However, there was some good news for coach Tony McGahan with the inclusion of the fit again Keith Earls, Doug Howlett, Ian Dowling and Nick Williams in the squad for the trip to San Sebastian.
Paul O’Connell is the only notable absentee from the squad. The team will be named on Friday at noon while the squad departs for San Sebastian on Saturday morning.
The painful memories of last season’s heavy semi-final defeat to arch rivals Leinster will be still fresh in the minds of Munster’s players and the province’s colourful band of supporters when they travel to San Sebastian in Northern Spain for the clash with Biarritz Olympique (3.15pm Irish time). Munster coach, Tony McGahan, has admitted that Sunday’s semi-final is what the team’s season is all about.
The bookmakers have installed Munster as slight favourites to reach a fifth Heineken Cup final this weekend, but the tight nature of the betting indicates that rugby fans can expect a close contest.
Munster have displayed a terrific ability to bounce back from a below par showing in the Magners League on one weekend to produce a high-class performance the next in the Heineken Cup.
They will be hoping for a similar transformation in form this weekend following their lacklustre showing against the Ospreys last time out.
Munster maintained their grip of the fourth and final play-off spot in the Magners League table despite suffering a disappointing 11-15 home defeat to the Welsh side.
Munster’s Heineken Cup opponents Biarritz suffered a 19-26 home defeat to Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14 at the weekend.
But Munster coach McGahan believes current form counts for little in a knock-out game such as Sundays: “At this stage I don’t really know if the current form holds any water. It’s a one-off game, it’s a semi-final.
“You saw that when we played Leinster here, close but a little off the mark. But we came out and played well the following week (against Northampton).
“All teams have the capability of doing that. We have shown that this year where we have had a disappointing result whether it has been the week before rounds one and two in the Heineken Cup or before the back-to-back fixtures at round three and four in the competition that we have certainly come back.
“We have some guys to come back into the squad we will certainly re-group.
“We know that next week is what it is all about for us this year. We are really targetting the Heineken Cup. We want to get a result in the semi-final to go one step further than we did last year. We want to put ourselves in with the chance of collecting some silverware.”
Biarritz have been dealt a huge blow ahead of the game with confirmation that their French international centre Damien Traille’s will not play again this season.
Traille hurt his forearm in their recent Top 14 clash with Clermont and will need four to six weeks to recover.
Biarritz’s international forward Imanol Harinordoquy, who broke his nose recently is expected to play.
Munster centre Jean de Villiers says that while Munster’s big-game experience had played a big role in their previous successes in Europe, the recent Magners League victory over Connacht showed that the younger members of the squad were capable of stepping up to the mark when called upon.
De Villiers said: “The secret to Munster’s success in the past has been the experiences they have had in these stages of the competition. You need the experienced guys around to get those results.
“The depth we have created within the squad- the guys who played last weekend against Connacht for instance- shows the next generation coming through can also do the job.”
Exciting Welsh winger Shane Williams is just one member of his team who believe Munster will prevail in Sunday’s presssure-cooker atmosphere at the Estadio Anoeta. However, he has warned against the danger of Munster conceding penalties with the presence of quality goal-kicker Dimitri Yachvili in the opposition line-up.
Williams, who has faced each of Sunday’s semi-finalists in recent weeks, believes Munster can cause the French side major problems: “Munster will have watched our game closely and they will realise Biarritz are beatable.
“Anything can happen in the Heineken Cup, but we showed that you can score tries against Biarritz,” Williams said.
“We all know what kind of team Munster are and they will have to take their chances.”
Munster Squad: Marcus Horan, Tony Buckley, Julien Brugnaut, John Hayes, Damien Varley, Jerry Flannery, Mick O'Driscoll, Billy Holland, Donncha O'Callaghan, Alan Quinlan, David Wallace, Nick Williams, James Coughlan, Niall Ronan, Tomas O'Leary, Peter Stringer, Ronan O'Gara, Paul Warwick, Lifeimi Mafi, Jean de Villiers, Tom Gleeson, Doug Howlett, Denis Hurley, Ian Dowling, Keith Earls, Scott Deasy.
Colm Kinsella
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