O'Driscoll captains Munster in Cardiff

O'Connell sat out training in Limerick yesterday morning and this afternoon it was decided to omt him for the trip to Wales. Team Manager Shaun Payne explaining said, "It's nothing serious, Paul has a busy summer ahead of him and we felt it just wasn't in his best interests to play this weekend. However we would be confident he will be involved in the final game of the season against Ospreys."

Munster include 13 of those involved last weekend in Croke Park for a game that this time last week was seen as a potential dry run for the Heineken Cup final until the intervention of Leinster and Leicester Tigers.

Also included in the starting XV is Brian Carney on the right wing while Jeremy Manning partners Peter Stringer at half back and Nick Williams takes over from Alan Quinlan while Niall Ronan is in in place of David Wallace.

Munster: D Hurley; B Carney, B Murphy, K Earls, I Dowling; J Manning, P Stringer; F Pucciariello, D Fogarty, J Hayes; D O'Callaghan, M O'Driscoll capt; N Williams, N Ronan, D Leamy. Replacements: M Essex, T Buckley, J Coughlan, D Foley, C Murray, P Warwick, K Lewis.