Munster Rugby v Cardiff Blues Match Programme

v CARDIFF BLUES | MON 26 TH OCT 2020 | THOMOND PARK | 8.15PM 

MUNSTER v CARDIFF BLUES | 26.10.20 | THOMOND PARK 

1

READY 

TO Rise 

Again 

A thousand voices. 

A thousand places. 

One club. 

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME 

and great credit is due to all involved. Hopefully, 

all of this hard work and effort will stand to us in 

the weeks and months ahead. 

On the good news front, at a Branch meeting 

last week it was announced that the Munster 

Schools Senior Cup is to be renamed in honour 

of our former CEO Garrett Fitzgerald. This was 

welcomed by all involved and a fitting tribute 

to a man who gave so much to Munster. To his 

wife Áine and all the family I hope it shows that 

while sadly Garrett is no longer with us, he is far 

from being forgotten. 

On behalf of everyone in Munster I would like 

to welcome Cardiff Blues head coach John 

Mulvihill and his team to Thomomd Park for 

tonight’s Round 3 game in the Guinness PRO14. 

Tonight’s game sees yet another first in this 

extraordinary year – it is the first ever Monday 

night PRO14 game and what a game it promises 

to be. Both Munster and Cardiff have won their 

first two games with Cardiff getting maximum 

points last weekend and sitting on 9 points, just 

one point clear of Munster heading into this 

round. 

Tonight’s winner will top Conference B and 

though it is early days both teams will no doubt 

want that top spot. 

Again tonight night we will be shouting on 

Johann and his team from our living rooms. We 

might not be in Thomond Park, but I am certain 

all the Munster family will be there in spirit. 

Our thanks once again to our main sponsor 

Bank of Ireland, our kit supplier adidas and all 

of our sponsors for their continued support. 

Every day is a day closer to when we will meet 

again. Stay positive, stay strong and stay safe. 

To the brave and faithful nothing is impossible. 

Sean McCullough 

President Munster Branch IRFU 

On the domestic front, unfortunately all games 

are suspended with limited training taking 

place in accordance with the guidelines. The 

amount of work going on behind the scenes 

is incredible, every day brings new challenges 

© 2020 adidas AG 

President: Sean McCullough | Vice President: Ger McNamara | Junior Vice President: Michael Carroll 

Hon. Secretary: Muiris Mahon| Hon. Treasurer: Tom Kinirons 

Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Ian Flanagan | Head Coach: Johann van Graan | Team Manager: Niall O’Donovan 

2 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE 


3

EVERY FIXTURE 

EVERY TRY 

EVERY TACKLE 

WHY IT 

MATTERS 

KELLY BROWN | GLASGOW WARRIORS 

“I had a script I’d written; I’d planned it all out, I stood 

in front of 100 or so kids, and I completely froze. I just 

couldn’t say a word. The sound of silence was defeaning.” 

ALL IN 

ONE APP 

I’ve become a patron of Stamma, the 

British Stammering Association. I’ve been 

asked for the last couple of years if I’d 

become a patron, and I feel it’s important 

to raise awareness around the issue. It’s 

something I’ve managed my whole life 

and it’s something that I feel like needs 

to be talked about more. A lot of people 

don’t really understand stammering 

and perceive it as nerves or a weakness 

– I want to raise awareness and make it 

easier for stammerers in the future. 

My first memory of stammering was a 

school assembly when I was about 11 or 

so. I’d been on a school ski trip the week 

before, and I was asked if I would stand 

up in assembly and speak about it. I had 

a script I’d written; I’d planned it all out, 

I stood up in front of 100 or so kids, and 

I completely froze. I just couldn’t say a 

word. The sound of silence was deafening. 

My dad also stammers, so neither of us 

were very sure about the best course 

of action – I had a bit of therapy off and 

on, but it never really bothered me to be 

honest. I was fortunate enough that I was 

never bullied because of my stammer, 

probably because I was quite a big lad! 

A big turning point for me, though, was 

the 2010 Six Nations. I’d been picked to 

start for Scotland in the first game against 

France, and the BBC had asked to do 

an interview with me. I did it, and it was 

absolutely dreadful. It was so bad I went to 

the Scotland media manager and asked to 

make sure the interview never got shown. 

That was a real catalyst for me. 

Part of the reason I enrolled in 2010 was 

that I didn’t want my stammer to hold 

me back. I felt like I could be a captain, 

and I could do x,y and z, so that’s why 

I decided to do something about it. 

I worked incredibly hard on it, and I 

continue to do so. I work on my speech 

every day and challenge myself, because 

I know that when I do that I’m in control 

of my stammer instead of my stammer 

controlling me. 

The rugby family has been brilliant. 

Stammering has never been an issue for 

me throughout my life in rugby, apart from 

one time. I was waiting to call the coin 

toss with Nigel Owens when I captained 

Scotland against France in 2013, and 

[France captain] Thierry Dusautoir flipped 

the coin. I started trying to say ‘heads’ but 

had a block, and the coin bounced – I think 

it’s the only time in Six Nations history 

they’ve had to do the coin toss twice! I 

said the same the second time, and guess 

what? It was tails… 

It felt like the right time to become a 

patron for Stamma. I felt like I owe it to 

myself and to everyone that has ever 

helped me and been supportive of me to 

speak out about it, because it’s something 

I’m hugely passionate about. Whilst I’ve 

been fortunate enough to never have been 

bullied because of my stammer, there are a 

lot of people who do. A lot of stammerers 

hide away because of the adverse reaction 

they receive from other people. It’s 

twofold, really – it’s about trying to raise 

awareness so other people understand 

what’s going on, as well as encouraging 

those who have a stammer to accept and 

embrace that as a part of themselves. 

You should never let it hold you back, 

because only you are responsible for your 

own destiny. 

- Kelly Brown 

I enrolled in the McGuire Programme, 

and that was massive. Their big thing is 

assertive self-acceptance, which is a key 

message to get across. Stammering is a 

part of who you are, so to accept that is 

huge. Acceptance, and understanding of 

others is also important – you shouldn’t 

think less of others because they stammer, 

or look down at them. Learning to accept 

both yourself and those around you is key. 



5

MUNSTER v CARDIFF BLUES 

ROUND 3 PREVIEW 

Munster and Cardiff Blues meet tonight for the 

very first Monday Night Rugby game of the 

championship. 

Munster will be keen to build on wins over 

Scarlets and Edinburgh, with the boot of Ben 

Healy instrumental in helping Munster to claim 

two from two in the opening rounds. 

while visitors Cardiff Blues haven’t won away to 

an Irish province since September 2017. 

But Blues impressively saw off Connacht last 

time out after beating Zebre in Round 1 and will 

be desperate to seal their first win at Thomond 

Park in all tournaments, having lost on all eight 

previous visits. 

Munster have only lost twice in their last eight 

Guinness PRO14 encounters - both to Leinster - 

CONFERENCE B TABLE 

The Referee tonight is Andrea Piardi from Italy, 

with Frank Murphy and Eoghan Cross on the 

touchlines. 

POS TEAM PL W D L BP PTS 

1 Cardiff Blues 2 2 0 0 1 9 

2 Connacht 3 2 0 1 1 9 

3 Munster 2 2 0 0 0 8 

4 Scarlets 3 1 0 2 1 5 

5 Edinburgh 3 0 0 3 2 2 

6 Benetton 3 0 0 3 1 1 

HEAD TO HEAD 20 13 0 

Munster wins 

Cardiff Blues wins 

Draws 

MATCH FACTS 

• There have been 23 previous Monday 

fixtures in the history of the Guinness 

PRO14 but all were played over the 

Christmas and New Year period. 

• Munster’s solitary defeat at Thomond Park 

since St. Stephen's Day 2017 was against 

Leinster in December 2019. 

• Cardiff Blues have won their last three 

Guinness PRO14 matches since their 12-32 

defeat to Scarlets in Llanelli on 22 August. 

• The Blues most recent victory on a visit 

to an Irish province was when they beat 

Connacht 17-15 in Galway in September 

2017. 

• Munster have won their last two matches 

against the Blues since the Welshmen’s 37- 

13 victory at the Arms Park in September 

2018. 



7

NEWSROUND 

RECOVER LIKE A PRO 

Louise Galvin 

Conway on his way to scoring against 

Ospreys last season 

CONWAY, GALVIN & HOLLAND 

HONOURED AT AWARDS 

PRESS-UPS FOR EPILEPSY IRELAND 

Good Luck from all of us at 

Medicare & Physiologix 

Available in Leading Pharmacies Nationwide 

PROUDLY SUPPORTING MUNSTER RUGBY 

Medicare First Aid and Physiologix Sports Supports are the official 

medical supplies and sport support partner to Munster Rugby 

@Medicarefirstaid 

@PhysiologixSports 

@Physiologix_ 

Munster’s Andrew Conway was awarded 

the Try of the Year at the Irish Rugby Players 

awards last week for his outstanding 

effort away to the Ospreys in the Heineken 

Champions Cup last season. The winning try 

was started off by a superb Jeremy Loughman 

pass to release Chris Farrell who popped it for 

Conway to scorch clear. 

Retiring Irish 7s player Louise Galvin from 

Kerry claimed the Irish Women’s 7s Player of 

the Year. The former inter-county player and 

basketball international won 30 7s caps over 

the last five years, played in 96 World Series 

games, scored 22 tries, and has played in both 

the Women’s 7s and 15s World Cups. 

The Zurich Contribution to Irish Society award, 

was presented to Billy Holland in recognition 

of his fundraising efforts in support of Crumlin 

Children’s Hospital, Cork University Hospital 

and Ronald McDonald House, in memory of 

his late daughter Emmeline. 

Last week the Munster squad completed 2837 

press-ups in the High Performance Centre 

Rhys Marshall 

in Limerick to help UL Bohemian RFC reach 

their target of 40,000 press-ups in support of 

Epilepsy Ireland. 

#MunsterInTheCommunity 



9

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11

INSIDE TRACK 

Fineen Wycherley returned from Irish camp 

early last week to re-join the Munster squad 

as they prepared for tonight’s game… 

On training with the Irish team… 

“I really enjoyed it. It was a great couple 

of days. I learned a lot. I went up on the 

Wednesday night and I trained with them 

Thursday, Friday and Saturday before heading 

home Saturday evening. Andy Farrell is a 

really great coach. I learned a lot from him 

just chatting to him over the few days. It’s 

great to hear another coach’s voice too, it’s 

something different. Obviously working with 

different people you learn different things. He 

is very involved, and he doesn’t step back as 

a head coach. He is involved in every meeting 

– forward and backs, attack and defence. He 

always has a few points to make which is 

great. I really got a feel for what it was like up 

there. You can see why everyone works so 

hard during the year to get to that place. So 

I’ve come back and for the next few weeks I 

want to try to put in some performances as a 

team and individually to get back into that Irish 

squad, of course.” 

On playing Cardiff Blues tonight… 

“They are an excellent side. They are much 

improved from last year. They were top 

of the conference going into this round. 

Defensively they are exceptional. They’ve only 

conceded one try this season so far. So I think 

breakdown wise we are going to be tested 

there, which is great. They have a nice balance 

between the forwards and the backs. To be 

honest, they have a very rounded game so we 

will be looking at a very tough match at the 

weekend.” 

On playing in Thomond Park without the 

supporters… 

“It’s obviously hugely disappointing and we 

understand how privileged we are here to 

be able to work away and play the games 

during lockdown. All we can do is try to put 

on a performance for those fans at home who 

cannot be there in Thomond Park with us. We 

have to make do with the cardboard cut outs 

for now but we are hoping to see them back 

in Thomond Park with us in the near future, as 

long as it’s all safe.” 

On this international window being so 

important for younger players to make an 

impression… 

“Every opportunity you get to be on the bench 

or be involved on the team or be in the starting 

squad, you have to put in a performance for 

yourself and for the team, and put the team 

forward. From a personal point of view, I just 

want to come back and do my best for the 

team and get a win on Monday night.” 

On his role in the squad… 

“I’ve moved around over the last couple of 

years. I broke through in the team playing at 

6, I am starting to learn line out calling a lot 

more at training and be the second line out 

caller behind Billy and Tadhg. If one of them 

goes down I am next in line. My role in the 

team varies between 4, 5 and 6 but I haven’t 

played 6 in awhile. At the moment I’ve mainly 

been playing at 4, in that tighthead lock 

position and that’s where I’m needed for the 

team. Versatility is never a bad thing. If I can 

slot in at 6 I don’t think it’s a negative, it’s a 

bonus. Every chance I get to play on the team, 

whether it’s at 4, 5 or 6, I really don’t mind, it is 

just another string to the bow.” 

"All we can do is try to put on 

a performance for those fans at 

home who cannot be there in 

Thomond Park with us". 



13

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15

GETTING TO KNOW… 

SCOTT 

BUCKLEY 

Hooker Scott Buckley joined the Greencore 

Munster Rugby Academy in the summer of 

2020 having completed a year in the sub- 

Academy. 

throughout the summer of 2019 with the sub- 

Academy and then I was unfortunate to get a 

bad in jury in the Celtic Cup – a bad hamstring 

injury that put me out for the rest of last year.” 

D.O.B: 13/06/2000 

Height: 180cm 

Weight: 104kg 

Position: Hooker 

A product of Kinsale RFC and CBC, Scott 

captained CBC to the Clayton Hotels 

Munster Schools Senior Cup in 2019 and has 

represented Ireland at U18 and U19 level. 

He enjoyed a strong campaign with Munster 

A in the Celtic Cup in 2019/20 making six 

appearances and captaining the side away to 

Dragons in August 2019. 

A hamstring injury limited Buckley’s 

involvement for the remainder of the campaign 

but he was a try-scorer for Munster A on his 

return to action in last month’s 22-19 victory 

over Connacht A in Galway. 

On his rugby pathway… 

“I started playing rugby in Kinsale RFC when 

I was 5 or 6. I played there until I was about 

13/14 and then I moved to Christian Brothers 

College. I was lucky enough to win the Senior 

Cup there in 6th Year.” 

On spending last season in the sub- 

Academy… 

“I got to play in the Celtic Cup and that was 

a brilliant experience for me. I trained all 

On recovering from long-term injury… 

“I had a great team behind me and they really 

helped me - Lorcan Kavanagh (physio) and 

Danielle Cunningham (S&C). The coaches 

would bring me in for any rugby meetings and 

try to do skills here and there where I could. It 

was really good. I also benefited from hearing 

the experiences of other guys who had been 

through injuries and who I was rehabbing with 

– it was a really good experience even to get to 

know guys as well.” 

On pre-season training… 

“It was great to get back into it. Obviously, I 

had been away from rugby for quite a while 

so starting back in Thomond was really good. 

There was only 8 of us training so it was a lot 

of skills work and ball work which was great 

– it was what I needed to get back into it. I felt 

it was really beneficial. I’m just really looking 

forward to getting into games. We are at the 

HPC now and integrating with the senior squad 

which has been brilliant. I’m really looking 

forward to learning from a lot of the senior 

guys. I want to just soak up as much as I can 

from them and push on then.” 



17

IRFU GUIDELINES FOR 

CLUBS & SCHOOLS 

The IRFU wish to advise clubs and schools of 

rugby activity permitted as per Level 5 of the 

Government of Ireland Plan For Living With 

COVID-19. 

These guidelines have been in effect since 

midnight Wednesday October 21st last and 

will be in place until midnight Tuesday 

December 1st. 

For your business or home energy needs 

Call us on 0818 363 749 

Visit www.pinergy.ie 

Official Energy Partner of Munster Rugby 



19

STEPHEN ARCHER 

Prop 

29.01.88 

H: 1.88m 

W: 120.91kg 

Hons: Ire (2 caps) 

Hooker 

06.08.99 

H:1.83m 

W: 98kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

DIARMUID BARRON 

TADHG BEIRNE 

Lock / Back Row 

08.01.92 

H: 1.98 m 

W: 113.18 kg 


Flanker 

15.02.91 

H: 1.76 m 

W: 98 kg 

Hons: ~ 

CHRIS CLOETE 

Back Row 

11.12.1997 

H: 1.98m 

W: 110kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

GAVIN COOMBES 

JAMES CRONIN 

Prop 

23.11.90 

H: 1.80 m 

W: 113 kg 


JOEY CARBERY 

Fly Half 

01.11.95 

H: 1.83 m 

W: 85kg 


Scrum Half 

19.04.99 

H: 1.65 m 

W: 75kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

CRAIG CASEY 

ANDREW CONWAY 

Full Back / Wing 

11.07.91 

H: 1.80 m 

W: 89 kg 


LIAM COOMBES 

Full Back / Wing 

01.05.97 

H: 1.91m 

W: 89 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

Scrum Half 

08.12.92 

H: 1.73 m 

W: 83 kg 

Hons: Ire Clubs 

NEIL CRONIN 

Wing / Centre 

19.12.96 

H: 1.91 m 

W: 91 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

SHANE DALY 

Lock / Back Row 

03.08.85 

H: 1.91 m 

W: 111 kg 

Hons: Ire (1 cap) 

BILLY HOLLAND 

DAVE KILCOYNE 

Prop 

14.12.88 

H: 1.83 m 

W: 112 kg 


JEAN KLEYN 

Lock 

26.08.93 

H: 2.03 m 

W: 125 kg 


Prop 

06.04.99 

H: 1.85m 

W: 115kg 

Hons: ~ 

KEYNAN KNOX 

Prop 

22.07.95 

H: 1.85 m 

W: 120 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

JEREMY LOUGHMAN 

Hooker 

12.10.92 

H: 1.84 m 

W: 108 kg 

Hons: NZ U20 

RHYS MARSHALL 

DAMIAN DE ALLENDE 

Centre 

25/11/1991 

H: 1.91 m 

W: 105 kg 

Hons: SA (47 caps) 

KEITH EARLS 

Universal Back 

02.10.87 

H: 1.78 m 

W: 90 kg 


CHRIS FARRELL 

Centre 

16.03.93 

H: 1.93 m 

W: 110 kg 


Full Back 

26.10.96 

H:1.85m 

W: 95 kg 

Hons: Eng U20 

MATT GALLAGHER 

Centre 

10.12.94 

H: 1.85 m 

W: 100 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

DAN GOGGIN 

Full Back 

28.06.94 

H: 1.91 m 

W: 93 kg 

Hons: Ire (1 cap) 

MIKE HALEY 

Hooker 

16.04.91 

H: 1.80 m 

W: 107 kg 

Hons: Ire U19 

KEVIN O’BYRNE 

Prop 

13.07.95 

H: 1.78 m 

W: 110 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

LIAM O’CONNOR 

TOMMY O’DONNELL 

Back Row 

21.05.87 

H: 1.85 m 

W: 107 kg 


JACK O’DONOGHUE 

Back Row 

08.02.94 

H: 1.91 m 

W: 107 kg 


PETER O’MAHONY 

Back Row 

17.09.89 

H: 1.91 m 

W: 106 kg 


Back Row 

01.10.98 

H: 1.88m 

W: 100kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

JACK O’SULLIVAN 

JJ HANRAHAN 

Fly Half / Centre 

27.07.92 

H: 1.83 m 

W: 93 kg 

Hons: Emerging Ireland 

Scrum Half 

25.03.95 

H: 1.8m 

W: 84 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

NICK MCCARTHY 

Centre 

07.10.97 

H: 1.88m 

W: 95kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

ALEX MCHENRY 

CONOR MURRAY 

Scrum Half 

20.04.89 

H: 1.88 m 

W: 94 kg 


Wing 

08.08.97 

H: 1.78 m 

W: 90 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

CALVIN NASH 

RORY SCANNELL 

Centre 

22.12.93 

H: 1.80 m 

W: 98 kg 


JOHN RYAN 

Prop 

02.08.88 

H: 1.83 m 

W: 117 kg 


Prop 

28.10.97 

H:1.83m 

W: 123.18kg 

Hons: USA U20 

ROMAN SALANOA 

NIALL SCANNELL 

Hooker 

08.04.92 

H: 1.85 m 

W: 109 kg 


RG SNYMAN 

Lock 

29.01.95 

H: 2.06 m 

W: 116 kg 

Hons: SA (23 caps) 

CJ STANDER 

Back Row 

05.04.90 

H: 1.85 m 

W: 114 kg 


Lock 

11.12.97 

H:1.93 m 

W: 111.82 kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

FINEEN WYCHERLEY 

Wing 

05.05.93 

H: 1.85 m 

W: 95 kg 


DARREN SWEETNAM 

FORWARDS 

Munster Rugby Squad - 2020/21 Season 

BACKS 

Munster Rugby Squad - 2020/21 Season 



21

MUNSTER RUGBY 

STARTING XV 

CARDIFF BLUES 

STARTING XV 

James Cronin Kevin O’Byrne Stephen Archer 

Fineen 

Billy Holland (C) 

Wycherley 

Corey 

Domachowski 

Kristian Dacey 

Dmitri Arhip 

Ben Murphy 

Rory Thornton 

Jack 

O'Donoghue 

John Hodnett 

Gavin Coombes 

Craig Casey 

Ben Healy 

James Ratti 

James Botham 

Olly Robinson 

Lloyd 

Williams (C) 

Jarrod Evans 

Darren 

Sweetnam 

Rory Scannell 

Dan Goggin 

Calvin Nash 

Mike Haley 

Hallam Amos 

Willis Halaholo 

Rey Lee-Lo 

Aled 

Summerhill 

Matthew 

Morgan 

#MUNvCBL 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION 

MATCH OFFICIALS 

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR) 

AR1: Frank Murphy (IRFU) 

AR2: Eoghan Cross (IRFU) 

TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU) 

Replacements 

16. Rhys Marshall 17. Josh Wycherley 18. Roman Salanoa 19. Jean Kleyn 

20. Chris Cloete 21. Nick McCarthy 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Damian de Allende 

Replacements 

16. Ethan Lewis 17. Brad Thyer 18. Scott Andrews 19. Sam Moore 

20. Alun Lawrence 21. Lewis Jones 22. Jason Tovey 23. Garyn Smith 



23

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MUNSTER v CARDIFF EDINBURGH BLUES | 10.10.20 | 26.10.20 | THOMOND | PARK PARK 

25 

© 2020 adidas AG

THE LOWDOWN 

and Rhys Carré from Saracens, both of whom 

were recently announced as part of the Wales’ 

squad for the upcoming tests. 

John Mulvihill 

The Form Guide 

The Coaching Ticket 

Australian John Mulvihill joined the side 

ahead of the 2018/19 season from Honda 

Heat in Japan. Beginning his coaching career 

at Navan RFC, the former Queensland and 

Australian U21 went onto coach at Western 

Force, working with Matt Giteau, David Pocock 

and Drew Mitchell amongst others. His backs 

coach is former international scrum-half Richie 

Rees, with former Wales Sevens assistant 

coach Richard Hodges the defence coach. 

Former elite performance manager at Ospreys, 

Tom Smith, is the forwards coach. 

Cardiff Blues have enjoyed a very positive 

start to their season, winning 16-6 on the road 

to Zebre in their opening round and having 

a convincing 29-7 victory over Connacht at 

Rodney Parade in Round 2. 

Josh Adams scored Cardiff’s only try in Parma, 

with Jarrod Evans contributing a conversion 

and two penalties to their tally and Jason 

Tovey kicking the final score of the game. 

Hallam Amos picked up a brace of tries with 

Kristian Dacey crossing for a late effort against 

Connacht in Round 2. Again, Evans was on 

target with a conversion and a penalty with 

Tovey converting Dacey’s try. 

It been a bright start for the Welshmen, who 

finished a disappointing 6th in the conference 

last season with just 7 wins from 15 games. 

Scintillating centre Ray Lee-Lo was last month 

selected as part of the 2019/20 Guinness 

PRO14 Dream Team and has played in the two 

opening rounds. 

Additions to the squad ahead of the new 

season include Cory Hill from the Dragons 

ONE TO WATCH 

Shane Lewis-Hughes 

One to Watch 

Shane Lewis-Hughes topped the stats coming 

into this round for the most tackles made in 

the tournament so far with 43, closely followed 

by his team-mate James Botham with 37. 

Filling the No. 6 jersey for both of their opening 

games, 23-year-old Lewis-Hughes can also 

play second row. The former Welsh U20 has 

made 36 appearances for Cardiff Blues. 



27

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 



29

RUGBY DEVELOPMENT 

NEWS 

Photo: Irish Rugby 

Referee Joy Neville in action 

IRFU COUNCIL PUBLISH 

RESOURCE BOOKLET 

#MunsterStartsHere 

Since their formation in 2017, the IRFU Youth 

Council have focused on dropout and retention 

in youth rugby with a view to identifying reasons 

and finding solutions to address the issue. 

CCRO INDUCTION DAY 

Munster Rugby recently held induction days for 

this season’s Club & Community Rugby Officers 

(CCROs). 

NEW REFEREE COURSE 

A series of peer-to-peer consultations were 

conducted with young people in rugby 

across the four provinces, culminating in the 

publication of the Club Resource Booklet. 

In her foreword to the booklet, Meadhbh Lewis, 

Chairperson IRFU Youth Council said: 

Sixteen CCROs will be working with clubs and 

schools across the province over the next eight 

months, adhering to government guidelines, 

and introducing rugby into the school through 

PE classes and helping to link the schools with 

their local clubs. 

The search for new referees is underway across the 

province and the next course for new members of 

the Munster Association of Referees has been set for 

Saturday, October 31. 

The course will be held online and you can register by 

emailing chris.harrington@irfu.ie. 

Rugby referees have the best seat in the house, and 

if keeping fit (referees run six miles in an 80 minute 

match), travelling, taking part in a lively social scene 

or getting an adrenaline rush is your idea of a great 

pastime, rugby refereeing could be for you. 

As well as the obvious benefits, a referee’s constant 

study of the game enriches the enjoyment of this 

lifetime sport. 

If you’re interested in taking the next steps and want 

to join the referee pathway, please register your 

interest with Munster Referee Development Manager 

Chris Harrington. 

New Referees Course 

Date | Saturday 31 October 

Register | Email: chris.harrington@irfu.ie 

“We want this booklet to show clubs how 

important it is to reach out to their young 

members and connect with them. Our longterm 

focus is to train club CWO’s to deliver 

these consultations with their players to allow 

for a constant improvement of the experience 

delivered to players. Clubs who do so, will 

empower our sport to evolve with the changing 

needs of our society and our young people. 

“The Youth Council have been trained based 

on guidelines from the Department of Children 

and Youth Affairs and are always contactable 

for clubs who would like more guidance 

on consulting with their youth players – 

youthcouncil@irfu.ie.” 

Due to the numbers involved, two induction 

days were held - at Thomond Park and Irish 

Independent Park - to adhere to Government 

guidelines. 

Munster Rugby Participation Programme Coordinator 

Ray Gadsden said: “Their role is 

to go into national and secondary schools 

and introduce rugby as part of their Physical 

Education timetable. 

“They introduce a lot of running, moving and 

passing games. They touch on physical literacy. 

Their main role is to give them a positive 

experience and a love of the game. 

“The role is vitally important – they are the first 

link between the schools and the clubs.” 



31

STAND UP 

AND FIGHT 

Ready for 

Munster 

Munster businesses need the best 

support they can get right now. 

We have in-store experts like 

Steven in our Cork store, who 

knows everything from Gigabit 

Broadband to tailored business 

plans, to help get your business 

ready for the future. 

Contact your local 

Business Advisor today. 



33

Andrew Conway and Paolo Garbisi 

Ireland's Enya Breen 

is tackled by Michela 

Sillari of Italy 

21 

- 

7 

SEVEN TRIES FOR IRELAND 

Ireland’s hopes of winning the 2020 6 Nations 

championship were kept alive after a 50- 

17 bonus point win over Italy on Saturday 

in Dublin, scoring 7 tries in a convincing 

performance. 

Munster were represented by Tadhg Beirne, CJ 

Stander, Conor Murray, Andrew Conway and 

Peter O’Mahony, who all played their part, with 

key roles to play at crucial times in the game. 

CJ Stander scored Ireland’s first try after 8 

mins and also topped the stats with 21 carries 

and 6 defenders beaten over the course of the 

game. 

Conor Murray set up Hugo Keenan’s 35th 

minute try with a superb kick ahead to out the 

ball in Keenan’s path and also offloaded to 

Sexton for his 64th minute effort. 

Tadhg Beirne made the most tackles with 17 

in a determined defensive effort, with Andrew 

Conway a constant sniping threat on the wing. 

Peter O’Mahony came off the bench at 66 

mins and three mins later set up Aki’s try with 

a sumptuous pass to the centre who scored 

Ireland’s sixth try. 

Ireland’s tries came from Stander, Keenan (2), 

Will Connors, Sexton, Bundee Aki and Dave 

Heffernan. Captain Sexton scored 18 points, 

with a try, five conversions and a penalty. 

Next weekend, Ireland travel to Paris to play 

France in their final game of the championship. 

STRONG PERFORMANCE 

FROM IRELAND WOMEN 

Ireland proved too strong for visitors Italy 

in Dublin on Saturday night, running out 

21-7 winners in Round 4 of the Women’s Six 

Nations Championship. 

There were four Munster players in action, 

with Laura Sheehan, Enya Breen and captain 

Ciara Griffin, all from UL Bohemian RFC, 

alongside Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College) 

who won her first start having come off the 

bench in all three of the competitions earlier 

rounds. 

Ireland led 14-7 at half time thanks to first half 

tries from Lindsey Peat and Claire Molloy, 

24/10/2020 

Energia Park - Dublin 

which Hannah Tyrell converted. A penalty try 

pushed Ireland further ahead with ten minutes 

to go. 

Next weekend, the France Women’s team are 

to travel to Dublin to complete the final fixture 

of the 2020 Women’s Six Nations, after it 

emerged that isolation requirements for elite 

athletes returning to Ireland had put the game 

in doubt. In an act of rugby solidarity, France 

have given up home advantage to ensure the 

game is played. 



35

GET INVOLVED 

FOLLOW 

ALL THE 

ACTION 

@PRO14Official 



@PRO14Rugby 





37

CRAIG CASEY 

Date of Birth: 19/04/1999 

Height: 1.65m 

Weight: 76kg 

Position: Scrum Half 

9 

It’s been a big couple of weeks for Limerick scrum-half Craig Casey, who picked up the Guinness 

PRO14 Player of the Match award in his last outing in Thomond Park against Edinburgh, and was 

called up to train with the Irish squad for the first time along with Fineen Wycherley. 

38 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE MUNSTER v CARDIFF BLUES | 26.10.20 | THOMOND PARK 

39

Moving Ahead 

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Quality Fuel Technology 

SEASON 2020/21 

FIXTURES & RESULTS 

Date Fixture Where to watch 

Sat 3 Oct Scarlets 27-30 Munster Parc y Scarlets 

Sat 10 Oct Munster 25-23 Edinburgh Rugby Thomond Park 

Mon 26 Oct | 8:15pm Munster v Cardiff Blues eir Sport, TG4, Premier Sports 

Sun 1 Nov 2020 | 2pm Dragons v Munster eir Sport, Premier Sports 

Sat 7 Nov | 2pm Benetton Rugby v Munster eir Sport, Premier Sports 

Sun 15 Nov | 2:45pm Munster v Ospreys eir Sport, S4C, Premier Sports 

Mon 23 Nov | 8:15pm Glasgow Warriors v Munster Premier Sports, eir Sport 

Mon 30 Nov | 8:15pm Munster v Zebre Rugby Club eir Sport, Premier Sports 

26/27 Dec Munster v Leinster TBC 

02/03 Jan 2021 Ulster v Munster TBC 

09/10 Jan 2021 Connacht v Munster TBC 

LIVE FIXTURES DETAILS HERE 

Inver 

is available at all 

Inver Service Stations. 

MRSC NEWS 

JUNIOR CLUB MEMBERSHIP OPEN 

We are delighted to announce that registration for the Junior MRSC is once again FREE with 

thanks to our fantastic sponsors Inver and we’ve got some great events and competitions planned 

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Inver Xtra keeps your engine clean, improving 

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Proud Sponsors of Junior Munster Rugby Supporters Club 

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Junior Club members will avail of the following benefits 

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• Exclusive Junior Club videos throughout the year 

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• Loads of chances to engage with our great club 

• Tips and drills throughout the year to stay fit and healthy 

You need to have registered by today, October 26th to receive your FREE Christmas pack! You can 

still register after this date, but you will not receive a pack. Thanks for your support! 



41

MUNSTER COMPETE 

IN IRFU 7S SERIES 

Jack O'Sulivan offloads against Connacht 

in the IRFU 7s tournament. 

The IRFU High Performance Centre hosted the 

first of three IRFU 7s tournaments on Saturday 

17 October last, with the Ireland’s Men’s Sevens 

taking on alongside Munster, Connacht 

and Ulster. 

S7S 

(24-12). 

The Munster 7s secured one win in the opening 

Round of the series, with Greig Oliver’s charges 

secured a 40-14 victory over Connacht in their 

final game of the day having been defeated by 

the Ireland Men’s 7s side (33-7) and Ulster 

There were a number of eye-catching individual 

contributions as players seized the chance 

to boost game-time and sharpen their match 

intensity. 

Calvin Nash 

The Munster 7s squad includes senior players 

Liam Coombes, Matt Gallagher, Calvin Nash, 

Alex McHenry and Jack O’Sullivan. Academy 

players Scott Buckley, Eoghan Clarke, Jack 

Crowley, Jack Daly, Jake Flannery, Seán French 

and Jonathan Wren complete the 12-man 

squad. McHenry and Daly are both former 

Ireland Sevens internationals. 

Anthony Eddy’s senior Ireland 7s team are using 

the series to step-up their preparations for the 

2021 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. 

Rounds 2 and 3 of the IRFU 7s 

tournament are scheduled to 

take place at the IRFU High 

Performance Centre on 

Saturday, October 

31 and Saturday, 

November 7. 

Jack Crowley 

MUNSTER 7S 

Eoghan Clarke, Scott Buckley, Jack Daly, Jack Crowley, Jake Flannery, Jonathan Wren, 

Sean French, Jack O’Sullivan, Alex McHenry, Liam Coombes, Calvin Nash, Matt Gallagher. 



43

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