Munster Rugby v Benetton Rugby Match Programme

v BENETTON RUGBY | FRI 19 MAR 2021 | THOMOND PARK | 6PM 

MUNSTER v BENETTON | 19.03.21 | THOMOND PARK 

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Loved in Munster. 

Followed the world over. 

Always represented. 

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PRESIDENT’S WELCOME 

Tonight, we welcome Kieran Crowley and his 

Benetton team to Thomond Park for the final 

round of the Guinness PRO14. Munster are 

already in the final and undoubtedly this is a 

game that all involved in will be fully focused 

on and will take nothing for granted. 

Our best wishes to Johann and all the squad 

in tonight’s game and of course in the allimportant 

final next weekend in Dublin. 

Last weekend, as we were all watching the 

Scarlets game from home, to see the 1000+ 

portraits and the 100 or so club and schools' 

jerseys is a testament of who we are and what 

we represent. 

While our domestic game is still on hold, the 

incredible work behind the scenes is ongoing. 

This involves all the Chairpersons, Secretaries 

and members of our Rugby, Senior clubs, 

Junior Clubs, Women’s, Schools, Age Grade, 

Youths, and Competitions committees. This 

is in conjunction and with the full support of 

all our professional staff, from our CEO to our 

Head of Rugby Development, his team and 

everyone involved in Munster Rugby. While 

there are some competitions that may not 

happen, at no stage was there ever a thought of 

"let’s leave it until the start of next season." The 

main focus is that we are primed and ready to 

go when we are allowed to do so. This involves 

a wide range of activities being put together 

to cover all eventualities. To all involved in this 

process, there is great credit due to the effort, 

commitment and having the foresight to make 

sure that going forward into the immediate 

future, our players and volunteers will be fully 

engaged with our schools and clubs. 

The news of CJ Stander’s retirement will of 

course come as a shock to everyone. A lot 

has been said and written about CJ in the last 

number of days. When CJ arrived here in 2012, 

he immediately embraced the ‘Munster way’, 

and I know I speak for all of us when I say that 

the Munster Family in turn embraced CJ. One 

of our recent Munster Presidents was asked 

near the end of his term what was the highlight 

of his year - he instantly replied that it was the 

hour and 30 minutes he sat beside CJ on a flight 

to an away game. That simply epitomizes CJ. 

Our best wishes to CJ, his wife Jean-Marié and 

daughter Everli in their next chapter. 

Once again, our thanks to our main sponsor 

Bank of Ireland, our kit supplier adidas and all 

our sponsors for their continued support. 

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 


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GUINNESS PRO14 CAMPAIGN TO CONCLUDE IN 

MARCH AHEAD OF NEW “RAINBOW CUP” WITH 

SOUTH AFRICA’S TOP FOUR ‘SUPER’ TEAMS 

The current Guinness PRO14 campaign will 

end in March allowing South Africa’s four 

‘Super’ teams and our existing clubs to 

finish the season with a 16-team “Rainbow 

Cup” competition ahead of the British & 

Irish Lions tour. 

After consulting with key PRO14 stakeholders, the Guinness 

PRO14 Rainbow Cup was chosen as the best pathway to 

finish up the current campaign and introduce South Africa’s 

four ‘Super’ teams: the Vodacom Bulls; Emirates Lions; Cell 

C Sharks and DHL Stormers. This decision also allows our 

European-based sides to earn qualification for European 

Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) tournaments in 2021/22 in 

a fair and equitable manner. 

Ahead of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, 

the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will provide a groundbreaking 

spectacle for fans who will see international star 

players from north and south establish new rivalries in their 

bid for the ultimate Test selection. 

Right through until the last kick of the ball in the Rainbow 

Cup in June, fans will be able to watch it all unfold with our 

broadcast partners Premier Sports, eir Sport, S4C, TG4, 

DAZN and Super Sport. 

How it will Work 

• The 2020/21 Guinness PRO14 campaign will finish after 16 

rounds with the Conference winners facing each other in a 

final in late March 

• Qualification for EPCR tournaments in 2021/22 will be 

decided by rankings after Round 16 

• On April 17, 2021, the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will 

kick-off and introduce the Vodacom Bulls, Emirates Lions, 

Cell C Sharks and DHL Stormers and their World Cupwinning 

Springboks 

• The Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will consist of a pool 

stage (two pools of eight teams) and a final between the 

two pool winners 

FINAL CHAPTER OF GUINNESS PRO14 

fixture list will aim to ensure home and away in-conference 

fixtures are completed and each team plays all of its 

cross-conference matches also. Further clarification will be 

available when fixtures are confirmed. 

The scheduled dates for the conclusion of the 2020-21 

Guinness PRO14 campaign are: 

R12: February 20 

R13: February 27 

R14: March 6 

R15: March 13 

R16: March 20 

Final: March 27 

Once Round 16 has been completed, the top-ranked teams 

from each conference will qualify for the 2021/22 Heineken 

Champions Cup. Requirement for play-offs is under review. 

GUINNESS PRO14 “RAINBOW CUP” 

FORGING NEW RIVALRIES 

With South Africa preparing to host their first British & Irish 

Lions tour since 2009, the World Cup champions will see 

their ‘Super’ teams – the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers 

take on the very best that Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales 

have to offer. 

Players aiming to make the British & Irish Lions squad will 

find no better trial environment to test themselves in, as 

they go up against the likes of Siya Kolisi, Pieter Steph du 

Toit (both DHL Stormers), Duane Vermeulen (Vodacom 

Bulls), Elton Jantjies (Emirates Lions) and former Guinness 

PRO14 top-try scorer Makazole Mapimipi (Cell C Sharks). 

The Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will kick off on April 17 

with two pools of 8 teams made up of two Irish, two South 

African, two Welsh, one Italian and one Scottish club. Each 

team will play one game against each pool opponent and 

the sides that finish top of their pools will face off in a final 

on June 19. 

Across 57 matches, the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup will 

feature the best of the Springbok talent going toe-to-toe 

with some of the British & Irish Lions’ biggest names – every 

one of them keen to lay down a marker to their respective 

selectors ahead of what will prove to an historic tour. 

Rounds 12 to 16 will take place from February 20 and 

conclude on March 20. A final will then take place at the 

home venue of the highest-ranked team. This abbreviated 


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MUNSTER v BENETTON 

ROUND 16 PREVIEW 

The final round of the Guinness PRO14 takes place 

this weekend but with several teams still having 

games in hand, the battle for spots in Europe’s elite 

competition may not be settled over the next few 

days. 

History will be made tonight in Thomond Park 

when Hollie Davidson takes charge of the match 

between Munster and Benetton. Joy Neville will 

serve as Television Match Official, making this the 

first time in top-tier men's professional club rugby 

fixture that both the referee and TMO roles are 

filled by female officials. 

Munster are already in the final and wrap up the 

Conference phase against Benetton, who were the 

last Italian team to beat Munster in any competition 

seven and a half years ago. 

Hanrahan to give a much-changed Munster side an 

18-16 victory at the end of January. 

Munster extended their winning run in the PRO14 

to five games with last Friday’s 28-10 victory over 

Scarlets thanks to tries from Gavin Coombes, 

Shane Daly, Niall Scannell and Kevin O’Byrne. 

Benetton were in sight of a first victory of the PRO14 

season on Sunday when they took an 11-point lead 

approaching half-time, only to succumb to a 29-14 

defeat against the Cardiff Blues. 

Billy Holland is tackled 

by Juan-Ignacio Brex 

Their last two meetings have been settled by just 

two points and it took a last-gasp drop goal from JJ 

CONFERENCE B TABLE 

POS TEAM PL W D L BP PTS 

1 Munster Rugby 15 13 0 2 7 59 

2 Connacht Rugby 15 8 0 7 11 43 

3 Scarlets 15 7 0 8 6 34 

4 Cardiff Blues 15 7 0 8 3 31 

5 Edinburgh Rugby 13 5 0 8 4 24 

6 Benetton Rugby 13 0 0 13 6 6 

HEAD TO HEAD 15 3 0 

Munster wins 

• Munster have not been defeated by an Italian 

opponent in any competition since today’s 

adversaries, Benetton, won 29-19 at Stadio 

Monigo in September 2013. 

• Benetton’s most recent victory away at an 

Irish Province was 17-15 against Leinster at 

the RDS Arena in April 2018. 

• Munster have won their last eleven PRO14 

clashes with Benetton and have never lost at 

home to the Italian outfit. 

MATCH FACTS 

Benetton wins 

Draws 

• Gavin Coombes leads the way in Munster 

with tries scored, picking up his 8th try in the 

competition last weekend. Gavin also has the 

most successful carries to date across the 

tournament with 78. 

• Benetton’s Jayden Hayward lies in second 

place in the ‘metres gained’ stats with 642, 

just ahead of Mike Haley on 635. 

• Munster’s Chris Cloete has turned over more 

ball than any other player in the tournament to 

date with 14 turnovers. 


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THE INSIDE 

TRACK 

GRAHAM ROWNTREE 

On his reaction to CJ’s retirement 

announcement earlier this week… 

“What a loss. Gutted. So sorry to see him go. 

Delighted he’s doing it on his terms. There’s 

plenty of rugby for him to play before he does 

it. What a shock to us all. Great bloke. Great 

rugby player, but great bloke more importantly. 

We’ll miss him around here. Literally some big 

shoes to fill. It’s day in day out. Every session he 

empties the tank. Every game he usually plays 

80 minutes. He gives his all every session. He 

is such a good guy around the place. Humble, 

professional but warm as well. He loves a bit 

of craic, as everyone does here. He’ll be a 

big character to replace. I can’t speak highly 

enough about the bloke. He’s one of the best 

guys I’ve worked with.” 

On losing two big characters after Billy 

announced his retirement also recently… 

“Big characters. Both guys I’ve grown to really 

like having admired them play from afar. I got 

to work with CJ on the last Lions Tour. Getting 

to know Billy, and how he operates…they are 

great for the young lads and will be tough to 

replace. But what we are finding is that we are 

developing some guys who are able to replace 

them.” 

On last weekend's win over Scarlets… 

“I was delighted with the performance. We 

targeted areas where we wanted to try and 

establish ourselves, get a foothold in the game. 

I was really pleased for Joey. He’s had his 

frustrations for the last year, 18 months, and 

also some of the young lads that are getting 

game as well. I thought Alex Kendellen was 

fantastic off the bench, he had to come on early 

on. All round, job done last Friday night and 

then we move on to this one.” 

On how some of the younger players have 

developed this season… 

“They’ve done well. They are missing game 

time. They are missing the AIL. With that in mind 

we’ve had them training with us as much as 

possible, every day. If you think about it, they’ve 

been training with us on deck every day. They’re 

doing live maul, lineouts, lineout competition, 

live scrum. They are getting as much live 

practice day in day out. That’s developed them. 

What we have found is that when we put in the 

youngsters, they are delivering. That pulls along 

all the other youngsters as well. Now is the time 

to really trust our squad and bring these guys in 

and let them play.” 


LIAM COOMBES 

On his season so far… 

“With Covid, there has been limited 

opportunities for fellas, we just had to adapt, 

and I think we’ve adapted well all season. 

Whatever chances I got, whatever chances 

any young fella got, it was about taking them 

and adding to the squad. I think we’ve done 

it really well this season. Whenever someone 

was missing, or someone was given a chance, 

whoever stepped in has done the job and 

performed well so it's been good on that side. 

There’s been extra A games this season, and 

that’s given us extra game time. Those games 

have been very competitive. Being interpros, 

there’s a bit of extra spice to them. They’ve 

been very high-quality games. We’ve really 

enjoyed them, tried to put our best foot forward 

in the squad so we can push for selection in the 

PRO14.” 

On playing Benetton tonight… 

“I think they’ve been quite unlucky this year. 

They haven’t got a win yet this season but 

there’s been a lot of small moments at the 

end of games that have cost them. Against us 

with the drop goal, against Connacht the last 

play of the game with a try off a maul. Even in 

recent years, the last time we played them in 

the quarter-final, I think it was a JJ kick from 

the half-way line that won it. We were lucky 

to get through that one. They’ve had a lot of 

disruptions this season with Covid and a lot of 

players away in the Italian set up, so I think it’s 

a really big challenge this weekend and we are 

really focused on it.” 

On being selected at outside centre earlier this 

season… 

“I really enjoyed it to be honest, got more hands 

on the ball. Probably the biggest difference 

between wing and centre is the physicality and 

decision-making in defence. But I really enjoyed 

the challenge and felt I did quite well. The more 

game time I get there, the better I will get. Any 

A games I get to play there in the centre will 

only add to my skillset.” 

On CJ’s announcement… 

“It came as a shock to everyone. He will be 

a massive loss to the squad in terms of 

his talent, he’s an unbelievable player. 

Probably one of the best ball carriers 

in the squad and the country. He’s 

an unbelievable leader in the group 

as well. Since I came into the setup, 

he’s been a senior player and really 

drives people on. He will be missed. 

We are lucky we have him for the last 

few months of the season. I’m sure he will want 

to win a trophy as a send-off. So there are no 

goodbyes yet.” 


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13

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MUNSTER IN THE 

COMMUNITY 

Irish Heart Foundation 

ambassador Shane Daly 

Jack Daly, Cian Hurley, Eoghan Clarke and Keynan Knox 

commit to the Freezbrury Challenge for Pieta House 

Kevin O’Byrne an advocate for 

Jigsaw – The National Centre for Youth Mental Health 

Keynan Knox, Cian Hurley, Jack Daly and 

Eoghan Clarke in the River Shannon 

Despite the current restrictions Munster players 

are continuing to show their support for well 

deserving charities and much needed services 

during this time. 

While following all the government measures 

the players are supporting charity efforts 

within the guidelines and using their online 

platforms to raise awareness and funding for 

vital resources. 

Keynan Knox, Jack Daly, Eoghan Clarke and 

Cian Hurley put their recovery time to good use 

when taking part in the recent ‘Freezbruary’ 

campaign in support of Pieta House. For the 

month of February, the quartet committed to 

the endurance challenge building up their time 

spent in the cold water of the River Shannon. 

Several players joined at different stages, but it 

was Knox, Daly, Clarke and Hurley who showed 

great resilience to complete the daily challenge 

in support of Pieta House while raising vital 

funds. 

Kevin O’Byrne recently linked up with with 

Jigsaw – The National Centre for Youth Mental 

Health as an advocate. O’Byrne got straight 

down to business by supporting the Jigsaw 

challenge and he too recruited his teammates 

when targeting the 1200km activity goal over 

five days. 

Neil Cronin, RG Snyman, Calvin Nash and Rhys 

Marshall helped Kevin with a mix of activities 

including daily walks, runs and bike time in the 

gym to complete the challenge while raising 

awareness for Jigsaw’s essential services. 

Last month also saw the Irish Heart Foundation 

lead with their Valentine’s Day campaign and 

Shane Daly announced his new ambassador 

role with the well-known charity. 

MUNSTER v BENETTON | 19.03.21 | THOMOND PARK 15

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Tadhg Beirne in action against 

Scotland last weekend 

INTERNATIONAL RUGBY 

ROUND UP 

Ireland’s 24-27 win over Scotland last Sunday was 

their second win of the Six Nations Championship, 

the result seeing them climbing to second place 

in the table with one game to play. France and 

Scotland have a game in hand due to their clash 

being postponed. 

For the second game in row, Munster’s Tadhg 

Beirne picked up the Guinness Six Nations 

Player of the Match award for his outstanding 

performance, which included scoring Ireland's 

third try early in the second half – his second of 

the tournament. The game also saw CJ Stander, 

who announced he will retire from rugby at the 

end of the season earlier this week, earn his 

50th cap for Ireland. 

Keith Earls was surely also in contention for the 

Player of the Match award for his impressive 

performance on the wing, with Dave Kilcoyne 

also playing his part off the bench. 

CJ Stander continues to lead the tournament 

stats with 64 carries while Tadhg Beirne’s 7 

turnovers puts him in joint first place with his 

teammate Iain Henderson. 

Ireland play England tomorrow in Dublin in their 

last game of the tournament at 4.45pm. 

CJ Stander and 

Keith Earls after 

the game against 

Scotland last 

Sunday 

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

1 Wales 4 4 0 0 134 71 63 17 7 3 0 19 

2 Ireland 4 2 0 2 104 70 34 10 8 1 2 11 

3 France 3 2 0 1 85 46 39 11 4 1 1 10 

4 England 4 2 0 2 94 89 5 10 9 1 1 10 

5 Scotland 3 1 0 2 59 58 1 7 6 0 2 6 

6 Italy 4 0 0 4 45 187 -142 5 26 0 0 0 


19

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THE LOWDOWN 

THE FORM GUIDE 

Benetton may lie in 6th position in Conference 

B and not yet registered a win this season, but 

that doesn’t quite tell the full story, which has 

seen the Italian side come tantalisingly close 

on a number of occasions and lose by just the 

narrowest of margins. In November, Ospreys 

won by two points at the Liberty Stadium. In 

January, Munster got the edge over Benetton 

also by two points to take the win, while at 

the end of February, Connacht scraped a 17- 

19 win over Benetton with a dramatic last 

minute score by Bundee Aki snatching the 

win. In fact, Benetton have picked up six losing 

bonus points in thirteen games. With 27 tries 

in the tournament, they’ve touched down more 

times than Cardiff Blues, Edinburgh and Zebre 

this season. With 43 tries scored against them, 

they’ve leaked less tries than Dragons and Zebre 

and just two more than Glasgow Warriors. Last 

weekend they played Cardiff Blues and despite 

being ahead 14-10 at half-time, a second half 

surge from the Welsh side saw Benetton lose 

14-29 at home. 

THE COACHING TICKET 

Former All Black Kieran Crowley arrived in 

Treviso in 2016, having led previously at 

Taranaki from 1998-2007, and coaching the 

New Zealand U19 team to World Championship 

success in 2007. He became head coach of 

Canada in 2008, taking them to two Rugby 

World Cups. Benetton Rugby reached the 

Guinness PRO14 quarter-finals for the first time 

in the club's history in 2019, running Munster 

close in that game. He also won the PRO14 

‘Coach of the Year’ award in 2019, the first coach 

of an Italian franchise to win this accolade. It 

was announced in January that Crowley is set 

to leave Benetton at the end of this season. 

His backroom team includes former Italy and 

Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami as lineout/ 

forwards coach, South African Marius Goosen 

as defence coach, who also has a dual role 

with the Italian national side, and former Italy 

internationals Fabio Ongaro as forwards/scrum 

coach and backs coach Ezio Galon. 

In the European Challenge Cup, Benetton 

defeated Stade Francais 20-44 in Paris in 

Round 1, scoring seven tries in the process. 

While their second round game against Agen 

was cancelled, they will get their chance to face 

the French side in the upcoming 'Round of 16' 

in early April. 

Italy coach Franco Smith included fifteen 

Benetton Rugby players in his Six Nations squad 

which was announced in January, including 

Marco Riccioni, Cherif Traore, Gianmarco 

Lucchesi, Niccolò Cannone, Marco Lazzaroni, 

Michele Lamaro, Sebastian Negri, Federico 

Ruzza, Callum Braley, Tommaso Allan, Paolo 

Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Monty Ioane, Luca 

Sperandio and Marco Zanon. 

ONE TO WATCH 

Position: Utility Back 

Age: 34 

Born: Hawera, New Zealand 

Height: 6’0” 

Weight: 90kg 

2020/21 Appearances: 12 

Try assists: 4 

Metres gained: 642 

Carries: 97 

Offloads:14 

Tackles: 31 

Honours: Italy 

(26 caps) 

JAYDEN HAYWARD 

*current season stats – 

Guinness PRO14 


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 

Liam O'Connor Diarmuid Barron Keynan Knox Cian Hurley Thomas Ahern 

Jack 

O'Donoghue (C) 

Chris Cloete 

Jack O'Sullivan 

Paddy Patterson 

JJ Hanrahan 

Liam Coombes 

Rory Scannell 

Alex McHenry 

Andrew Conway 

Jake Flannery 

#MUNvBEN 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION 

Replacements 

16. Rhys Marshall 17. Jeremy Loughman 18. Roman Salanoa 19. Jack Daly 

20. Tommy O'Donnell 21. Nick McCarthy 22. Ben Healy 23. Matt Gallagher 


BENETTON RUGBY 

STARTING XV 

Nicola Quaglio 

Tomas Baravalle 

Filippo Alongi 

Irné Herbst 

Eli Colin Snyman 

Alberto Sgarbi 

Manuel Zuliani 

Giovanni 

Pettinelli 

Dewaldt 

Duvenage (C) 

Tommaso Allan 

Angelo Esposito 

Luca Morisi 

Joaquin Riera 

Iliesa Ratuva 

Tavuyara 

Jayden Hayward 

MATCH OFFICIALS 

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU) 

AR1: Frank Murphy (IRFU) 

AR2: Rob O’Sullivan (IRFU) 

TMO: Joy Neville (IRFU) 

Replacements 

16. Corniel Els 17. Thomas Gallo 18. Tiziano Pasquali 19. Nicola Piantella 

20. Marco Barbini 21. Luca Petrozzi 22. Tommaso Benvenuti 23. Leonardo Sarto 


25

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27

“THERE’S A PLACE 

FOR EVERYONE” 

Munster Rugby caught up with Women’s 

Committee Chairperson Wendy Keenan 

recently to discuss the development of the 

female game in the province and her hopes for 

the future once on-pitch activity returns. 

With the domestic game on hold for a significant 

portion of the last 12 months, Keenan admits 

there is disappointment that some of their 

exciting plans were put on hold but the former 

Munster player admits she is excited for when 

rugby does return considering the growth of 

the women’s game in Munster, particularly at 

underage and Minis level. 

“There’s a place for everyone,” Keenan says 

about the inclusivity of rugby in the province. 

“What’s important is that we promote 

participation and engagement with the group at 

all levels. It doesn’t have to be at a competitive 

level. Some girls just want to play for the 

camaraderie, that aspect of it. That’s important 

that we take that into consideration as well as 

a committee and we provide opportunities for 

girls to just play rugby. 

“They can attend blitz days and we often 

use Barbarians style blitz days. That’s been 

hugely successful, especially around the 

development of the adult game. In 2019 we 

did those development days and they were 

hugely popular. It’s definitely an aspect that 

needs to be promoted and it’s great to see, 

while traditionally the Minis would be a mix of 

boys and girls, we’re seeing lots of girls teams, 

female-only Minis teams now coming through 

in Munster. 

That just shows the growth of the game. That’s 

something as a committee that we have to look 

at and be cognisant of the fact because that will 

translate into even more increasing numbers at 

U14s which brings logistical issues when you’re 

organising a league but it is wonderful to see.” 

Although there is no on-pitch activity currently 

taking place, there is plenty of work going on 

behind the scenes in the female game. 

With the Regional Development Squads, there 

are 80 players undertaking weekly individual 

skills and S&C programmes from home. As part 

of this, there are weekly online fitness classes in 

addition to fun-based skills and S&C challenges. 

Aligned with this, there are 20 coaches involved 

in the female game who have been invited to 

take part in the recently established Munster 

Women’s Rugby Coach Development Pathway. 

At club level, online workshops have taken 

place which promote home player development 

programmes that have been provided by the 

Rugby Development Department. In addition to 

this, the #MoveWithMunster campaign, which 

includes demonstrations from Ciara Griffin, Enya 

Breen and Eimear Considine, provides young 

players with fun animal movement challenges 

they can do from home. 

A Munster Rugby Women Development 

webinar series also took place before 

Christmas which focussed on Mini and agegrade 

coaches involved in the women’s game 


and U16 and U18 age-grade coaches as part 

of the scrum and lineout trial introduction. 

Further webinars as part of this series will be 

launched in the coming weeks. 

Keenan says that with such growth in the 

women’s and girls game in the province, it’s 

hugely important to remain engaged and provide 

opportunities for players during these times 

when no on-pitch activity can take place. 

“We have to recognise that girls’ 

rugby is one of the 

fastest-growing sports in Ireland." 

“We have to recognise that girls’ rugby is one 

of the fastest-growing sports in Ireland. That’s 

important for us to take that into consideration 

because we have to provide opportunities during 

these COVID times for not only skill development 

but also physical development in terms of S&C. 

“There’s a wonderful programme been driven 

by the development office in relation to girls 

engaging online with those programmes and 

followed up with support from their club coaches. 

“The Live sessions on a Wednesday here are 

very well engaged and there’s a lot of fun being 

had behind the scenes. Those girls are recording 

some of the programmes they’re doing and 

feeding those back to get feedback on them. 

“It has been really positive in terms of 

engagement for what’s going on at the moment. 

It’s really important for us to look at how we are 

able to engage with the clubs and get everything 

back up and running.” 

Keenan highlighted the importance of 

providing opportunities to young women to 

play on the big stage. 

“Last year we played the U18, U14 final in 

Independent Park along with the U18 league 

final. It was the day of a Six Nations match, 

it was on Saturday but it was an opportunity 

for our girls to play in Independent Park and I 

wasn’t going to deny them an opportunity to 

play in the stadium. 

“After the match, I was down among the parents 

and a gentleman came over to talk to me after 

the match. He put everything in context for 

me. He said he was sitting at home with his 

daughter the night before who had been playing 

scrumhalf actually for the winning team that 

day. She was sitting between her two brothers 

who player U18 and U20 rugby with their club. 

“They were watching the U20 international 

in Independent Park and 15 minutes into the 

match, his daughter said, “I’ll be playing on 

that pitch tomorrow.” It only resonated with 

the family that she was going to be playing 

on a pitch that was being hosted for an 

international match. I think that’s special. That 

we provide the girls with those opportunities 

and give them the experience to be able to 

play in the big stadiums.” 

Wendy Keenan with Emma Daly and 

Jessica Griffin of Bruff RFC 


29

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VIRTUAL MUNSTER MASCOTS 

SARAN O’NEILL 

Age: 7 

School: Barefield NS, Ennis, Co. Clare 

Hobbies: Art, rugby, hurling, cycling, running 

Favourite player: Andrew Conway 

DAITHI KELLY 

Age: 8 

School: St. Senan’s NS, Shannon, Co. Clare 

Hobbies: Rugby, Gaelic football, Lego and 

going to matches in Thomond Park 

Favourite players: Conor Murray & 

Craig Casey 


31

CAPLICE 

REMEMBERS HER ROOTS 

Mallow woman Anna Caplice has her eyes firmly set on the start of the 2021 Women’s Six 

Nations next month. 

With the growth of women’s rugby continuing 

to rise globally, the sport is unique in that it 

offers an opportunity to travel and experience 

a different lifestyle. The desire to challenge 

oneself in a new environment is what has led to 

Caplice to line out for London-based Harlequins 

alongside her Ireland teammate and fellow 

North Cork woman Leah Lyons. 

Caplice didn’t take up rugby until the relatively 

late age of 17 when the creation of a women’s 

team in the north Cork town grabbed her 

attention. 

“There was a very successful well-known rugby 

club in Mallow for a long time, no girls section 

at all. I always thought I would have to wait until 

I got to University to play but yeah, I was 17, 

it would have been my fifth year in school and 

had two more years in Mallow. 

“They started an underage girl’s teams and 

I never looked back. I played loads of other 

sports in Mallow. Once I started playing rugby, 

all my energy went into that. So grateful to have 

those couple of years of underage rugby. To be 

able to play for my hometown in Mallow.” 

As Caplice recalls her fledgling years in the 

sport, there’s one name which keeps cropping 

up and that’s Mervyn Shorten. As the backrow 

explains, Shorten played a pivotal role in 

developing girls and women’s rugby in Mallow. 

He had such an impact that when Caplice was 

selected in the 2017 Rugby World Cup squad, it 

was Mervyn she immediately wanted to thank. 

“My first coach was Mervyn Shorten and he 

gave loads of his time and energy to Mallow 

Rugby. And then when the girls started, he was 

just always there for us and put his heart and 

soul into us and our team. There are so many 


characters above in Mallow and every club in 

Munster will have them, but Mervyn was our 

number one man to get the show going for our 

girls’ rugby down in Mallow. It’s a real credit to 

him to have so many girls that went on to play 

for Munster, even at underage level. 

“When we were waiting for the notification for 

selection for the World Cup in 2017. It was really 

tense, and we knew that there was only so many 

places and some people wouldn’t get to go. 

It was a really tough afternoon waiting 

for the email and the email came and 

you’re looking for the first word, 

‘Congratulations, you have been 

selected.’ I didn’t know what to do 

with myself, I knew I was very lucky 

to be selected and I was overjoyed 

but I didn’t know what to do. 

“So, I picked up the keys of my house, 

I ran out the door and I went down to 

SuperValu. I picked up one card and I 

wrote it to Mervyn just to say that I’ve 

been selected for the World Cup and 

it’s all thanks to you. That was my initial 

reaction when I was selected for the World 

Cup. 

“It all comes back to the volunteer.” 

Nailing down of the Six Nations fixtures has 

been a huge boost for the women’s game, and 

Caplice is relishing the return to action. 

“I actually can’t describe how it feels to get 

those dates written down,” Caplice admits. 

“Anything can change at any moment, so we’re 

prepared for that too. To keep the wheel turning 

the whole time, to have worked hard all season 

and even when things were pulled from under 

our feet back in December when the Rugby 

World Cup qualifiers weren’t going to go ahead, 

to keep the wheel turning, to keep training and 

to keep on top of things, has really paid off.” 


33

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35

RUGBY DEVELOPMENT NEWS 

NEW INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT FEMALE REFEREES 

INTERESTED 

IN BECOMING A 

REFEREE? 

A joint venture between the Munster Rugby 

Women’s Development Department, the 

Women’s Committee and the Munster 

Association of Referees (MAR) sees the 

establishment of a new initiative aimed at 

enhancing the integration and development of 

Munster-based female referees. 

The Munster Rugby Female Referee Support 

Structure will contribute to the overall holistic 

approach to the development of women’s 

rugby in Munster. 

The implementation of this new initiative 

is in response to the need for more female 

referees and match officials within the sport 

in the province. 

Working closely with the MAR, it is hoped that 

the new Female Referee Support Structure will 

further develop the numbers and the quality of 

female referees. 

The new support structure, which will be run 

in conjunction with the current MAR pathway 

which is currently in place for all referees, 

will consist of targeted recruitment, specific 

education strategies, mentoring, femaleonly 

referee courses and strength and 

conditioning work. 

Chair of Management with the MAR, Adrienne 

Patterson commented: 

“Working with the Women’s Committee, it was 

recognised that there are very few women 

in refereeing. It’s very much still a maledominated 

area of the sport and while there is a 

lot of women playing rugby, and a lot of women 

becoming coaches, we’re not seeing the same 

level of interest in refereeing. 

“So in order to encourage women into 

refereeing, we felt it would be important to have 

a support structure there to assist them in the 

development as they become a referee.” 

For anyone who would like to register their 

interest, please contact: Women’s Development 

Officer Ken Imbusch at kenimbusch@ 

munsterrugby.ie or IRFU Referee Development 

Manager for Munster Chris Harrington at chris. 

harrington@irfu.ie. 


LIFESTYLE, HEALTH & WELL-BEING WEBINAR 

Rugby Development Officer Eugene McCarthy 

commented: 

“Education surrounding the areas of health 

and well-being are crucial to the development 

of young players in addition to the tactical and 

technical aspects. We are delighted to have 

been able to offer this opportunity for those 

in the province to hear from leaders in their 

respective fields.” 

The Rugby Development Department held a 

Lifestyle, Health and Well-Being Webinar on 

Monday last. 

The awareness programme on lifestyle, health 

and well-being was aimed at 15 to 18-year-olds 

specifically. 

Monday’s webinar featured Rory Doody, the 

HSE lead on mental health engagement for 

Cork and Kerry, who presented on well-being 

while performance coach and club community 

rugby officer Sana Govender focused on goal 

setting and building good habits. 

The first webinar, which took place on Monday, 

March 8, featured coach and player development 

officer Owen Mullowney while Denis Corridan, 

Luke Guerin and Kathy O’Sullivan also featured 

with a focus on the areas of Nutrition, Athletic 

Development and Rest & Recovery. 

Mallow native and Ireland international 7s 

player Emily Lane also took part in a Q&A with 

attendees as The Munster Rugby Development 

Department have designed a weekly individual 

training programme aimed at players U13 and 

up (including adults) during the current Level 5 

restrictions. 

Munster senior men’s player Kevin O’Byrne 

also hosted a Q&A session on the night. 

A weekly plan will be shared over the coming 

weeks to help support players and assist in 

keeping them active. This plan is most suitable 

for those involved in the 15-a-side game. 

LIFESTYLE, HEALTH & WELL-BEING WEBINAR 

The Munster Rugby Development Department 

have designed a weekly individual training 

programme aimed at players U13 and up 

(including adults) during the current Level 5 

restrictions. 

A weekly plan will be shared over the coming 

weeks to help support players and assist in 

keeping them active. This plan is most suitable 

for those involved in the 15-a-side game. 

Last week, the Week 9 edition of the Home Skills 

and Conditioning Programme was released, 

focusing on ball control and catch-pass skills in 

addition to some conditioning. 

Please ensure you take all precautions and put 

your safety first if carrying out any of these 

exercises at home. Please notify a parent or 

guardian if completing these physical contact 

exercises at home. 

Ball Control & Catch-Pass Skills 

Conditioning 

Click here for content to keep the Minis and 

Primary School aged children active during the 

current lockdown. 

Please visit the Coaching Children Playlist (U7- 

U12) on our YouTube channel (subscribe here) 

for previous videos and content from the last 

12 months. 


37

STAND UP 

AND FIGHT 

Cara O'Sullivan 


MUNSTER RUGBY 

SUPPORTERS CLUB 

News 

Our Junior MRSC members have been sending 

in letters of support to the players over the last 

few weeks. For tonight’s game, we feature some 

of the fantastic letters sent to Joey Carbery. Keep 

an eye on the MRSC social accounts as we will 

be featuring more of these great letters from our 

members in the coming weeks. 


39


GET INVOLVED 

FOLLOW 

ALL THE 

ACTION 

@PRO14Official 



@PRO14Rugby 




41

42 WWW.MUNSTERRUGBY.IE 

1

0Age: 25 

Born: Auckland, New Zealand 

Position: Flyhalf 

Season Appearances: 3 

Total Appearances: 22 

Honours: Ireland (22 caps) 

Minutes: 100 

Points: 15 

Conversions: 6 

Penalties: 1 

Kicking success: 100% 

Passes completed: 9 

Metres: 49 

JOEY 

CARBERY 

It’s been a big few weeks for Joey Carbery as he returned to action for the first time since January 

2020. Carbery came off the bench against Cardiff Blues on 26 February for his first taste of action, 

kicking a touchline conversion to top off his return in the red jersey. The following week he came 

on in the win over Connacht and kicked a conversion and a penalty. Last Friday night saw Carbery 

make his first start, playing a solid 60 minutes, kicking four conversions and picking up the 

Guinness PRO14 Player of the Match for his superb shift. Welcome back! 


43

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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 | 6pm Munster v Benetton Rugby Thomond Park 

Sat 27 Mar | 5pm Leinster v Munster Guinness PRO14 Final 

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

Sat 3 Apr | 3pm Munster v Stade Toulousain Heineken Champions Cup 


45


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NOW AVAILABLE 

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47


48

Munster Rugby v Benetton Rugby Match Programme

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