Recreation Ground (5.00), Live on RTE and BBC.
As seems to be the case virtually whenever they take the field, Munster will once more attempt to break new ground today. Only Toulouse, last season, have ever stormed the Recreation Ground citadel and even then the French outfit were turned over at home in the return game, so Munster will endeavour to go where no team has gone before, and do the double over the 1998 Cup winners.
All of which amply demonstrates the task facing Declan Kidney's team and as the Munster coach pointed out yesterday, echoing his sentiments around the time of the back-to-back interpro rounds, the team which loses generally benefits more from the first meeting than the team which wins, all the more so when the losers were away from home.
"This is their opportunity to exorcise a few ghosts for them and ideally the preferred option would be to play away on the first Saturday, but that said I'll gladly take the win under our belts."
Bath's hand is further strengthened by the return of playmaker-in-chief Mike Catt after a five week lay-off with a lower back problem. Assuredly therefore, they'll play it closer to the gain line and probably more through the hand and out wide, which will ask bigger questions of Munster's defence - which is probably the key to the outcome. Important too, with showers forecast and an already soft pitch, will be the referee's and Munster's handling of Chris Horsman's scrum technique.
Bath loosehead David Barnes is ruled out, due to stitches in a leg wound reputedly caused by stamping, and as with any teams meeting again in a short period of time, you'd wonder if it'll get testy and who's discipline will hold the better.
There is a further subtext to today's outcome should Bath win, in that were the sides to then finish level on points, tries scored in the two meetings and then points difference would be the criteria for their final ranking. In this regard, Munster have a healthy three try to nil and 22 point buffer from last week but as Kidney also points out, should awareness of this transmit itself into a defensive attitude it will not serve Munster one iota.
"In rugby you have to go out and attack," he says, mindful that cautious away day approaches may in part explain the ratio of home wins in excess of two to one in this competition.
Bath have been licking their wounds all week long and there's no doubt that for them the stakes are higher and their need is greater. "Bath's future participation in this competition hangs on a famous victory in this game," has been one of Jon Callard's rallying calls.
The Rec is something of a kindred spirit to Thomond Park but even so it's true to say that the greater pressure is on Bath. Even with the return of Catt, one nagging statistic remains, namely Bath's record of five wins and five defeats this season, compared to Munster's perfect eight so far. Munster love a challenge and this is their biggest so far. Bath are strong front-runners and if they obtain a lead it'll be tougher still for Munster. But if the game's there for the taking in the last quarter or so, then you'd want to have your money on the proven winners.
MUNSTER: D Crotty; J Kelly, M Mullins, J Langford, A Horgan; R O'Gara, P Stringer; P Clohessy, F Sheahan, J Hayes, M Galwey (capt), J Langford, A Quinlan, A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements - M Horan, J Blaney, M O'Driscoll, C McMahon, T Tierney, J Staunton, K Keane.
BATH: M Perry; I Balshaw, P de Glanville, M Tyndall, K Maggs; M Catt, G Cooper; S Emms, M Regan, C Horsman, M Haag, S Borthwick, A Gardiner, D Lyle, B Clarke. Replacements - J Preston, A Long, J Mallett, S Berne, A Adebayo, G Thomas, N Thomas.
Referee: N Whitehouse (Wales).
Results so far: Munster - Newport (h) W 26-18; Castres (a) W 32-29, Bath (h) W 31-9. Bath - Castres (h) W 25-13; Newport (a) L 17-28, Munster (a) L 9-31.
Leading try scorers: Munster - Anthony Horgan 4. Bath - Dan Lyle, Gareth Cooper, Shaun Berne 1 each.
Leading points scorers: Munster - Ronan O'Gara 49. Bath - Jon Preston 32.
Bookies odds (Paddy Powers): 4/7 Bath, 18/1 Draw, 5/4 Munster. (Handicap odds = Munster + 4pts) 10/11 Bath, 16/1 Draw, 10/11 Munster.
Forecast: Logic probably decrees a Bath win, but with Munster logic generally goes out the window. Munster to win.
