Munster must take advantage of weakened Glasgow side missing key players due to Six Nations

Munster travel to Scotland on Friday evening to face table-toppers Glasgow knowing they have a great opportunity of getting a result given that their hosts will be short most of their main players due to the Six Nations.

Since beating Munster 31-13 in the URC (then called the Pro12) final of 2015, Glasgow have had no fear of Munster. 

Games at Scotstoun have been difficult to predict between these two, with Glasgow edging the stats 5-4 on home soil since that final in Belfast.

Their last meeting in Scotstoun last March ended up being a real tragedy for Munster, with Nathan McBeth barging over for the winning try with just three minutes left, after Munster had been eleven to the good with the same number of minutes remaining.

The most painful recent result from a Munster perspective was the URC semi-final defeat of 2024 at Thomond Park. 

Munster were the reigning champions at the time and had topped the regular season table to give themselves a superb platform towards defending their trophy. They'd even watched Leinster be eliminated in the hours before that tie, which meant they knew a win over Glasgow would mean a home final against the Bulls the following week. 

But Glasgow had not read the script, with Alex Nankivell’s red card ensuring there was to be no way back for Munster, with them losing 10-17.

WEAKENED

Glasgow go into this tie in first place in the URC table, five points clear of fifth-place Munster, but they will struggle to maintain that lofty position given the number of their players that are absent. 

They have 18 players away with Gregor Townsend’s Scotland squad, and have others unavailable because of injury, so this game represents a real chance for Munster to capitalise on what will be a much-weakened Glasgow side.

Munster have seven players in the Ireland camp in the form of Jeremy Loughman, Michael Milne, Edwin Edogbo, Tadhg Beirne, Craig Casey, Jack Crowley and Tom Farrrell, which will, of course, mean they will be far from full strength, but they are not as compromised as Glasgow will be.

As well as the Ireland contingent Munster are also sweating on the availability of Jean Kleyn, JJ Hanrahan and Alex Nankivell, who all picked up various knocks in last week’s win over the Dragons. Clayton McMillan could certainly use them this weekend.

Prior to the team’s being announced, it was a difficult one to call, but we can certainly expect Sean Edogbo to start again at six after winning the man of the match award on his Munster debut last week at Virgin Media Park against the Dragons.

The younger brother of second row Edwin really stood out last Saturday, with his all-action style being a major part of Munster’s narrow comeback victory. Munster fans will certainly want to see such form rewarded with more gametime while the internationals are away.

Evan O’Connell is another who looked the part in his shorter cameo last week. He will certainly expect to see more minutes while Edwin Edogbo and captain Tadhg Beirne are away, and if Kleyn is unavailable he will be asked to step up as the tight head lock.

It seems bizarre that Ireland will be leaning so heavily on Munster players in the loose head positions for the opening Six Nations tie in Paris against France, with Jeremy Loughman and Michael Milne in a straight scrap for the number one jersey in the absence of Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle. 

The knock-on effect that this will have on Munster is significant, as they now must rely heavily on Josh Wycherley and Mark Donnelly to prop up the left-hand side of the scrum.

The Glasgow second-string will be a tough nut to crack in front of their own fans but Munster will be disappointed if they do not get a victory on Friday night.