Munster to go against norm

European Cup Preview: It may be another Saturday afternoon in the run-up to Christmas, it may even be relatively unheralded Italian opposition, but, as is the norm hereabouts, the Munster Branch don't even have to try to sell it.

Today's Pool Five clash between Munster and Benetton Treviso is a 13,000 sell-out.

The TV-dictated kick-off of 5 p.m. will be a significant factor as well. The Munster supporters and the Munster team could be forgiven for not quite being at their customary Thomond Park fever pitch, keeping their wallets full and their powder dry for the pivotal New Year back-to-back clashes with Gloucester. But a full house is a statement of intent even before the kick-off.

So too, perhaps, the recall of Rob Henderson for his first start since he sustained the torn bicep last August at Donnybrook in Munster's seasonal opener which denied him a World Cup. He comes in for Jason Holland who drops to the bench.

Commenting on the change Alan Gaffney yesterday said: "Obviously it was a very close call. They are two exceptional players. Last time around Jason got the nod and this time it goes Rob's way. That's the nature of things, horses for courses really."

The one area of disappointment in Munster's excellent away win in Bourgoin last week was the failure to score any tries. "We created a lot but we didn't finish those chances off. It wasn't one of the prettiest wins of all time, but the boys really dug deep."

Even in their unbeaten Heineken European Cup run at Thomond Park, Munster have a tendency toward minimalism, be it a narrow win or the mere objective of winning by four tries and 27 points, such as their miracle victory over Gloucester last season.

A notable exception to this was their nine-try, 64-0 rout of Viadana - the province's record win in the competition.

Treviso are made of sterner stuff than that, coached as they are by one-time All Black winger Craig Green and with a presence of South Africans to supplement the half-dozen Azzurri in their starting line-up. They are particularly streetwise at half-back, with Peter Stringer's old sparring partner Alessandro Troncon and former Springbok Franco Smith.

Another of their international contingent is the prolific former Ulster full back Simon Masson, who is one of six changes to the team which led until nearly half-time before going down to Gloucester last week.

"They've a very big forward pack who like to maul in that traditional Italian way," says Gaffney. "They play a very direct mauling game, they're pretty solid and they've got some big dudes. The tight-head Salvatore Constanzo is a giant, and they have got some pace out wide. The young winger, Gonzalo Canale (21), showed some gas when scoring his try last week."

Ireland is the only country in which an Italian side has never won in the European Cup. Treviso, who have won a third of their matches in the cup and have taken scalps every year they've competed, have already triumphed in England (over Harlequins), Scotland (over Edinburgh) and Wales (over Pontypridd), while Calvisano provided a victory in France last season (over Beziers).

All that said, of course, Munster have never lost a European tie at Thomond Park, and have put together an unequalled 18 successive home wins in the European Cup since their sole home defeat, to Cardiff at Musgrave Park six seasons ago.

"But we've got to go out and perform," warns Gaffney. "It's not going to be a walkabout. It's not going to happen just because we turn up. We want to do better in the lineouts. We won a lot of ball there last week, and stole some crucial balls, but in terms of what we do with our lineout ball what we achieved last week probably wasn't what we wanted. With each game we've got to keep taking more steps forward."

No doubt mindful of the bonus point system, Munster will privately be disappointed if they don't emulate Gloucester's achievement last week.

They should achieve that though. It will be the Munster pack and Ronan O'Gara's tactical kicking that will apply the most pressure. The old Italian warrior Carlo Checchinato has come across many an Irish lock in his time, but one imagines he's never come across a couple of Irish tearaways quite like Paul O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan.

O'Connell, arguably Ireland's player of the tournament at the World Cup and one of the outstanding locks in the tournament, has simply carried on where he left off and O'Callaghan is revelling in finally getting regular games. With them to supply much of the basis, it's not unreasonable to expect a big Munster performance and a big win.

MUNSTER: J Staunton; J Kelly, M Mullins, R Henderson, S Payne; R O'Gara, P Stringer; M Horan, F Sheahan, J Hayes, P O'Connell, D O'Callaghan, J Williams (capt), A Foley, D Wallace. Replacements: G McIlwham, J Blaney, S Keogh, D Pusey, E Reddan, J Holland, M Lawlor.

TREVISO: S Mason; G Canale, T Visentin, M Dallan, S Legg; F Smith, A Troncon; P Ribbens, A Tejeda, S Costanzo, C Checchinato, S Delappe, J Erasmus, S Palmer, S Parisse. Replacements: F Sbaraglini, P di Santo, S Garozzo, E Pavanello, P Travagli, D Eigner, M Perziano.

Referee: Rob Dickson (Scotland).

Previous meetings: None.

Formguide: Munster - beat Bourgoin 18-17 (a). Treviso - lost to Gloucester 12-33 (h).

Leading scorers: Munster - Ronan O'Gara 18. Benetton Treviso - Tomasso Visentin, Gonzalo Canale 5 each.

Betting (Paddy Powers): Handicap odds (= Benetton Treviso + 34pts) 10/11 Munster, 16/1 Draw, 10/11 Treviso.

Forecast: Munster to win.

POOL FIVE

P W L F A Bp Pts

Gloucester 1 1 0 0 33 12 1 5

Munster 1 1 0 0 18 17 0 4

Bourgoin 1 0 0 1 17 18 1 1

Treviso 1 0 0 1 12 33 0 0

Munster v Treviso

Thomond Park, Saturday, 5.0 On TV: Network 2, Sky Sports