Friday’s media watch begins in Ireland, with Tadhg Beirne looking forward to locking horns with some old friends this weekend. Munster take on Racing 92 at Thomond Park on Saturday, with a pair of familiar faces making their returns to Limerick in the shape of Donnacha Ryan and Simon Zebo. And it is Ryan in particular who will likely court the lock’s attentions, with Beirne predicted a hotly-contested battle in the lineout. “Credit to him and I’m sure he’ll still remember a lot about the Munster lineout, so it’s going to be important to manipulate it a little bit against them,” he said. Now we all know the perils of a trip to Thomond Park, but up the road in Belfast, Ulster are hoping to create the same kind of atmosphere around Kingspan. After squeezing past Bath in round one of the Champions Cup, they welcome Clermont to their turf, with Iain Henderson in particular keen to ramp up the intimidation factor. Over in Exeter, we’re all set for another reunion, as Stuart Hogg prepares for his first match-up against the Glasgow Warriors since his summer departure to the Chiefs. And Warriors’ mainstay Chris Fusaro believes that it will be a fond reunion with their former son. But while it is easy to be blinded by the Champions and Challenge Cup action this weekend, the Toyota Cheetahs have been hard at work in preparation for their next Guinness PRO14 tour. They take on Ospreys in Swansea when the competition returns next weekend, with coach Hawies Fourie putting his charges through their paces in rigorous fashion as they look to get back to winning ways. Elsewhere in South Africa, the Isuzu Southern Kings are waiting on confirmation that star wing Yaw Penxe will be ready to make the trip to Connacht as he battles injury. And finally, Leinster flanker Scott Fardy has been speaking about the joys of life in Dublin, a city that the big Australian is now delighted to call home.
