Munster Rugby v Ulster Rugby Match Programme

v ULSTER RUGBY | FRI 7 MAY 2021 | THOMOND PARK | 8.15PM 

MUNSTER v ULSTER | 07.05.21 | THOMOND PARK 

1

READY 

TO Rise 

Again 

A thousand voices. 

A thousand places. 

One club. 

© 2020 adidas AG 

2 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME 

On the domestic front the news is getting more 

positive with the announcement last week 

by the government that from next Monday 

outdoor training for adults in pods of 15 will be 

allowed. Monday June 7 is another milestone, 

when matches can commence. While this is 

great news we must be mindful that at all times 

everyone must adhere to the government 

guidelines which could change at any time. 

Tonight, we welcome Dan McFarland and his 

Ulster team to Thomond Park for this Round 

2 game of the Rainbow Cup. While everything 

possible was done to include the South African 

teams in this season’s format, unfortunately it 

was not to be. For the moment all we can do 

is look forward to the addition of the Bulls, the 

Stormers, the Sharks, and the Lions into next 

season’s competition. 

The last time Munster and Ulster met was in 

early January where Ulster claimed a home 

win on a 15-10 score line, giving Munster added 

incentive tonight - not that it is needed in this 

mouthwatering interpro game. 

Our best wishes to Johann, his coaching team 

and the entire squad in tonight’s game. 

Congratulations to all our Munster players that 

were involved in the Women’s Six Nations 

series and great to see Eimear Considine and 

Dorothy Wall deservedly making the Team of 

the Championship. 

In other domestic news the Bank of Ireland 

Munster Rugby Summer Camps are back with 

22 venues throughout the province. It is open 

to boys and girls between the age of 6 and 12 

and spaces are limited. No doubt places will sell 

out quickly. 

All the hard work and effort that everyone put in 

over the last 12 months or so will now stand to 

us as we prepare to welcome our players back 

to activity. We look forward to more lifting of 

restrictions in the coming weeks that hopefully 

will allow our clubhouses to reopen and we can 

get back to some form of normality once again. 

In the meantime, stay safe and stay positive. 

Once again, our thanks to our main sponsor 

Bank of Ireland, our kit supplier adidas and all 

our sponsors for their continued support. 

To the brave and faithful nothing is impossible. 

Seán McCullough 

President Munster Branch IRFU 

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 


3

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5

MUNSTER v ULSTER 

RAINBOW CUP ROUND 2 PREVIEW 

The Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup returns this 

evening after a weekend off, with a full schedule of 

derby fixtures spread across three days. 

Ulster will be keen to bounce back from their recent 

defeats while Munster hope to build on a big win 

over Leinster two weeks ago. 

Ulster have not suffered three first-team losses 

on the bounce since 2018, but they hold a positive 

record over the PRO14 runners-up, having lost just 

two of the last seven meetings. 

That said, their most recent success in Limerick 

was a 19-17 victory in May 2014, while Munster’s 

only two home defeats this season have come 

against PRO14 winners Leinster and Heineken 

Champions Cup finalists Toulouse. 

Elsewhere tonight, Benetton will be looking to 

follow up their shock victory over Glasgow in 

Round 1 when they visit Zebre, before the Warriors 

welcome Edinburgh for an 1872 Cup decider. 

Leinster visit Connacht tomorrow having suffered 

defeat to the Westerners when the teams last met 

in Dublin in January. 

The Welsh derbies round off the weekend, as the 

Ospreys visit Parc y Scarlets tomorrow night before 

the Dragons take on Cardiff Blues in the capital on 

Sunday, with Dean Ryan's men hoping to build on 

their own strong start to the competition. 

POS TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB Points 

1 Benetton Rugby 1 1 0 0 46 19 27 6 3 1 0 5 

2 Ospreys 1 1 0 0 36 14 22 6 2 1 0 5 

3 Dragons 1 1 0 0 52 32 20 7 5 1 0 5 

4 Connacht Rugby 1 1 0 0 26 24 2 4 4 1 0 5 

5 Munster Rugby 1 1 0 0 27 3 24 3 0 0 0 4 

6 Edinburgh Rugby 1 1 0 0 24 18 6 3 2 0 0 4 

7 Ulster Rugby 1 0 0 1 24 26 -2 4 4 1 1 2 

8 Zebre Rugby 1 0 0 1 18 24 -6 2 3 0 1 1 

9 Scarlets 1 0 0 1 32 52 -20 5 7 1 0 1 

10 Cardiff Blues 1 0 0 1 14 36 -22 2 6 0 0 0 

11 Leinster Rugby 1 0 0 1 3 27 -24 0 3 0 0 0 

12 Glasgow Warriors 1 0 0 1 19 46 -27 3 6 0 0 0 


HEAD TO HEAD 19 17 2 

Munster wins 

• Munster’s two defeats in their last three 

matches were against Leinster in the 

Guinness PRO14 final and at home to 

Toulouse in the Champions Cup. 

MATCH FACTS 

Ulster wins 

Draws 

• Ulster have not been defeated in three 

successive first team encounters since 2018 

and have not lost back-to-back matches at 

Kingspan Stadium since 2010. 

• Munster’s only other home defeat this 

season was to Leinster in Round 9 of the 

Guinness PRO14. 

• Ulster have lost their last two matches 

against Connacht in Round 1 of the Guinness 

PRO14 Rainbow Cup and at Leicester in the 

semi-final of the Challenge Cup. 

• Ulster have lost just two of their last seven 

matches with Munster, both of those at 

Thomond Park in the Guinness PRO14 in 

September 2018 and November 2019. 

• Ulster’s most recent success in Limerick was 

19-17 in May 2014. 

Conor Murray 

scores against 

Leinster two 

weeks ago 

Dave Shanahan 

scores against 

Connacht in 

Round 1 


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THE INSIDE 

TRACK 

JP FERREIRA 

On approaching team selection this weekend… 

“We always want to win and we as coaches 

want to give the lads game time as well. We 

went through the PRO14 with 53 guys that we 

used. That mindset hasn’t changed from us as 

coaches, we want to give guys game time so 

there will be some changes in there, in the lineup 

but continuity is a big thing but we try to 

keep it as fluid as possible.” 

On RG Snyman’s injury… 

“It is tough on him and he knows it’s tough on 

him as well. I have spoken to him, he is hanging 

in there to the best that he can. You know, I think 

a guy like Handre Pollard who came back at the 

weekend from a similar injury, hasn’t made 

it any easier on him and I know they're good 

mates as well so that probably got him now as 

well. Look, he has got to go through it, he has 

got to now just hang in there…rather do it this 

way then getting out on the pitch and playing 

another seven or nine minutes and getting 

injured again so he has got to hang in there. We 

are all behind him. If he has to make his return 

in a Springbok jumper then so be it. If he has 

to make his return in a Munster jumper then so 

be it. It’s just getting him ready and when he is 

ready to go, he knows he can go 110% and not 

worrying about that leg of his.” 

On playing Ulster this evening… 

“I think their first half last weekend was 

excellent from an Ulster point of view. I think 

their blueprint is pretty much what they did on 

the first 40 minutes, on the weekend against 

Leicester. Their kicking game, you pride yourself 

in some aspects of it and they’ll have a look at 

it. It’s not for me to say to do it or don’t do it but 

if they feel it cost them they will probably fix it 

this week. We just have to be spot on with what 

we want to do.” 

On the win over Leinster two weeks ago… 

“It gives confidence to the side. The way the 

players conducted themselves and we always 

knew that this was in us so getting one over 

them especially up in the RDS is especially 

great. It changes mindsets, it changes personal 

goals and it is a turning point and that’s what 

we are on about this weekend again. We have 

got another opportunity. We have had a week 

off and now we have another opportunity to 

do exactly the same, so our mindset doesn’t 

change, nothing changes. Hopefully that 

feeling that they felt two weeks ago, once you 

get that feeling its hard to let it go so hopefully 

it just stays with the boys and they just keep on 

going.” 


DAVE KILCOYNE 

On RG’s injury… 

“It’s gutting for RG, you know, he has worked 

incredibly hard to get to where he is and 

you know this is a set back for him but he is 

a resilient character. Even seeing around the 

place, he will be alright. You know the lads will 

rally around him and lift the mood. I’m sure he 

will be down for a few days but as I said he is a 

resilient character, he will bounce back.” 

On his own return from injury… 

“Frustrating in the last 12 months. I was getting 

a bit of form and then I sparked out against 

England and I got back for the Toulouse game, I 

was quite happy with that and then the Leinster 

game. I was happy and I think I’m building 

nicely, that’s how I can empathise with RG. I 

was lucky enough I hadn’t as long an injury but 

I had a couple of setbacks coming back from 

it, and I had gone however many years without 

picking up any injury. I had been very lucky to 

have very small things. It definitely tests your 

resilience and you learn a lot about yourself. 

You know you think your back and all of a 

sudden something small goes like a calf strain 

and you are out for another two or three weeks. 

They are just small setbacks but when you 

are not used to them you got to change your 

mindset and how you deal with it and just keep 

using it as windows to grow as a player, target 

those windows, when you do get back, hit the 

ground running. I was happy that I got back 

for the Toulouse game. Personally, obviously 

we lost the game, which wasn’t ideal and 

then Leinster. It was a great team 

performance and always happy to 

be part of that.” 

great account for ourselves physically. We gave 

a blueprint of how you go at teams like Leinster, 

you try to go at them physically and disrupt 

them and I think it will be a great learning curve 

going forward.” 

On Ulster this evening… 

“You know yourself after a big loss like that, 

they had such a promising first half and things 

didn’t work out for them in the second half. 

They are going to be bitterly disappointed but 

there is going to be backlash there and Dan is 

going to have the lads rightly riled up to make 

up for last week so, I think we are in for a very 

tough test.” 

On the win over Leinster…. 

“We knew we hadn’t beaten 

them in quite a while and we 

needed to break that cycle. 

That win gave belief to a lot of lads in the 

squad that wouldn’t have beaten them before. 

I think it was more the performance that was 

the best thing about it, but I thought we gave a 


11



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NEWSROUND 

CJ BECOMES HONORARY LIMERICK MAN 

Munster man and Ireland international CJ 

Stander was named an Honorary Limerick 

Man at the Limerick Person of the Year awards 

last week. A resident of Limerick since joining 

Munster Rugby in 2012, Stander had previously 

been made an Honorary International 

Ambassador for Limerick in 2017. Accepting 

the award, CJ said: “It is a big honour for me 

and my family. It has been a big, big pleasure 

living in a lovely city like Limerick. Thanks to 

everyone who made us welcome since day 

one and thank you for all the support you have 

given me personally and, secondly, as a team 

with Munster.” Stander has scored 42 tries in 

153 Munster appearances and will retire at the 

end of the season, 

returning home to 

South Africa. The 

31-year-old earned 

51 Ireland caps 

since making his 

international debut 

in 2016 and won 

Munster Rugby’s 

Player of the Year 

award a record 

three times. Watch 

CJ’s speech from the awards 

from the 33-minute mark: HERE 

MUNSTER PLAYERS HONOURED 

Congratulations to Munster’s Eimear 

Considine and Dorothy Wall who were named 

in the Women’s Six Nations Team of the 

Championship last week. This follows the news 

that Tadhg Beirne and CJ Stander were named 

in the 2021 Guinness Six Nations Team of the 

Championship. Beirne was also nominated for 

Player of the Tournament. 

JJ Hanrahan has been awarded the eir Sport 

Try of the Season for the 2020/21 Guinness 

PRO14 campaign. The on-air panel from eir 

Sport’s rugby coverage selected Hanrahan’s try 

which followed some spell-binding off-loading 

play against Cardiff Blues during the first-ever 

Monday Night Rugby game in Round 3. The 

Munster playmaker kicked off the move 

and after three consecutive 

off-loads Hanrahan 

got his hands on the 

ball again to cross 

over. Craig Casey, 

Rhys Marshall, 

Damian de Allende, 

Darren Sweetnam, 

Rory Scannell and 

Hanrahan were all 

involved in a brilliant 

backline move. Watch 

the try HERE 

OSBORNE TO JOIN NEXT SEASON 

Munster have recently announced that 24-yearold 

scrum half Rowan Osborne will join the 

province at the start of the 2021/22 season on 

a one-year contract. The 24-year-old will make 

the move from Leinster where he has made 10 

appearances in the Guinness PRO14. The Kildare 

native secured his path to 

professional rugby in 2019 

off the back of impressive 

performances with his club 

side Dublin University in the 

All-Ireland League. 

MUNSTER v ULSTER | 07.05.21 | THOMOND PARK 15

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WALL & CONSIDINE 

SHINE IN SIX NATIONS 

Munster’s Dorothy Wall and Eimear Considine were both selected in the Women’s Six Nations 

Team Of The Championship following the conclusion of the tournament last week. 

The Team of the Championship was selected 

by supporters with over 80,000 votes cast on 

social media. 

Wall scored her first Six Nations try in the 

opening round win over Wales while Munster 

co-captain Considine also bagged a brace in the 

impressive 45-0 victory. Tipperary native Wall 

was on the scoresheet once again as Ireland 

clinched third place in the 25-5 win over Italy. 

The Munster duo were joined in the Team of the 

Championship by their international colleagues 

Cliodhna Moloney and Beibhinn Parsons. 

20-year-old Wall, who is a product of Fethard 

& District RFC, was also selected in Maggie 

Alphonsi’s Team of the Championship, the 

World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee selecting 

her choice XV earlier in the week. 

Ireland finished third in the Women’s Six 

Nations after defeating Italy in Dublin in the last 

round on April 24, with Amee-Leigh Murphy 

Crowe crossing for two tries on her full debut. 

Dorothy Wall also scored her second try of the 

Championship in that game, having scored in 

the 45-0 win over Wales in the opening round. 

Eimear Considine also touched down twice in 

that game. 

Ireland struggled against a dominant France in 

Round 2, with France winning 56-15. 

The Irish squad for the championship included 

Munster’s Enya Breen, Eimear Considine, Aoife 

Doyle, Emily Lane, Amee Leigh Murphy Crowe, 

Ciara Griffin, Chloe Pearse and Dorothy Wall 

along with Munster natives Laura Sheehan, 

Anna Caplice and Leah Lyons who currently 

play their club rugby in the UK. 

Eimear 

Considine 

Dorothy Wall 


19

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THE LOWDOWN 

THE FORM GUIDE 

Ulster come into this game on the back of their 

Challenge Cup semi-final exit last weekend, 

going down 33-24 to Leicester Tigers, despite 

leading 17-6 at half-time. Ulster scored two 

tries in the last quarter, but it wasn't enough as 

Leicester ended Ulster’s hopes of a place in the 

final. Ulster had beaten Northampton Saints 35- 

27 away from home in a gripping quarter-final 

to advance on April 10. 

Ulster finished second in Conference A of the 

Guinness PRO14 this season, 7 points below 

Leinster. Ulster’s impressive season saw them 

win 14 out of 16 PRO14 games and concede 263 

points, second behind Munster’s 250. 

John Cooney is the club’s top’s points scorer this 

season with 174 points across all competitions. 

Marcell Coetzee is the top try scorer with 9 tries. 

There are a couple of familiar faces in the ranks 

with former Munster players Alby Mathewson 

and Bill Johnston both Belfast-based. 

THE COACHING TICKET 

joining Gregor Townsend’s Glasgow Warriors 

in 2015 and going onto assist Townsend with 

the national side from 2017. Assistant Coach 

Dwayne Peel joined the club in 2017 from 

Bristol. A British & Irish Lion’s tourist in 2005, 

the former scrum half played 76 times for 

Wales, captaining the side at the 2007 Rugby 

World Cup. Former Ulster, Ireland and Lions 

full-back Jared Payne stepped into the role of 

defence coach on his retirement in 2018 due 

to injury. Also in 2018, fellow New Zealander 

Daniel Soper joined as skills coach. Soper had 

a very successful career coaching Ballynahinch 

and Banbridge in the AIL and RBAI in the Ulster 

Schools Cups. Forwards coach Roddy Grant 

made 138 appearances for Edinburgh before 

retiring due to injury in 2015. He coached in 

the Scottish Rugby Academy before being 

appointed Edinburgh’s assistant forwards 

coach in 2017. He joined the Ulster coaching 

team in 2019. 

ONE TO WATCH 

Position: Fly half/Full back 

Age: 22 

Born: Belfast 

Appearances: 14 

Tries: 4 

Points: 34 

Passes completed: 114 

Metres gained: 593 

Carries: 112 

Defenders beaten: 35 

Tackles: 65 

Offloads: 4 

Former Scotland and Glasgow Warriors 

assistant coach Dan McFarland took the reigns 

as head coach at Ulster ahead of the 2018/19 

season. The former Stade Francais and 

Connacht prop worked with Michael Bradley, 

Eric Elwood and Pat Lam in Connacht before 

MICHAEL LOWRY 

*2020/21 Guinness PRO14 statistics only 


21

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 


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 

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 

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 

FORWARDS 

Munster Rugby Squad - 2020/21 Season 


JOEY CARBERY 

Fly Half 

01.11.95 

H: 1.83 m 

W: 85kg 


Scrum Half 

19.04.99 

H: 1.65 m 

W: 75kg 


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 


SHANE DALY 

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 


MIKE HALEY 

RORY SCANNELL 

CALVIN NASH 

CONOR MURRAY 

ALEX MCHENRY 

NICK MCCARTHY 

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 

Centre 

07.10.97 

H: 1.88m 

W: 95kg 

Hons: Ire U20 

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 

Centre 

22.12.93 

H: 1.80 m 

W: 98 kg 


Wing 

05.05.93 

H: 1.85 m 

W: 95 kg 


DARREN SWEETNAM 

BACKS 


23

MUNSTER RUGBY 

STARTING XV 

Dave Kilcoyne Niall Scannell John Ryan 

Fineen 

Tadhg Beirne 

Wycherley 

Peter 

O'Mahony (C) 

Chris Cloete 

Gavin Coombes 

Conor Murray 

JJ Hanrahan 

Shane Daly 

Rory Scannell 

Dan Goggin 

Andrew Conway 

Mike Haley 

#MUNvULS 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION 

Replacements 

16. Kevin O'Byrne 17. Jeremy Loughman 18. Roman Salanoa 19. Jean Kleyn 

20. CJ Stander 21. Nick McCarthy 22. Ben Healy 23. Damian de Allende 


ULSTER RUGBY 

STARTING XV 

Andrew 

Warwick 

John Andrew 

Tom O'Toole 

Alan O'Connor 

Iain 

Henderson (C) 

Jordi Murphy 

Marcus Rea 

David McCann 

Alby Mathewson 

Michael Lowry 

Ethan McIlroy 

Stuart 

McCloskey 

Will Addison 

Rob Lyttle 

Jacob Stockdale 

MATCH OFFICIALS 

Referee: Craig Evans (WRU) 

AR1: Seán Gallagher (IRFU) 

AR2: Rob O’Sullivan (IRFU) 

TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU) 

Replacements 

16. Rob Herring 17. Callum Reid 18. Marty Moore 19. Sam Carter 20. Nick Timoney 

21. David Shanahan 22. Angus Curtis 23. James Hume 


25

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MUNSTER DUO IN LIONS SQUAD 

Congratulations to Conor Murray and Tadhg 

Beirne who have been selected for the 2021 

British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa. 

This will be Conor Murray’s third Lions tour with 

Tadhg Beirne becoming a Lions tourist for the 

first time. 

The British & Irish Lions Head Coach, Warren 

Gatland, named a 37-man squad to tour South 

Africa yesterday. 

“We believe we’ve picked a squad capable 

of winning a Test series in South Africa,” said 

Gatland. 

“Selecting a Lions squad is never easy and, in 

many ways, this has been the most challenging 

selection I have been involved in. Over the 

course of the last three weeks the coaches and I 

have rigorously debated each position. We saw 

some outstanding performances in the recent 

Six Nations, so competition for places has been 

tough with some incredibly tight calls to make. 

“However, we are very happy with the squad we 

have assembled and look forward to meeting up 

in Jersey in just over a month’s time to start our 

preparation to take on the World Champions. 

We’ve left out some very talented players which 

gives an indication to the strength of this squad 

and we know how important that stand-by list 

will be. 

“Being selected for a Lions Tour is the greatest 

honour for a British and Irish player and I 

congratulate everyone named.” 


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VIRTUAL MUNSTER MASCOTS 

ROBYN CLARKE 

Age: 8 

School: Gaelscoil Chaladh 

an Treoigh, Limerick 

Hobbies: All ball sports, 

gymnastics and athletics 

Favourite player: Keith Earls 

SHAY KELLY 

Age: 8 

School: St. Patricks NS, O’Callaghan’s 

Mills, Co. Clare 

Hobbies: Rugby, hurling, cycling 

and building things! 

Favourite players: Keith Earls, Conor 

Murray & Peter O’Mahony 


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Gilbert x Munster Programme Advert_165x12mm_5mm Bleed.pdf 1 06/10/2020 10:07 


#THEMUNSTERMACHINE 

BUMBLEance is an interactive ambulance 

service, which was founded by Munster couple 

Mary and Tony Heffernan from Castlemaine 

(Kerry), and prides itself on delivering smiles to 

Ireland’s youngest patients. 

Munster players Damian de Allende, Diarmuid 

Barron and Keith Earls supporting BUMBLEance. 

Munster Rugby’s Official Charity Partner BUMBLEance are aiming to raise €250,000 for a new 

ambulance, the Munster Machine, to help sick children across Munster. 

The charity have set up a quick and easy 

mechanism for people to donate €4, just 

text MUNSTER to 50300 to make a simple €4 

donation. BUMBLEance will receive a min of 

€3.60. 

They are currently fundraising for a 

#MunsterMachine to transport sick children to 

appointments. 

See more ways you can donate and get the 

#MunsterMachine on the road here. 

If you want to know more about Munster’s 

partnership with BUMBLEance click here. 

John Hodnett, Conor Murray and Shane Daly 


33

RUGBY DEVELOPMENT NEWS 

RETURN TO RUGBY 

The IRFU has issued the following information: 

Currently Permitted (ROI) 

Underage non-contact outdoor training in 

pods of 15 

Pitches can reopen but indoor facilities e.g. 

“changing rooms, showers, kitchens, meeting 

rooms must remain closed apart from essential 

toilets.” 

From Monday May 10th (ROI) 

Outdoor training for adults in pods of a 

maximum of 15 people 

The IRFU are awaiting official confirmation on 

the contact/non-contact status of this training 

and will relay this update as soon as this 

information is available. 

From Monday June 7th (ROI) 

Outdoor sports matches can recommence. No 

spectators are permitted. 

Subject to the public health situation at the time. 

As per the #ReadyForRugby Overview issued 

on March 16 2021, all clubs & schools who 

wish to play structured contact rugby will need 

to undergo a minimum of 4 weeks of contact 

readiness training. 

Further Updates 

The IRFU and provinces will continue to relay 

all updates to public health measures. Updated 

versions of the #ReadyForRugby Overview and 

the IRFU Rugby Participation Roadmap 2021/22 

will also be issued in due course. 

Public Health Advice 

The easing of these restrictions has been 

brought about by the commitment and 

continued perseverance of people in mitigating 

the risk of COVID-19. Rugby communities are 

urged to maintain vigilance and continue to 

abide by all public health measures in place. 

Clubs and schools must ensure their COVID-19 

Health & Safety Plan is up to date before 

resuming any rugby activity. 

#ReadyForRugby Support Webinars 

The IRFU and provinces are continuing to offer 

guidance to clubs as they reopen their gates 

and resume activity. Click here for a list of 

upcoming #ReadyForRugby Support Webinars 

Waterford City U14s were back at 

training last week 

Ballina-Killaloe U16s and U18s in 

action last week 


DOLPHIN RFC LAUNCH 

WOMEN’S & GIRLS PROGRAMME 

#MARchAroundTheWorld 

Cork City-based Dolphin RFC recently 

launched a women and girls rugby programme 

ahead of the 2021/2022 season. The club have 

created a Women’s Committee which is led 

by Chairperson Jane O’Leary and they are 

currently recruiting players at all levels ahead 

of the new season. 

Dolphin Women’s Committee chairperson 

O’Leary hopes that when government 

restrictions allow, they will be able to run 

different programmes in the summer to get 

girls and women interested in the sport. 

“That’s where we feel having tag/touch, Give It 

A Try during the summer and working on our 

own little plans to get it started basically. We 

now have this in the pipeline and we’re all guns 

blazing now. We want to make a complete and 

utter 100% success of it. “ 

The Munster Association of Referees (MAR) 

recently launched the #MARchAroundTheWorld 

challenge which encourages everyone to keep 

active for the remainder of the year by walking, 

running or hiking. The challenge consists of a 

‘virtual’ march around the world taking in some 

of rugby’s most famous stadiums. The aim is to 

have over 45,000 km travelled by the end of 2021. 

To participate, you will need to log your walks, 

runs or hikes using the Strava and Challenge 

Hound apps. 

What are we doing? 

As a team, we hope to complete this challenge 

by walking or running 45,534.21km, by midnight 

December 31, 2021. 

Where are we going? 

Our virtual route will take us to some of our 

favourite rugby grounds. Beginning and ending 

in Thomond Park, we will also be travelling to 

the famous venues of the Six Nations and Rugby 

Championship. The route is: Thomond Park- 

Aviva Stadium-Murrayfield Stadium-Principality 

Stadium-Twickenham Stadium-Stade de France- 

Stadio Olimpico-Elis Park-HBF Park-Eden Park- 

Estadio Jose Amalfitani-Thomond Park 

For more information click HERE 

For anyone interested in playing rugby with 

Dolphin RFC, please click HERE or email 

WomensRugby@dolphinrfc.com 


35

These clubs have chosen Macron 

Contact us for a quotation 

CORK: Unit 8, Metro Business Park, Ballycurreen, Kinsale Road Ck04095 

T: 0866640916 

john.orourke@macronstore.com 


IRELAND U20s 

TALENT CAMP 

Ireland U20 Head Coach Richie Murphy got his tenure underway with a talent camp of 38 

players predominantly from the National Talent Squad (NTS) and Provincial Talent Squad (PTS) 

programmes. 

The two-day camp held at the IRFU’s High- 

Performance Centre in west Dublin required 

all participants to undergo PCR testing before 

being cleared to attend and involved two onfield 

sessions as well as a trial game. 

The PwC sponsored Ireland U20s are 

commencing preparations ahead of 

the rescheduled 2021 U20 Six Nations 

Championships which will take place across 

June and July. 

Richie Murphy, Ireland U20 head coach, 

commented, “I’m delighted about the new role. 

It's been a really interesting couple of weeks. 

Over the last two weeks, we have been really 

trying to build this squad that have come in 

for this camp. It's been really interesting to get 

around and talk to a lot of people and try to 

build our coaching team on the back of that and 

we feel like now we are in a good place to go 

forward. 

“A lot of these guys would be in the National 

Talent Squads, some of them would be in the 

Provincial Talent Squads and some of them 

would be club players. So a lot of these guys 

haven’t had a lot of involvement in rugby over 

the last while due to the COVID situation so it 

was good to get in touch with them, bring them 

in and see how enthusiastic and how hard they 

worked and obviously they are looking for 

another opportunity and try to wear a green 

jersey for the Irish U20s.” 

Harry 

O'Riordan 

MUNSTER PLAYERS IN ATTENDANCE 

Ethan Coughlan (Shannon RFC) 

NTS 

Jack Delaney (Garryowen FC) Munster PTS 

Mark Donnelly (Garryowen FC) NTS 

John Forde (Cork Constitution FC) Munster PTS 

Jack Kelleher (UCC RFC) Munster PTS 

Aaron Leahy (CBC) NTS 

Conor Moloney (Ennis RFC) 

NTS 

Daniel Okeke (Shannon RFC) NTS 

Harry Riordan (UCC RFC) Munster PTS 

Jamie Shanahan (Garryowen FC) Munster PTS 

Jay Traynor (UL Bohemians RFC) Munster PTS 

Cian Whooley (UCC RFC) Munster PTS 

Daniel 

Okeke 


37

STAND UP 

AND FIGHT 


The ongoing impact of Covid-19 means that there 

will be some changes to how our Summer Camps 

will operate this year. Our key focus however 

remains to provide a safe and fun environment 

for children and coaches alike. Please note that 

places are limited. 

After booking your child’s place you will be 

emailed an Information Pack outlining all relevant 

details and procedures for attending your camp, 

including Covid-19 protocols. 

• Camp places are available for boys and girls 

from 6 years old to 12 years old. 

• Each camp takes place over one week (Monday 

through to Friday inclusive) between 9:30am 

and 1pm. 

• The cost is €80 per child. 

2021 

VENUES & DATES 

Week 1: Mon 5-Fri 9 Jul: 

Bandon RFC, Ennis RFC, Garryowen 

FC 


Highfield RFC, Tralee RFC 


Castleisland RFC, Dungarvan RFC, 

Midleton RFC 


Clanwilliam FC, Cobh Pirates RFC, 

Killarney RFC 

Week 5: Mon 2-Fri 6 Aug: 

Bruff RFC, Kanturk RFC, Kinsale RFC 


Ballincollig RFC, Fermoy RFC, W.I.T. 

Carriganore 


Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, Cork; 

Nenagh Ormond RFC 

Week 8: Mon 23 Aug- Fri 27 Aug: 

Muskerry RFC, Old Crescent RFC, 

Skibbereen RFC 

The Bank of Ireland Munster Rugby Summer Camps are back for 

Summer 2021 with 22 venues throughout the province. 

Summer Camps will be offered on a modified 

basis and there will be changes to the rugby 

activities offered as necessary in accordance with 

Government and HSE guidelines at the time of the 

camp. 

A daily Covid-19 Health Declaration form must be 

completed for all attendees. 

The Camps will be managed and run by fully 

accredited IRFU Mini Rugby coaches. All Summer 

Camp staff have undertaken the National Garda 

Vetting process required to comply with the IRFU 

policy regarding recruitment and vetting to work 

in age-grade rugby. 

To book your preferred venue, you will be asked 

to register with Easy Payments Plus to ensure 

secure payment. Please click here for more details 

or click the button below. 

• Each participant will receive an official 

Summer Camp Pack comprising an adidas 

Summer Camp T-Shirt, draw-string bag and 

mouth guard. 

All bookings must be completed 

online. There will be no walk-in 

bookings this year. 

For any more information please contact 

camps@munsterrugby.ie 


39


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ACTION 

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@PRO14Rugby 




41


O'DONNELL 

TOMMY 

7Age: 33 

Born: Clonmel, Co. Tipperary 

Position: Back row 

Munster caps: 186 

European Appearances: 35 

Munster tries: 20 

Honours: Ireland (13 caps) 

“IT HAS BEEN THE 

GREATEST HONOUR 

AND PRIVILEGE TO 

REPRESENT MUNSTER 

RUGBY FOR THE 

PAST 14 SEASONS.” 

Tommy O’Donnell recently announced he will retire from professional rugby at the end of the 

season. A one-club man, O’Donnell has made 186 Munster appearances since his debut in 2007 

and earned 13 caps for Ireland. Munster Rugby’s Player of the Year in 2013 and Greencore Munster 

Rugby Academy Player of the Year in 2009, he also featured in two 6 Nations-winning campaigns 

for Ireland. A product of Clanwilliam FC, O’Donnell lined out for UL Bohs in the AIL and made his 

Munster debut against Scarlets in 2007 as a 20-year-old Academy player. Tommy has been a true 

inspiration and incredible role model throughout his career, showing dogged determination to 

return from injury setbacks fitter, stronger and hungrier. He led Munster to victory in their historic 

win over the Maori All Blacks in November 2016 – his first time captaining the side and made his 

150th appearance against Racing 92 in 2017. Thank you, Tommy! 


43

RECOVER LIKE A PRO 

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PROUDLY SUPPORTING MUNSTER RUGBY 

Medicare First Aid and Physiologix Sports Supports are 

the official medical supplies and sport support partner to 

Munster Rugby 

@Medicarefirstaid 

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FIXTURES & RESULTS 2020/21 

Date Fixture Venue 

Sat 3 Oct Scarlets 27-30 Munster Parc y Scarlets 

Sat 10 Oct Munster 25-23 Edinburgh Rugby Thomond Park 

Mon 26 Oct Munster 38 - 27 Cardiff Blues Thomond Park 

Sun 1 Nov Dragons 16 - 28 Munster Rodney Parade 

Sun 15 Nov Munster 38-22 Ospreys Thomond Park 

Mon 23 Nov Glasgow Warriors 13-27 Munster Scotstoun Stadium 

Mon 30 Nov Munster 52-3 Zebre Rugby Club Thomond Park 

Sun 13 Dec Munster 21-7 Harlequins Thomond Park 

Sat 19 Dec Clermont Auvergne 31-39 Munster Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin 

Sat 02 Jan Ulster 15-10 Munster Kingspan Stadium 

Sat 09 Jan Connacht 10-16 Munster The Sportsground 

Sat 23 Jan Munster 10-13 Leinster Thomond Park 

Sat 30 Jan Benetton Rugby 16-18 Munster Stadio Comunale Monigo 

Sat 20 Feb Edinburgh 10-22 Munster Murrayfield Stadium 

Fri 26 Feb Cardiff Blues 11-20 Munster Cardiff Arms Park 

Fri 5 Mar Munster 20-17 Connacht Thomond Park 

Fri 12 Mar Munster 28-10 Scarlets Thomond Park 

Fri 19 Mar Munster 31-17 Benetton Rugby Thomond Park 

Sat 27 Mar Leinster 16-6 Munster The RDS 

Sat 3 Apr Munster 33-40 Stade Toulousain Thomond Park 

Sat 24 Apr Leinster 3-27 Munster The RDS 

Fri 7 May | 8.15pm Munster v Ulster Thomond Park 

Sat 14 Mar | 6pm Munster v Connacht Thomond Park 


45


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48

Munster Rugby v Ulster Rugby Match Programme

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