After falling at the final hurdle a year ago, Munster will be keen to kick off their campaign on Friday at 7.35pm with a victory as they host Benetton Rugby at Irish Independent Park in Cork in a game that will be televised by TG4 and Eurosport Italia. Treviso, meanwhile, will be looking to build on a strong end to last season where they won three of their final five games.

What’s at stake? Munster enter the season looking to bounce back from that defeat to the Scarlets in last year’s final and will be all the more eager to impress in what will be Rassie Erasmus’ final months at the club, with the director of rugby set to return to his native South Africa. Meanwhile Treviso are searching for only their fourth win over Munster in 21 attempts in the Guinness PRO14.

Team news (Munster): After bidding farewell to Donnacha Ryan and Francis Saili at the end of last season, there are some new faces involved for Munster, including academy flanker Sean O’Connor and namesake Liam, an academy prop, who both make their first starts. Chris Farrell makes his competitive debut in the centres, with James Hart and Ciaran Parker set to do the same off the bench.

Team news (Benetton): Kieran Crowley has named a team featuring a pair of debutants from New Zealand, with Whetu Douglas slotting into the back row, while Marty Banks makes his long-awaited debut at fly-half. It’s an interesting backline, with fly-halves Tommaso Allan and Ian McKinley, also both starting, at inside centre and full-back respectively. Another player in an unfamiliar position is Edoardo Gori on the wing.

Talking points: It’s hard to look past Erasmus and how the team copes with the South African set to leave the province where he made such an impression last year. With assistant coaches Felix Jones and Jerry Flannery looking to pick up as much as possible from Erasmus and assistant Jacques Nienaber before they depart, this could be an indication of what to expect from Munster going forward. For Treviso, away wins have been something of a rarity in recent seasons so a hit-out in Cork might be the chance to put that right.

Key Battle: While there are a number of intriguing battles, we have to focus on the two fly-halves. Kiwi-born Tyler Bleyendaal enjoyed a breakthrough season last year and will be looking to kick on, while Marty Banks is thrust straight into a starting role after a successful stint with the Highlanders.

Key stat: Treviso midfield pairing Tommaso Allan and Tommaso Benvenuti are both Italian internationals but they first played together in France when they were on the books at Perpignan.

Did you know? Hooker Mike Sherry has been named on the bench for Munster and is set to make his first competitive appearance since May 2016. He has been struggling with a back injury that looked as though it might put an end to his career.

Munster: A Conway; D Sweetnam, C Farrell, J Taute, A Wootton; T Bleyendaal, D Williams; L O’Connor, R Marshall, S Archer; J Kleyn, B Holland; S O’Connor, T O’Donnell, J O’Donoghue.

Replacements: M Sherry, B Scott, C Parker, F Wycherley, R Copeland, J Hart, I Keatley, D Goggin.

Benetton Rugby: I McKinley; A Esposito, T Benvenuti, T Allan, E Gori; M Banks, T Tebaldi; F Zani, L Bigi, S Ferrari; D Budd, M Lazzaroni; F Minto, S Negri, W Douglas.

Replacements: E Makelara, C Traore, M Riccioni, F Ruzza, A Steyn, G Bronzini, A Sgarbi, A Buondonno.

TV: TG4/Eurosport Italia (KO 7.45pm BST)

Match officials – Referee: Ian Davies (WRU). Assistant Referee 1: Craig Evans (WRU). AR2: Gary Conway (IRFU). TMO: Neil Hennessy (WRU).

Guinness PRO14 Final 2018 Ticket Information: Fans can save up to 20% on selected tickets, and prices start at just €30 for adults and €5 for children, and be booked via www.ticketmaster.ie