United Rugby Championship Round 2 | We hear from Stephen Larkham and Dave Kilcoyne ahead of the game, take a look at the opposition, and review the latest rugby happenings from across the province.
v DHL STORMERS
THOMOND PARK
02 OCT 2021|7.35PM
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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WELCOME BACK
Last Saturday in Italy, it was a case of so close but
not to be for our Irish Women’s team as they lost out
in the dying seconds in their game against Scotland.
We acknowledge the efforts of our Munster players
who made a huge contribution to the campaign.
On the domestic rugby front, the Women’s AIL
started last we ekend with Ballincollig recording
a home win in nail-biting fashion, overcoming
Suttonians on a 14-13 score line. UL Bohemian RFC
hosted Cooke and started their season in style with
a 46-12 win. It was a good weekend for our women’s
teams. Best of luck this weekend and for the season
ahead.
Tonight, we welcome John Dobson, his squad
and all involved in the DHL Stormers to Thomond
Park for this Round 2 game of the United Rugby
Championship.
The Stormers come into this game after losing out
narrowly to Benetton Rugby last week. They will be
disappointed with this result as they led for most of
the game. They will see that as an opportunity lost
and an added incentive coming into tonight’s game
- not that any is needed.
Munster, on the other hand, had a comfortable win
in the end against the Cell C Sharks, but will take
nothing for granted. Last week’s game is history and
all the focus and attention is on tonight’s opposition.
Our best wishes to Johann, his coaching team and
all the squad in tonight’s game.
The Men’s AIL starts this weekend and like most
teams at all levels, clubs are going into a competitive
game for the first time in over a year, so form is not
a factor. It’s a case of getting out on the field and
getting the first game out of the way and build from
there. Again, best of luck to all our Munster teams
involved.
Our thanks to our main sponsor Bank of Ireland,
our kit supplier adidas and all our sponsors for their
continued and loyal support.
To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible.
Sean McCullough
President, Munster Branch IRFU
Thomond Park welcomed back supporters last
Saturday for the first time in over 18 months.
When you see people queuing outside at 6pm for
a 7.35pm kick off, you know how much it means
for them to be back. To see and hear the Munster
faithful was something that players and supporters
alike had looked forward to for such a long time.
The atmosphere before and during the game was
fantastic. We can look forward to more of the same
tonight.
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
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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16 TEAMS,
2 HEMISPHERES,
1 LEAGUE
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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Aisling - Friendships made in the stands
WHEN WE
STAND
TOGETHER
NOTHING IS
IMPOSSIBLE
Ciara Griffin – The Leader Conor Murray – World class
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NEWSROUND
CAPACITY INCREASED FOR
CONNACHT MATCH
TICKETS ON SALE FOR
ED SHEERAN
Munster Rugby will accommodate up to 75% of
the stadium capacity for Munster’s next home
game which will be against Connacht Rugby on
Saturday, October 16 in Thomond Park. Tickets
for this interpro clash are now on sale HERE.
As per government guidelines, 75% attendance
is possible where all adult supporters are
vaccinated or immune (fully vaccinated or
recovered from COVID-19 within the past six
months, or are under the age of 18). It is the
personal responsibility of all supporters to ensure
they adhere to Government guidelines and adult
supporters should note that proof of vaccination
or recovery may be requested before entry.
Thousands of tickets were snapped up last
weekend for the two Ed Sheeran concerts
scheduled for Thursday 5 and Friday 6 May
2022.
Tickets are available on www.ticketmaster.ie
with limited availability. For Tour information
visit www.edsheeran.com and for concert
information visit www.aikenpromotions.com.
PHILLIPS SHINES IN CANADA
In Greencore Munster Rugby Academy news,
winger Conor Phillips scored two tries for the
Ireland Sevens team in Edmonton, Canada last
weekend.
The previous weekend saw Phillips notch up four
tries on his World Series debut in Vancouver.
A former Ireland U20 international, Phillips
plays his AIL rugby with Young Munster and is a
product of Crescent College Comprehensive.
He made his international debut with the 7s side
in May 2021.
Conor Phillips in action at the
Red v Grey training match
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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UP AND RUNNING
This evening the DHL Stormers come to
Thomond Park for the first time, hoping
to get their campaign back on track after
their 22-18 defeat to Benetton Rugby last
weekend in Treviso.
Munster’s opening round match against the
Cell C Sharks saw Simon Zebo touching
down twice in his return to the red jersey,
with Gavin Coombes continuing his
excellent try scoring form from last season
with two of his own. Craig Casey and Chris
Cloete made it six tries for the home side,
which was the most tries scored by any
team in Round 1.
ROUND 2 PREVIEW
Round 2 kicked off last night with Connacht
hosting the Vodacom Bulls and Scarlets at
home to the Emirates Lions.
On the billing for earlier today were
Benetton v Edinburgh, Glasgow Warriors v
Cell C Sharks and Zebre v Ulster. Ospreys
are hosting Cardiff Blues this evening at the
Liberty Stadium.
The round finishes off tomorrow with
Leinster on the road at Rodney Parade
against the Dragons.
AFTER ROUND 1
POS TEAM PL W D L PF PA DIFF TF TA TB LB PTS
1 LEINSTER 1 1 0 0 31 3 28 4 0 1 0 5
2 MUNSTER 1 1 0 0 42 17 25 6 2 1 0 5
3 EMIRATES LIONS 1 1 0 0 38 26 12 5 4 1 0 5
4 CARDIFF 1 1 0 0 33 21 12 5 2 1 0 5
5 ULSTER 1 1 0 0 35 29 6 5 4 1 0 5
6 EDINBURGH 1 1 0 0 26 22 4 4 3 1 0 5
7 OSPREYS 1 1 0 0 27 23 4 3 2 0 0 4
8 BENETTON RUGBY 1 1 0 0 22 18 4 3 2 0 0 4
9 GLASGOW WARRIORS 1 0 0 1 29 35 -6 4 5 1 1 2
10 SCARLETS 1 0 0 1 22 26 -4 3 4 0 1 1
11 DRAGONS 1 0 0 1 23 27 -4 2 3 0 1 1
12 DHL STORMERS 1 0 0 1 18 22 -4 2 3 0 1 1
13 ZEBRE 1 0 0 1 26 38 -12 4 5 1 0 1
14 CONNACHT 1 0 0 1 21 33 -12 2 5 0 0 0
15 CELL C SHARKS 1 0 0 1 17 42 -25 2 6 0 0 0
16 VODACOM BULLS 1 0 0 1 3 31 -28 0 4 0 0 0
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Warrick Gelant in
action for the DHL
Stormers last weekend
Craig Casey presented with
the Man of the Match award
last weekend by Munster
captain Peter O'Mahony
Simon Zebo
COMPARISON MUNSTER DHL STORMERS
Last 3 URC results 28 May - Cardiff Rugby (H) W 31-27 4 Jun - Bulls (A) L 27-31
11 Jun - Zebre (A) W 54-11 12 Jun - Lions (H) W 0-0
25 Sep - Sharks (H) W 42-17 25 Sep - Benetton (A) L 18-22
URC 2021/22 Shield IR: 2nd - W1 D0 L0 - 5pts Shield SA: 2nd - W0 D0 L1 - 1pts
URC form W (5pts) L (1pts)
Top try scorer 2 - Simon Zebo, Gavin Coombes 1 - Rikus Pretorius, Ruhan Nel
Top points scorer 10 - Simon Zebo, Gavin Coombes 8 - Manie Libbok
MATCH FACTS
• Munster’s only defeat in their last six
United Rugby Championship matches was
20-24 at home to Connacht in the Rainbow
Cup.
• Munster’s only loss to a South African
opponent in the Championship was 16-
40 against Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in
October 2019.
• DHL Stormers have lost their last three
United Rugby Championship matches
since beating Sharks 25-20 in Durban in
the Rainbow Cup in May.
• Stormers most recent victory outside of
South Africa was 41-24 against the Rebels
in Super Rugby in April 2019.
• The two sides have never met before in a
competitive fixture.
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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THE INSIDE TRACK
STEPHEN LARKHAM
On last weekend’s win against the Cell C
Sharks…
“Very happy with the result. We certainly
showed patches where we were happy with the
game and then other patches where we've got a
few things to work on. First hit out for a number
of guys. Special mention to Simon Zebo, I
thought he had a fantastic return to the Munster
jersey and then RG Snyman’s first game after a
horrendous 12 months for him so it's good to
have those guys back out there. Rowan Osborne
made his debut for Munster as well. For other
guys it was their first 80-minute performance
and first game since last season. All in all, we're
very happy with the result, there's no doubt
about that but, like everyone said after the game,
there are a lot of things that we can still work on.”
On working with Craig Casey…
“Look I’ve only been here for a couple of years,
and I've always seen the same side of Craig, in
the Academy programme...very diligent with all
of his off-field work. He prepares extremely well
for field sessions and games, and it was kind
of inevitable that he would get an opportunity.
He's played for his nation now and he's played
exceptionally well for us. The diligence that
he's shown off the field has resulted in what's
happened on the field for him. He's becoming
a natural leader in the team because he's so
driven and passionate about winning every
week.”
even if we've seen an amazing pre-season from
a young kid coming through and we say, ‘well
we need to give him some game time.’ It's not
like he cemented his spot straight away, so we
are for these first five games, and I think you'll
see that in the selections, we are trying to
get some rotation in there to give everyone a
chance out there on the field.”
On the superb team try last weekend…
“I think that was the whole of the team play there.
It was a beautiful passage. We had a similar one
last year against Cardiff except this one came
from the kick off and touched just about every
set of hands out there which was really nice. It
was good to see. We had really good conditions
on the weekend and if conditions are right and
you get a little bit of luck sometimes those
things come off. It was good to watch.
It's beautiful rugby when the
ball is kept alive like that. You
know we'd love to do that
every single passage of play but
there's other challenging factors.
Most teams in this competition had
very good defenses and I think by
the end of the game the Sharks
were pretty fatigued. They
were over it and they
knew they couldn’t win
the game.”
On the importance of squad rotation…
“We're certainly very conscious of trying to get
everyone some minutes on the field but we're
including the trial games in that. I guess leading
up to the trial games yes, we were looking at
training form. You can't do much more than
that. Like I said before you've got to give your
incumbents a chance to go out there and play
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DAVE KILCOYNE
On getting back in action…
“It was unbelievable to get back playing, very
fortunate to play in front of the fans. It's been
such a long road since we've had Munster fans
back there, it was unreal. I have had a stop start
season since that World Cup and with Covid
and everything so it's great to hit the ground
running.”
On approaching 200 caps for Munster…
“Look if I get to hit that number, which I'm sure
I will, I'd be delighted but look I've always said
I wanted to play until 40 that's been one of my
goals, so I'll be looking at that 300 number. The
two-hundred mark is just the midway point.”
On depth in the squad…
“I think we have. You look at Keynan Knox, the
young tight head who came on the weekend
and did very well. We have Diarmuid Barron
another young great prospect coming through.
You obviously have Stephen Archer, John Ryan,
myself, Jeremy Loughman - the list goes on. I
think there’s a very strong group there. You can
always get better as a player, get better as a
squad. We have an incredible forwards coach
in Graham Rowntree who pushes us every day.
He's done it all as a player and coach - club,
international, Lions - and for the front rows
to have hands on work with him…he’s been
incredible for me.”
On the energy within the squad…
“The vibe feels unbelievable in here. Not having
crowds here for 18 months…not just for the
players. I think it gives everyone appreciation.
We did that lap - we’d normally do that in
Champions Cup days - a lap around the stadium
before to build a little bit energy but the energy
was insane on Saturday. I'm the type of player
who feeds off energy and a lot of people really
are in here. I think we have a great group of
lads here at the moment. I read Craig Casey's
interview after the game he just talks about
the buzz around the place. There's a great buzz
amongst the coaches and players. I think the
fans could feel it on Saturday and we felt we fed
off their energy, they fed off ours. Long may it
continue. We've been long enough without it.”
On playing with RG Snyman…
“He brings a huge amount of experience
and he's a world class player. He looks like
something out of the WWE should be fighting
in the Summer Series or something like that.
He's been incredible for us. To have that size
and that power in the row…you just see what
he can do with the ball. That was his first game
in how long, so he probably didn’t get his
hands on the ball as much. But what he can do
with it! That little carry down the touchline with
his one hand off load. He can do things that I
haven't seen too many players able to do. For
us to have him is incredible.”
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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WOMEN’S RUGBY NEWS
Ballincollig RFC ©Colbert O'Sullivan
WINNING AIL START FOR
MUNSTER TEAMS
Ballincollig became the story of the first
round of the Women’s All-Ireland League
after holding on to beat Suttonians 14-13 in a
nail-biting finish at Tanner Park last Saturday,
while UL Bohemians got their campaign off
to a flying start by beating Cooke 46-12.
Ballincollig’s long-awaited return to AIL rugby
kicked off in brilliant fashion, young out-half
Kelly Griffin jinking through midfield to score
and convert after just six minutes.
Suttonians scrum half Lena Kibler soon sniped
over, and the north Dubliners, edged ahead
early on the restart thanks to a Catherine
Galvin penalty.
Fiona Hayes’ Ballincollig side redoubled
their efforts and with five minutes remaining,
Heather Kennedy raced for the corner and a
high tackle saw referee Carl O’Meara award a
penalty try.
Although Katie Grant Duggan got over for
Sutts’ second try in the dying moments,
the conversion proved too difficult and
Ballincollig, thanks to some sterling defence,
pocketed four hard-earned points.
Munster’s Gemma Lane, who paired up with
Griffin as Ballincollig’s half-backs, said: “We’d
put in a lot of hard work in training, but we
were all just really excited to get going to be
honest. It’s great to start the club season with
a win and we’re very happy.”
Another of Munster’s Interprovincial title
winners, centre Stephanie Nunan, ran in a
first half hat-trick of tries as UL Bohemians
accounted for Cooke on a 46-12 scoreline.
It was Niamh Briggs’ league debut as Bohs’
new head coach, and Cooke proved tricky
opponents, Helen McGhee scoring early on
and newcomer Naomi McCord surging over
before half-time, via a terrific tip-on pass from
Ilse van Staden.
However, UL added 22 points without reply in
the second half, with Nicole Cronin directing
operations from out-half and scoring 11
points.
WOMEN’S LEAGUES UNDERWAY
In the Women’s Division 1 League, Kerry
opened their account with a 14-10 win over
Tipperary at Thurles.
In Division 2 tries from Rebecca Doyle and
Caoimhe O’Donnell were not enough for
Waterpark who lost 19-10 away to Skibbereen
and in the other game in this division,
Ballincollig defeated Dolphin 46-0.
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK 15
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MUNSTER DEVELOPMENT IN RECENT ACTION
Reporting by Aron Hegarty and Daire Walsh
Munster Rugby Development XV edged
a gripping contest with Ulster Rugby to
clinch a 25-24 victory at the IRFU High
Performance Centre in Abbotstown on
September 18 last.
Nine tries were tallied in an end-to-end
match that saw Munster race into a 15-0
lead inside the opening 20 minutes with a
double from PBC full-back Patrick Campbell
and one by UCC hooker Scott Buckley.
Ulster were twice held up over Munster’s
line in a matter of minutes after Mark
Donnelly of Garryowen FC was yellowcarded.
However, Munster kept them
scoreless and clinical Campbell raced away
at the other end for his team’s third try
midway through the half.
Ulster responded with two scores in five
minutes before the break through prop
Callum Reid and flanker Reuben Crothers,
whose effort was converted by James
Humphreys for 12-15.
The excellent Campbell got his third shortly
after the restart. Ulster’s Ben Carson replied
then wing Jamie Shanahan of Garryowen
FC crossed before a try from Ulster
replacement Scott Wilson set up a tense
finish. Ross McKay landed the conversion
to make it 24-25. They got the final play
up to the Munster five-metre line as they
rallied in a bid to steal victory from under
their noses, but knocked forward in the last
act of an enthralling contest.
Last Friday, September 24, Munster fell
to a 14-point defeat at the hands of their
Leinster counterparts at the HPC.
Munster pushed for scores until the very
end, with full-back Patrick Campbell and
replacement Tony Butler taking the game
to their eastern counterparts at every
available opportunity, but they couldn’t
break down a stubborn Leinster defence.
Paddy Patterson’s lung-bursting run on
24 minutes asked questions of Leinster,
and although he was close to picking out
Seán French off a close-range scrum on 32
minutes, Munster faced a 14-point deficit
at the interval. Still, the Reds continued to
play with great intent and it took diligent
defence from Leinster to disrupt their
attacking rhythm on the resumption.
Ian Costello unloaded his bench as
the action progressed and each player
introduced was eager to leave their imprint
on the game. Aside from Butler, George
Coomber, Daniel Okeke and Darragh
McSweeney made their considerable
presences felt. Huge credit to the defence,
who dug deep to prevent Leinster
extending their cushion
in the closing minutes.
David Hawkshaw was
inches from crossing the
whitewash off a massive
break, but the Munster
rear guard halted
him in his tracks and
secured a turnover
penalty.
Patrick
Campbell
who scored
a hat trick
against
Ulster
MUNSTER DEVELOPMENT
Patrick Campbell (PBC), Seán French, Jack
Crowley, John Forde (all Cork Constitution FC),
Darragh French, Scott Buckley, James French, Alex
Kendellen, Alessandro Heaney, Edwin Edogbo,
George Coomber, Sam O’Sullivan (all UCC), Paddy
Patterson, Ronan Loughnane (both UCD), Eoin
O’Connor, Adam Maher (both Young Munster RFC),
Paddy Kelly, Cian Hurley, Jack Daly, Dylan Murphy,
Tony Butler, Alex Wood, Jack Delaney, James
Kendrick, Jamie Shanahan, Mark Donnelly (all
Garryowen FC), Alan Flannery, Aaron Hehir, Darragh
McSweeney, Daniel Okeke, Ethan Coughlan, Kieran
Ryan, Luke Doyle (all Shannon RFC), Fearghail
O’Donoghue (Cashel RFC), Jack O’Sullivan (Cobh
Pirates RFC), Sam Tarleton (Rockwell College).
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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THE TEAM BEHIND THE TEAM
DHL Express Ireland is proud to start the 2021-2022
season as the Official Logistics Partner of Munster Rugby.
Together we celebrate the passion and teamwork required
for delivering excellence on and off the pitch, and we look
forward to supporting the club as the TEAM behind the TEAM.
20 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
VIRTUAL MUNSTER MASCOTS
DARRAGH KELLY
Age: 6
School: St. Paul's National School, Dooradoyle,
Limerick (they're all huge Munster fans!)
Hobbies: Playing rugby with Old Crescent RFC,
playing GAA with Mungret St. Paul's
and farming
Favourite player: RG Snyman, Joey Carbery,
Keith Earls & Andrew Conway
SSW Munster Rugby Halfpage.pdf 1 17/09/2021 11:15
ALEX MOLONEY
Age: 9
School: Gaelscoil O’Doghair, Newcastle West,
Limerick
Hobbies: Rugby, hurling, football, soccer,
hanging out with his friends
Favourite players: Keith Earls & Conor Murray
WITH ED & VALERIE
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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MUNSTER RUGBY
Lock
22.02.00
H: 2.06m
W: 116.82kg
Hons: Ire U20
THOMAS AHERN
STEPHEN ARCHER
Prop
29.01.88
H:1.88m
W: 118.18kg
Hons: Ire (2 caps)
Hooker
06.08.98
H: 1.93 m
W: 98.18 kg
Hons: Ire U20
DIARMUID BARRON
TADHG BEIRNE
Lock / Back Row
08.01.92
H: 1.98 m
W: 113.18 kg
Hons: Ire (22 caps)
JOEY CARBERY
Flyhalf
01.11.95
H: 1.93m
W: 85.91kg
Hons: Ire (24 caps)
Scrum Half
19.04.99
H: 1.65 m
W: 75.91 kg
Hons: Ire (3 caps)
CRAIG CASEY
Back Row
15.02.91
H: 1.75 m
W: 105.91 kg
Hons: ~
CHRIS CLOETE
ANDREW CONWAY
Full Back/Wing
11.07.91
H: 1.8 m
W: 90 kg
Hons: Ire (25 caps)
Back Row/Lock
11.12.97
H: 1.98 m
W: 110 kg
Hons: Ire (2 caps)
GAVIN COOMBES
Wing
01.05.97
H: 1.91m
W: 89.09kg
Hons: Ire U20
LIAM COOMBES
Scrum Half
06.12.92
H: 1.73 m
W: 83.18 kg
Hons: Ire Clubs
NEIL CRONIN
Fly Half
13.01.00
H: 1.85 m
W: 89.09 kg
Hons: Ire U20
JACK CROWLEY
Back Row
12.08.98
H: 1.83 m
W: 106.82 kg
Hons: Ire U20
JACK DALY
Centre
19.12.96
H: 1.91 m
W: 91.82 kg
Hons: Ire (2 caps)
SHANE DALY
DAMIAN DE ALLENDE
Centre
25.11.91
H: 1.91 m
W: 105 kg
Hons: SA (53 caps)
KEITH EARLS
Universal Back
02.10.87
H: 1.78 m
W: 86.82 kg
Hons: Ire (93 caps)
CHRIS FARRELL
Centre
16.03.93
H: 1.91 m
W: 110 kg
Hons: Ire (15 caps)
Fly Half
07.06.99
H: 1.83m
W: 89.09kg
Hons: Ire U20
JAKE FLANNERY
Prop
22.11.98
H: 1.85 m
W: 120.91 kg
Hons: Ire U20
JAMES FRENCH
Universal Back
14.08.99
H:1.88m
W: 99.09 kg
Hons: Ire U20
SEAN FRENCH
Full Back
26.10.96
H: 1.85 m
W: 95.91 kg
Hons: Eng U20
MATT GALLAGHER
DAN GOGGIN
Centre
10.12.94
H: 1.88 m
W: 86.82 kg
Hons: Ire U20, 7s
Full Back
28.06.94
H: 1.91 m
W: 93.18 kg
Hons: Ire (1 cap)
MIKE HALEY
Fly Half
29.06.99
H:1.91 m
W: 96.82 kg
Hons: Ire U20
BEN HEALY
22 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
SQUAD 2021/22
Back Row
10.01.99
H: 1.83 m
W: 105kg
Hons: Ire U20
JOHN HODNETT
Lock
02.12.95
H: 2.03 m
W: 124.09kg
Hons: SA (1 cap)
JASON JENKINS
DAVE KILCOYNE
Prop
14.12.88
H: 1.83 m
W: 110.91 kg
Hons: Ire (45 caps)
JEAN KLEYN
Lock
26.08.93
H: 2.03m
W: 120.91 kg
Hons: Ire (5 caps)
Prop
06.04.99
H: 1.85 m
W: 115 kg
Hons: ~
KEYNAN KNOX
Prop
22.07.95
H: 1.85 m
W: 118.18 kg
Hons: ~
JEREMY LOUGHMAN
LIAM O'CONNOR
KEVIN O'BYRNE
CALVIN NASH
CONOR MURRAY
DECLAN MOORE
ALEX MCHENRY
Centre
07.10.97
H: 1.88 m
W: 95 kg
Hons: Ire U20, 7s
Hooker
20.04.89
H: 1.84 m
W: 112 kg
Hons: ~
Scrum Half
20.04.89
H: 1.88 m
W: 93.18 kg
Hons: Ire (89 caps)
Wing
08.08.97
H: 1.78 m
W: 90 kg
Hons: Ire U20
Hooker
16.04.91
H:1.8m
W: 105 kg
Hons: ~
Prop
13.07.95
H: 1.78 m
W: 110 kg
Hons: Ire U20
JACK O'DONOGHUE
Back Row
08.02.94
H: 1.91 m
W: 109.09 kg
Hons: Ire (2 caps)
PETER O'MAHONY
Back Row
17.09.89
H: 1.91 m
W: 106.82 kg
Hons: Ire (76 caps)
Back Row
01.10.98
H: 1.88 m
W: 100 kg
Hons: Ire U20
JACK O'SULLIVAN
Scrum Half
03.11.96
H: 1.7m
W: 78.18kg
Hons: Ire Sch
ROWAN OSBORNE
JOHN RYAN
Prop
02.08.88
H: 1.83 m
W: 120 kg
Hons: Ire (24 caps)
Prop
28.10.97
H: 1.83 m
W: 123.18 kg
Hons: USA U20
ROMAN SALANOA
NIALL SCANNELL
Hooker
08.04.92
H: 1.85 m
W: 110.91 kg
Hons: Ire (20 caps)
RORY SCANNELL
Centre
22.12.93
H: 1.78 m
W: 95.91 kg
Hons: Ire (3 caps)
RG SNYMAN
Lock
29.01.95
H: 1.2.06 m
W: 116.82 kg
Hons: SA (23 caps)
Lock/Back Row
11.12.97
H: 1.93 m
W: 111.82 kg
Hons: Ire (1 cap)
FINEEN WYCHERLEY
Prop
22.07.99
H: 1.83 m
W: 108.18 kg
Hons: Ire U20
JOSH WYCHERLEY
SIMON ZEBO
Wing
16.03.90
H: 1.88 m
W: 99.09 kg
Hons: Ire (35 caps)
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
23
MUNSTER RUGBY
STARTING XV
Dave Kilcoyne Niall Scannell Keynan Knox
Jean Kleyn
Fineen
Wycherley
Peter
O'Mahony (C)
Jack
O'Donoghue
Gavin
Coombes
Craig Casey
Joey Carbery
Shane Daly
Rory Scannell
Keith Earls
Calvin Nash
Mike Haley
#MUNvSTO
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Replacements
16. Diarmuid Barron 17. Jeremy Loughman 18. Stephen Archer 19. RG Snyman
20. Jack O'Sullivan 21. Rowan Osborne 22. Ben Healy 23. Simon Zebo
24 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
DHL STORMERS
STARTING XV
Brok Harris
Scarra Ntubeni
Neethling
Fouche
Adre Smith
Salmaan
Moerat
Nama Xaba
Willie
Engelbrecht
Evan Roos
Stefan Ungerer
Manie Libbok
Leolin Zas
Dan du Plessis
Ruhan Nel
Sergeal
Petersen
Warrick Gelant
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Andy Brace (IRFU)
AR1: Oisin Quinn (IRFU)
AR2: Daniel Carson (IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
Replacements
16. Andre-Hugo Venter 17. Leon Lyons 18. Sazi Sandi 19. Ernst van Rhyn
20. Marcel Theunissen 21. Godlen Masimla 22. Tim Swiel 23. Rikus Pretorius
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
25
THE SPIRIT OF
UNITED RUGBY
CHAMPIONSHIP.
Enjoy responsibly
DISCOVER THE SPIRIT WITHIN |
#SAVOURTHEMOMENT
26 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
THE LOWDOWN
The DHL Stormers are based in Cape Town
and line out as the DHL Western Province in
the Currie Cup. They won their most recent
Currie Cup title in 2017 - their third in six years
and 34th overall. Earlier this year they moved
from Newlands Stadium to the iconic 62,000
seater Cape Town Stadium, now known as
DHL Stadium, for their home games.
John Dobson
THE SQUAD
The DHL Stormers have a number of players
on the current Springbok team including Frans
Malherbe, Marvin Orie, Herchel Jantjies, Damian
Willemse and prop Steven Kitshoff who won
his 50th Springbok cap during the Lions series.
New signings ahead of the start of the season
included versatile back Manie Libbok from the
Sharks, lock Adre Smith, former Dragons prop
Brok Harris and Hacjivah Dayimani from the
Lions. Former Springbok centre Juan de Jongh
made the move from Wasps in the off-season
while Deon Fourie has made the move back to
South Africa from Grenoble. The side recently
announced that three additional players have
joined on loan including loose forwards Junior
Pokomela (Cheetahs) and Willie Engelbrecht
(Pumas) along with scrum half Stefan Ungerer
(Griquas).
THE FORM GUIDE
The DHL Stormers went down 22-18 to Benetton
Rugby in their opening game last Saturday,
despite taking an early lead with a try from
Rikus Pretorius and leading 11-7 at half-time
after Manie Libbok added two penalties. Ruhan
Nel stretched their lead early in the second half
but two tries and a penalty from the home side
denied the newcomers a perfect start.
THE COACHING TICKET
Head Coach John Dobson is a former hooker
for Western Province and started coaching
the U21 side in 2010. He was appointed Head
Coach in 2019 having spent four years at the
helm of Western Province’s Currie Cup side.
Dawie Snyman is the backline and attack
coach, Norman Laker is the defence coach, Rito
Hlungwani is the forwards coach and Labeeb
Levy is the skills coach.
EVAN ROOS
Age: 21
Position: Back row
Form: 8 tries in 2021 Currie Cup
Honours: SA Schools
Height: 191cm
Weight: 109kg
They were beaten 49-3 by the British and Irish
Lions during the summer in the last game
before the first test.
They finished 4th in the Currie Cup league
table, winning six of their twelve games with
one draw, and were beaten by the Bulls in the
semi-final.
ONE TO WATCH
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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MUNSTER RISING
MUNSTER RISING
MUNSTER RISING
OFFICIAL MEDIA
PARTNER OF
MUNSTER RUGBY
OFFICIAL MEDIA
PARTNER OF
MUNSTER RUGBY
OFFICIAL MEDIA
PARTNER OF
28 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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GREENCORE MUNSTER RUGBY
ACADEMY UPDATE
It’s a big weekend for the Greencore Munster
Rugby Academy with the men’s AIL season
kicking off.
Academy players and members of the NTS
(National Talent Squad) missed out on the
valuable opportunity to line out for their clubs
last season due to the cancellation of the AIL.
We spoke to Academy Manager Ian Costello for
the latest news from the HPC.
On players training and playing with their
clubs…
“We have been in constant contact with the club
coaches and we have released players back at
various stages throughout the last few weeks.
When a game was cancelled, we released
everybody back and we had a down week and
released everybody back. That was all with a
view to acknowledging how important it is for
these guys to play rugby and how important it
is for them to play club rugby.
“As soon as we knew who wasn’t going to be
involved with the senior team and available for
club action, we sat down and spoke with the
clubs and there will be a lot of guys playing
in the All Ireland League over the next three
weeks.
“The next phase for the Academy players and
NTS players is to transfer the work they’ve done
over the last couple of months onto the pitch
and give a good account of themselves.
“The exciting bit for us a coaching group is
we get to split up and will watch them all play
live over the weekends. Our analyst Elliot
Corcoran will cut that footage and it adds to that
knowledge base that we have on players.
“There are a few things that are tricky logistically,
they have to come out of the bubble for a number
of days but the IRFU have accommodated that
so hopefully we’ll see a number of Academy
players playing for their clubs right across
the country this weekend. Everyone is really
excited and we really understand the value
of these lads playing in very competitive club
games and how important that is to their longterm
development on and off the pitch.
“The relationships we have with our clubs is
so important and we’re just looking forward
to seeing the lads play this week and looking
forward to getting out to watch some quality
club rugby.“
On young players in action for the Munster
Development XV…
“With so many guys out of rugby for so long
because of the gap with Covid, we made the
decision to run a residential camp in UL with
our U20s and some late developers. We had
a very enjoyable and successful programme
there for a couple of months and on the back of
that we had a game against the Leinster U20s
and had a really good win in UL.
“We then had a couple of internal games against
our U19s because, frustratingly, we had some
other games called off due to Covid.
“It was great for that squad to continue,
supplemented by some of the Academy players,
into a development game against Ulster and
that was an excellent win up in Dublin.
“Last weekend against Leinster a few more
Academy players came in along with some
of the young senior players who came in
for game-time, which is the beauty of those
development games. Unfortunately, that was
a very frustrating game where we struggled. It
was the opposite to the Ulster game, where we
started very well, and quickly found ourselves
14-0 down. It was a disappointing end to the
programme but it was a very enjoyable and
successful three months.
“The beauty of that is hopefully we have
identified the next layer of talent and the
majority of those players will populate our
NTS (National Talent Squad) programme and
populate our Academy going forward, and
that was the main aim of that programme. We
learned a lot about the players and have set
ourselves up nicely for the next 12 months.”
30 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
Academy winger Conor Phillips starring
for the Ireland Sevens in Canada...
“He had an excellent pre-season here and
looked really sharp. He played really well in
an internal game here which was good for him
and good for his confidence and he carried that
into the Sevens World Series. He featured very
strongly for Ireland across the two weekends,
scoring six tries. “Feedback has been really
positive from the staff there and from Conor
himself so great to see him carry that form from
the summer into those tournaments.
“Hopefully his status is raised this year because
I think it’s fair to say he was more peripheral
when he was with the Ireland Sevens team last
year, which is difficult when you’re away from
home and not as centrally involved in all the big
matches.
“His goal is to be involved in the big games and
the big weekends and I think that makes being
away from home and in camp for such a long
periods, and travelling for such long periods – it
makes that far more enjoyable if the reward is
there at the end of the weekend and he gets to
perform on the big stage so really good for him
all round.”
Academy Manager
Ian Costello
Daniel Okeke
Jonathan Wren
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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32 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
GETTING TO KNOW
JASON JENKINS
Jason Jenkins has been settling into life in Munster after his arrival at the province this
summer.
The South African, who can play in the back
or second row, joined from Toyota Verblitz
who play in the Japanese Top League.
ON SETTLING IN…
“Very well I must say. It’s been quite easy to
come into such a welcoming environment.
All the boys have been good. The coaching
staff just helped me settle into my new place
and I’m really enjoying it so far.”
ON HIS RUGBY PATHWAY…
“Straight after school I went to the Bulls
Juniors U19s. I was there for a couple of
years and made my Super Rugby debut in
2016. I played there for four seasons while
also doing a six-month stint in Japan for
three of those seasons as well. I played
South African U20s back in 2015 and
played in the South African ‘A’ team in 2016
against the Saxons and against the French
Barbarians. In 2018 I made my Springbok
debut against Wales.”
ON THE RG CONNECTION…
“We’ve been best mates for quite awhile,
probably around 7 years now. Obviously,
the fact that he was also here was a big
factor, but it wasn’t the deciding factor. It was
just a bonus. For me, it was just getting the
opportunity and to play really competitive
rugby again coming out of Japan and to put
yourself out there and challenge yourself a
bit. I felt I was still at a young age, at 25, and
I was ready for that challenge. I was lucky to
get the opportunity and it is a bonus to have
your best mate around as well.”
Prior to that, he represented his home club
the Bulls over four years, lining out with RG
Snyman, and is widely recognised for his
strong ball-carrying abilities.
home. It’s going to be interesting to play
against them but I’m looking forward to it.
It’s exciting to be able to challenge yourself,
and to see where the South African teams
are compared to the European teams.
Everyone’s looking forward to that.”
ON LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEW
SEASON…
“It’s been interesting. Obviously, the first
couple of weeks you get to know the guys.
I wasn’t sure who was playing where at
the start. But I think we have good depth
in our squad, and I think that will make
our team better, the fact that we
will be challenging each other.
On the other hand it’s also a
really long season playing in
two tournaments so I’m sure
all of us will get opportunities
hopefully and we can keep
challenging each other to
get better. We want to
look to win, that’s the
goal. Hopefully I can
contribute to that in
any way possible,
whether it’s playing
or preparing the
guys, so I’m really
looking forward
to it.”
ON PLAYING AGAINST HIS FORMER SIDE,
THE BULLS, THIS SEASON…
“I think it’s going to be really interesting.
The Bulls has been my home for the last
4 or 5 years. I’ve got a lot of friends back
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
33
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MARKS AND SPENCER
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COMMUNITY RUGBY
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36 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
RUGBY DEVELOPMENT NEWS
UPCOMING COACHING
COURSES
learning and development. This season will see
a further evolvement of our eLearning system,
GAINLINE, and the implementation of more
short pre-course modules. In addition, we will
look at delivering more face-to-face events to
ensure we build on the coach’s development
and maintain their active badge criteria.”
NEW YOUTH TEAM IN
WATERFORD
Munster Rugby will deliver several coaching
courses again this autumn for coaches at
mini, youth and advanced levels. The courses
are designed to support coach learning and
development with a specific focus on developing
the coach, player and game.
There are eight courses announced, four each
at mini and youth levels to accommodate
coaches across the province. The Coaching
Children Course (mini rugby) is designed to
support coaches of U6-U12 age groups and
focuses on the coach acting as a guide to
enhance the players understanding of the game
whilst integrating fun and inclusivity. The Youth
Coaching Course is designed to support coaches
of U13-U16 age groups and also coaches who
are new to coaching 15-a-side rugby.
Registration is now open and can be accessed
HERE.
Announcing this season’s schedule of courses,
Munster Rugby Coach and Player Development
Manager Keith Murphy said:
Waterford City RFC and Tramore RFC have
come together to form a new Youth Rugby team
known as Waterford Rugby.
The aim of the new team is to provide a clear
pathway for the Minis players from both
Waterford City RFC and Tramore RFC to
continue with the sport as they get older. It is
also hoped that by forming a dedicated Youth
section between the two clubs, Waterford
Rugby will also be able to recruit children who
have never played the sport in addition to those
who want to return to playing rugby in the East
Waterford area.
Currently, Waterford Rugby consists of an U13/
U14 team with the hope of moving up to U15/
U16 next season.
The team played their first match at the weekend
against Dungarvan RFC with many of the players
experiencing 15-a-side rugby for the first time.
Training sessions are held on Thursday evenings
(Waterford City RFC) and Sunday mornings
(Tramore RFC). For more information, please
contact Tony McCahill at tonymccahill1@gmail.com.
“We are delighted to be announcing this
season’s coaching courses. Covid restricted our
approach in coach development regarding faceto-face
activities and challenged our traditional
coach development methodology. It is great
to see such a quick transition into blended
learning and supporting coaches continuous
The Waterford Rugby U13/14 side that
took on Dungarvan last weekend
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
37
5,000 FREE Munster Junior
Supporters Club memberships
Registration opens Mon 4th October!
Proud Sponsors of Junior Munster Rugby Supporters Club
.
www.inverenergy.ie
www.mrsc.ie/junior-club
38 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
MRSC NEWS
FREE JUNIOR CLUB MEMBERSHIP
OPENS 4 OCTOBER
We’ve had an amazing 12 months with
the Junior MRSC including Q&A’s with
our heroes, hearing great stories from our
captain, making comic books, completing
drills and we even had Damian de Allende
sing “Let It Go”! With our sponsors Inver,
we’ve also spoken about important topics
such internet safety, physical activity and
developing a positive mindset and we will
continue to talk about important topics to
help our Junior members develop.
As we go forward over the next year, we will
be looking to bring back some of the events
we all love with the Junior Club, and we
will continue to offer the next generation of
Munster fans the best experience possible
with:
• A membership pack delivered for
Christmas which includes an exclusive gift
• Chances to be selected as match day
mascot for the Munster team throughout
the season
• Junior Club only member events
throughout the year
• Exclusive competitions with great prizes
• Our exclusive email newsletter
FREE membership will once again be open
for registration from 4 October next.
O’RIORDAN RAISES 17K FOR
MUNSTER’S CHARITIES
MRSC member Ivan O'Riordan is a wellknown
face at Munster games, having
taken photos pitch side at Munster games
for many years at home and on the road,
including Marseilles, Treviso, Exeter and
Milton Keynes.
A huge Munster supporter, Ivan has gone
to fantastic lengths to not only support the
team, but to also support Munster’s official
charities. Since 2012, Ivan has raised €17k
through the sale of his rugby photos.
This season, he hopes to reach €20k by
offering his photos for sale online.
On behalf of Munster Rugby, we wish
to thank Ivan for his incredible efforts
in supporting our official charities and
capturing so many special moments.
Ivan presenting Andrew Conway with a
photo of his try against Toulon in 2018
Ivan's photo of Simon Zebo's hat-trick in the away European
match against Northampton Saints in 2012
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
39
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42 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
PROGRESS ON AND OFF THE PITCH
FOR KILRUSH RFC
Earlier this month, Kilrush RFC reached a
milestone in the club’s development as the
they fielded an adult junior team for the
first time in five years.
The West Clare club have been working
hard to further develop their underage
structures and this has helped generate
players who are ready and available for
adult rugby.
“The last number of years, the numbers
haven’t really been there for many socioeconomic
reasons but the great thing now
is that we’re starting to see a resurgence of
that,” Kilrush RFC Director of Rugby Andy
Burke said.
“It’s great to have it back because it really
is the soul and the driving force behind
the club to have a junior team back going
again. It’s a great achievement, and like
that, if it wasn’t for our volunteer base who
work so hard to generate the momentum,
to put all the infrastructure and the
administrative structures in place in order
to get that team up and running again, then
we wouldn’t be here.”
The strong emphasis the club has put on
its underage sides over the last 10 years
has seen players from the club represent
Munster at age-grade interprovincial level.
Now that an adult junior side is in place,
Burke hopes that players will remain with
the club or those who return to West Clare
to settle down can now avail of an adult
rugby offering.
“We really believe that a lot more people
since the pandemic are staying local,
looking to live local, operate remotely and
we can benefit off that by having the team
available for them. This is a really positive
move for us.”
The club are also looking forward to the
formal opening of their second, full-sized
pitch in the coming weeks with the next
phase of that project being the installation
of LED floodlights.
Looking into the future, the club are
still passionate about fielding an adult
women’s side as they currently have strong
structures in place at underage level while
they hope the return of junior rugby will
generate more momentum and excitement
in all areas of the club.
For more information on playing with
Kilrush RFC at any level, please email
andyburke78@gmail.com
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
43
44 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
GREENCORE MUNSTER
RUGBY ACADEMY PROFILE
CIAN HURLEY
Twenty-one-year-old lock, Cian Hurley hails from Clonakilty and made his Munster
senior debut against Benetton Rugby in March this year at age 20. Paired with Thomas
Ahern in the second row, they became the youngest starting combination for Munster
Rugby in the professional era.
He is a product of Clonakilty RFC and CBC, and plays AIL rugby with Garryowen FC. He
was recently involved in Ian Costello’s Munster Development XV against Leinster.
ON HIS RUGBY PATHWAY…
“I started playing rugby when I was
about 8 years of age. I spent my younger
years living in South Africa so I would
have grown up playing rugby there in
Johannesburg. Once we moved to Ireland
– my parents are Irish – we settled down in
Clonakilty and just started taking my rugby
seriously from then. I was 13, so I was
playing U14 rugby at the time in Clonakilty
Rugby Club. I got the opportunity to go
to Christian Brothers College in Cork and
won the Senior Cup with them
in 6th Year. I managed to get
back to Clonakilty and played
two junior games with them
and actually won a junior cup,
which was great craic. I
came out of school and
came to UL to study
Social Management. I
joined Garryowen and
played a bit of AIL last
year which was great
exposure.”
ON REPRESENTING
MUNSTER…
“I played all of the underage
levels all the way up. I
started with the U16s down
in CIT with Ken O’Connell
and Eugene McCarthy, who is
another West Cork man. I played
U18 Schools and Munster A's.
During that time I represented
Ireland U18s as well.”
ON HIS EXPERIENCE OF THE
GREENCORE MUNSTER RUGBY
ACADEMY SO FAR…
“Good. I’m really enjoying it. Obviously
it's great that there is a mixture between
the Academy lads and the senior lads.
I’ve really settled in, and the lads have just
made it very, very easy for me to do that.”
ON MAKING HIS DEBUT IN THOMOND
PARK LAST SEASON…
“It was an incredible honour. I was thrilled
when I got the call off Johann to get in and
I was delighted to start that game and play
the full thing. Now it’s about picking up the
next one as quickly as I can. I want to keep
improving, keep pushing and get a couple
of more appearances hopefully…get
in front of the senior coaches and
show them what I’m capable
of doing. Hopefully I can take
my opportunities and run
with them.”
ON DEPTH AT SECOND
ROW…
“There’s a lot of competition
there but at the same time,
there’s a lot of opportunity for
learning. There’s a lot of fellas
offering different mindsets
coming off different squads,
like RG coming back in and he
was part of a World Cup winning
squad. It’s great to learn from
him. It just drives us all on and I
think we are all quite competitive,
so we really get the best out of each
other.”
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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46 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE
MUNSTER RUGBY
SHOP THE
2021/22 RANGE
MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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MUNSTER V DHL STORMERS | 02.10.21 | THOMOND PARK
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