Cork senior hurling team named for Munster final clash with Limerick

CORK senior hurling manager Pat Ryan has announced his starting XV for this Saturday's Munster final showdown with Limerick. 

Ryan has made two changes from the side that defeated Waterford in the final round of Munster SHC round-robin series. Damien Cahalane replaces the injured Ger Millerick in the Cork full back line, while Diarmuid Healy makes his first start of the Munster SHC for 'the rebels'. Brian Roche drops out of the starting XV. 

Declan Dalton misses this Saturday's clash through injury, captain Robert Downey and Niall O'Leary have recovered from their respective injuries to take their place on the bench. 

The action gets underway at 6pm on Saturday evening in the TUS Gaelic Grounds. 

READ NEXT: Limerick senior hurling team announced for Munster final showdown with Cork

Three weeks ago, Limerick cruised to a comprehensive 3-26 to 1-16 victory over their Munster rivals. Eleven starters remain on the starting XV from the Cork team that were defeated by Limerick in the round-robin series. 

Shane Barrett will captain Pat Ryan's charges on Saturday. The league champions are bidding to win their first provincial title for the first since 2018.

This is the first provincial between the two counties since 2014. 

CORK: Patrick Collins; Damien Cahalane, Eoin Downey, Sean O'Donoghue; Cormac O'Brien, Ciaran Joyce, Mark Coleman; Tim O'Mahony, Darragh Fitzgibbon; Diarmuid Healy, Shane Barrett, Seamus Harnedy; Patrick Horgan, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes. 

SUBS: Brian Saunderson, Niall O'Leary, Robert Downey, Tommy O'Connell, Ethan Twomey, Luke Meade, Conor Lehane, Shane Kingston, Jack O'Connor, Robbie O'Flynn, Brian Roche.