A new season means a clean slate – something both Dragons and Munster will welcome when they lock horns at Thomond Park in their opening game of the ²⁰¹⁹⁄₂₀ campaign.

Fly-half Sam Davies and winger Owen Jenkins will make their Guinness PRO14 debuts for Dragons, who won just five games last season as they finished a lowly sixth in Conference B.

The visitors will face a Munster team that did qualify for the Guinness PRO14 Final Series, only to lose their semi-final against the eventual champions and provincial rivals Leinster.

Billy Holland will captain the hosts in his 13th season as a senior player, while Nick McCarthy makes his competitive debut at scrum-half and four academy players are included in the squad.

Kick-off: Thomond Park, Limerick | 15:00 (UK), Saturday 28 September

How to watch: Live on eir Sport, Premier Sports, TG4 & DAZN

Players to watch out for: Sam Davies (Scarlets), Nick McCarthy (Munster)

Davies amassed 153 points in the Guinness PRO14 for Ospreys last season and Dean Ryan will hope the former Junior World Player of the Year can pull the strings at No.10.

On the opposite side, McCarthy will be looking to hit the ground running at Thomond Park as he attempts to make the most of his opportunity while Conor Murray is at the World Cup.

Key stat: Munster have not been beaten at home in any tournament since Leinster were victorious at Thomond Park in the Guinness PRO14 on St Stephen’s Day 2017.

Munster XV: Mike Haley; Darren Sweetnam, Rory Scannell, Tyler Bleyendaal, Shane Daly; JJ Hanrahan, Nick McCarthy; Jeremy Loughman, Kevin O’Byrne, Stephen Archer; Fineen Wycherley, Billy Holland ©; Jack O’Donoghue, Tommy O’Donnell, Arno Botha

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, James Cronin, Keynan Knox, Darren O’Shea, Chris Cloete, Alby Mathewson, Liam Coombes, Jack O’Sullivan

Dragons XV: Jordan Williams, Ashton Hewitt, Adam Warren, Jack Dixon, Owen Jenkins, Sam Davies, Rhodri Williams ©; Brok Harris, Richard Hibbard, Leon Brown, Joe Davies, Matthew Screech, Huw Taylor, Ollie Griffiths, Lewis Evans

Replacements: Ellis Shipp, Ryan Bevington, Lloyd Fairbrother, Max Williams, Taine Basham, Tavis Knoyle, Jacob Botica, Tyler Morgan