasgow Warriors. The stand-out performances came from Thomas Ahern, Edwin Edogbo, Craig Casey and Alex Nankivell as well as a first appearance for new tight-head Oli Jäger.
A stunning score on Friday night from inside our own 22 with 8⃣ players involved in the move 👏pic.twitter.com/go7p5LgBGR#MUNvGLA #SUAF 🔴
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) December 3, 2023
Munster have been hit hard by injury in the last few weeks leading in to the start of the Champions Cup. Joey Carbery had shown signs of a return to form early this season before injuring his wrist, a blow that is likely to rule him out for a few months still. Munster's World Cup winners in RG Snyman and Jean Kleyn are both unavailable.
Graham Rowntree may have given the first signs of who he intends to replace Peter O'Mahony with as club captain with Tadhg Beirne 'getting the armband' for this one. Conor Murray starts at 9, while Ahern, Hodnett and Coombes start in a back row combination which was superb last week against Glasgow. Academy prospect Shay McCarthy makes his first Champions Cup appearance with a start on the wing, as does Alex Nankivell.
Oli Jäger, Edwin Edogbo, Shane Daly and last week's captain, Diarmuid Barron are all unavailable due to 'minor injuries' with Simon Zebo suffering from a more serious knee problem.
Team news is in!
Academy winger Shay McCarthy starts on his Champions Cup debut for Munster against Bayonne at Thomond Park tomorrow with Tadhg Beirne captaining the side 💪
Click the pic for full details & to get your tickets.#MUNvBAY #InvestecChampionsCup #SUAF 🔴— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) December 8, 2023
Aviron Bayonnais Team News
Currently sitting 10th in the Top 14, it's been a mixed bag for Bayonne this year. Victories over reigning Top 14 champions, Toulouse, and Stade Français have been accompanied by some heavy defeats including a 37-0 drubbing away to Castres Olympique.
𝐂𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢 𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞̀𝐫𝐞 !
Et pour vivre le premier match en Champions Cup à domicile vendredi prochain :
🌐 https://t.co/QCkssyHCFC
𝙋𝙐𝙎𝘼 𝘽𝘼𝙄𝙊𝙉𝘼 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/Tq3c99BFzj— Aviron Bayonnais (@avironrugbypro) December 8, 2023
Last season was a superb return to the top flight of French Rugby where they qualified for the Champions Cup after securing 8th spot with a phenomenal come from behind victory over Clermont as they finished one point ahead of Castres.
Last week they returned to winning ways with a 34-19 victory over Montpellier at home. However, a critical issue for the men from the Basque Country is their away form. They haven't won a game away from home since they defeated Clermont Auvergne 26-22 in early November of 2022.
