Munster
Munster (7) 34 / 18 (15) Stormers (Final Score)
Munster Rugby and the DHL Stormers did battle in Round 2 of the United Rugby Championship 2021 at
Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland, on 2 October 2021 at 20:35 SA Time (19:35 UK Time, 20:35 Italy Time, 18:35 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport Rugby on TV in SA.
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Munster (20) 42 / 17 (3) Sharks (Final Score)
Munster Rugby and the Cell C Sharks did battle in Round 1 of the United Rugby Championship 2021 at
Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland, on 25 September 2021 at 20:35 SA Time (19:35 UK Time, 18:35 GMT, 20:35 Italy Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport Rugby & CSN on TV in SA.
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Munster (28) 68 / 3 (3) Kings (Final Score)
Munster Rugby and the Southern Kings did battle in Round 11 of the Guinness PRO14 2019 / 2020 at
Irish Independant Park, Cork, Ireland on 14 February 2020 at 21:35 SA Time (19:35 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Johnny Sexton starts on the bench as Pro14 champions Leinster defend their title in the semi-final on Saturday against Munster in Dublin.
Leinster make four changes from the Champions Cup final defeat by Saracens.
Ross Byrne, Dave Kearney, Rhys Ruddock and fit-again Josh van der Flier, in his first game since Ireland’s Six Nations win over France, all start.
Munster also make four changes from the quarter-final win over Benetton with Keith Earls and Joey Carbery included.
Van der Flier has not played for Leinster since January, after sustaining a groin injury while on Six Nations duty. There were doubts whether he would be available again this season and his return is a timely boost for club and country in a World Cup year.
He replaces Sean O’Brien in the back row with Rhys Ruddock, who will captain the team, coming in for Scott Fardy.
Prop Mako Vunipola will make his first Saracens appearance since January against Munster after an ankle injury picked up on England duty.
Centre Brad Barritt, who was injured in the quarter-final win over Glasgow, and number eight Billy Vunipola also start.
Winger Keith Earls is missing for Munster after failing to recover from a thigh injury.
The flanker was one of a number of players rested in last weekend’s 37-28 win at Benetton.
Liam Williams returns on the wing for Saracens after missing the club’s last two games with a minor hamstring problem.
Munster (12) 43 / 0 (0) Kings (Final Score)
Munster Rugby and the Southern Kings did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2018 / 2019 at
Irish Independent Park, Cork, Ireland at 21:35 SA Time (19:35 UK Time & GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Munster (12) 38 / 0 (0) Cheetahs (Final Score)
Munster and the Toyota Cheetahs did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2018 / 2019 at
Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland at 18:15 SA Time (17:15 UK Time, 16:15 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 on TV in SA.
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Simon Zebo will start for Munster in his final home game for the Irish province when they host Edinburgh in their Pro14 play-off at Thomond Park.
The return of the full-back, who joins Racing 92 in June, is one of 12 changes from the side that drew with Ulster.
Edinburgh centres Chris Dean and Mark Bennett both return along with full-back Blair Kinghorn.
The winning side will travel to play Champions Cup finalists Leinster in the Pro14 semi-final in Dublin on 19 May.
Zebo will be partnered in the back three by fellow Irish internationals Keith Earls and Andrew Conway while the influential Conor Murray returns at scrum-back.
Fly-half JJ Hanrahan, centre Sammy Arnold and prop James Cronin at the three Munster players to retain their starting roles.
Forwards Gerbrandt Grobler and Robin Copeland, who will also leave Munster at the end of the season, are named among the replacements.
Toyota Cheetahs can seal their place in the Guinness PRO14 Final Series, in their first season in the Championship, if they defeat Munster Rugby at the Toyota Stadium tonight.
It’s third meets second in Conference A and it’s sure to be a much closer contest than when Munster thrashed the Cheetahs 51-18 at Thomond Park in the second round of the season.
The Cheetahs took a big step towards the play-offs last week as a late penalty try gave them a dramatic 29-27 victory over Cardiff Blues, while Munster ensured their season will be extended last weekend by defeating Southern Kings 39-22.
Hotly-tipped Dave Wessels has taken up a position with Melbourne Rebels in Super Rugby.
The Springboks’ assistant coach Johann van Graan will succeed Rassie Erasmus as the Munster Director of Rugby. The Irish Times has learned that van Graan, who formerly worked with the Bulls and is currently coaching the Springboks’ forwards, will link up with Munster after the conclusion of the Rugby Championships.
With Erasmus set to stay on until the end of the calendar year, this will enable van Graan to work alongside Erasmus for a while so as to ensure as smooth as possible. Van Graan was last year linked with Bath and more recently was supposedly on the Bulls’ short list, along with John Mitchell, to replace Nollis Marais as head coach.
Munster (22) 51 / 18 (6) Cheetahs (Final Score)
Munster and the Toyota Cheetahs did battle in the Guinness PRO14 2017 at
Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland at 18:15 SA Time (17:15 UK Time, 16:15 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 1 & CSN on TV in SA.
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Munster will take on Scarlets for the 2016-17 Pro12 title in next Saturday’s final after seeing off Ospreys at Thomond Park.
The win denied the lacklustre visitors an all-Welsh final against their closest rivals in Dublin.
But they could have no complaints on a day when only Munster touched down.
Scarlets had stunned Leinster 27-15 in Dublin a day earlier and will meet Munster at the city’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday 27 May (18:15 BST) in the final.
Johan ‘Rassie’ Erasmus was named Pro12′ Coach of the Season after guiding Munster to the semifinals of the Celtic League.
Erasmus, who is in his first season in charge of the Irish province, also had six of his Munster players named in the Pro12 Dream Team during the Pro12 Awards, which took place in Dublin on Sunday.
Erasmus recently confirmed that he will see out his contract with Munster after rumours circulated earlier this this year that he was going to return to South Africa to link up with the Springboks.
Meanwhile, Fellow South Africans Jaco Taute and Ruan Pienaar were included in the Dream Team.
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Munster maintained their winning start to the European Champions Cup as they handed Leicester Tigers a record defeat in the competition. Final score: Munster 38/0 Leicester Tigers
The Pool One game was over by half-time after fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal’s 14 points and a Simon Zebo try.
Jaco Taute added two second-half tries and also created the late penalty try as he was hauled down by George Worth.
Saturday’s result also brought back memories of the only other time the Tigers were held scoreless in a European Cup game, when they were beaten 33-0 by Ulster in January 2004.
Munster’s win keeps them on top of Pool One as they move to 10 points despite having played a game less than Glasgow and Leicester, with the Tigers now six points behind the leaders.
CJ Stander in Champions Cup action
Munster captain and Man of the Match, CJ Stander, felt his side had restored pride as they produced a superb display to claim a bonus-point 26 / 13 victory over Stade Francais in Pool 4 of the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The French side were chasing a quarterfinal berth but had no response to a tremendous Munster effort as Mike Sherry, Keith Earls, Simon Zebo and Stander himself scored tries, with flyhalf Ian Keatley kicking 6 points.
The Irish side, 2-time European champions, had no chance of advancing from the pool after being humbled by a 14-man Stade side in Paris just a week previously.
Stander admits there has been a lot of hurt within the Munster camp and he hopes an impressive win was a step back in the right direction for a team who have traditionally been one of the competition’s major players.
“We said we were playing for nothing but pride and that shows the character we have here in Munster,” said Stander. “There was a lot of hurt last week but a lot of the boys stepped up and we are very proud.”
“The fans stood behind us and made an unbelievable noise. We knew it was all about our actions and getting pride back into the place and we showed a lot of characters.”
Josaia Raisuqe was sent off for this incident against CJ Stander
Stade Francais 27 / 7 Munster
Stade Francais winger Josaia Raisuqe was sent off but the French champions still easily beat Munster in their Champions Cup match in Paris.
Raisuqe was sent off on the stroke of halftime for gouging Munster’s CJ Stander as they wrestled for the ball.
Paul Williams, Sekou Macalou and Hugo Bonneval crossed for Stade who are 4 points behind pool leaders Leicester.
A late Conor Murray try prevented Munster suffering their first shut-out in 21 years of European rugby.
The Irish side are now out of the Champions Cup – barring a miracle series of results – after suffering 3 pool defeats in a row for the 1st time.
Leinster dealt Munster a 5th straight loss in all competitions, as they leapfrogged them into the Guinness PRO12 play-off places with a 24 / 7 win at Thomond Park.
A try in each half from Isa Nacewa and Jack McGrath proved enough for Leinster, despite the best efforts of Anthony Foley’s team.
The icing on the cake was provided by Zane Kirchner with a last-gasp interception as Munster pushed for a losing bonus point to seal the win.
And as a result, Leinster, who started the season slowly, are now settled in the top four heading into 2016.
As the Guinness PRO12 clubs now turn their attention to Europe, Connacht moved to the Top of the table by recording a 5th consecutive league win for the 1st time since 2002 – beating Benetton Treviso 33 / 19 underneath the Friday night lights at the Sportsground.
Robbie Henshaw made his breakthrough at fullback and in his 1st game for Connacht since returning from the Rugby World Cup he was back in the No 15 shirt, dotting down for 1 of his side’s 3 tries as Matt Healy and Tom McCartney notched the others.
Jayden Hayward crossed twice for Treviso and Edoardo Gori grabbed another try at the death but the Italians still slipped to a 14th consecutive Guinness PRO12 defeat.
Finn Russell inspired Glasgow Warriors to their maiden Guinness PRO12 title with a solid kicking display and a 2nd-half try to sink Munster in Belfast.
But there was to be no repeat of last year’s defeat to Leinster, as Glasgow showed their superior cutting edge to clinch a 31 / 13 victory and give retiring captain Al Kellock the perfect send-off.
A blistering 1st half saw Rob Harley, DTH van der Merwe and Henry Pyrgos each cross over for the Warriors, but Andrew Smith’s score just before the break sent Munster in just 11 points off the pace.
That deficit was cut to 8 early in the 2nd half, but Russell flew over on the hour and the Warriors expertly saw out the contest to ensure Munster’s wait for a 4th PRO12 crown goes on for at least another year.
Glasgow were let off when Ian Keatley’s early long-range penalty fell short of the posts but they almost stole a march towards the Munster line soon after, only for a heroic tap-tackle from stand-in captain Denis Hurley to halt van der Merwe’s charge.
CJ Stander
Munster will face Glasgow Warriors in the Guinness PRO12 final in Ravenhill after an incredible 21 / 18 win over Ospreys at Thomond Park.
Josh Matavesi crossed at the death for what would have been the winning try for the Ospreys but a knock-on in the build-up meant the try was ruled out and Munster progressed to the final.
Al Kellock
Al Kellock returns to the Glasgow Warriors side for today’s massive Guinness PRO12 match with Ulster at a sold-out Scotstoun Stadium (kick-off 15:00 BST, 16:00 SA Time).
The Warriors captain, who replaces the injured Tim Swinson in the 2nd-row, could be making his final appearance at Scotstoun, following the announcement that he is to retire from rugby at the end of the season.
2nd-placed Glasgow can still secure a home play-off, but Ulster are also playing for home advantage next weekend.
With an increased capacity of around 10 000 it will be the club’s biggest home crowd for a regular season game and tickets for this match sold out in record time.
CJ Stander – Munster Player Of The Year 2015
CJ Stander became the 1st overseas player to be named the Munster Player of the Year.
He earned the accolade at the annual Munster awards, after a hugely impressive season.
The South African became the 1st overseas player to receive the accolade after scoring 8 tries in 22 appearances and picking up no less than 5 Man Of The Match awards.
Stander was nominated alongside Billy Holland and previous winner Tommy O’Donnell.
The award shortlist was decided by members of the senior squad with Munster supporters deciding the overall winner through a public vote.
Francis Saili
Munster confirmed today the signing of Blues centre Francis Saili on a 2-year contract.
The 24 year-old has made 33 Super Rugby appearances for the Blues, scoring 5 tries, and represented Auckland in the NPC on 31 occasions.
Saili made his debut for the All Blacks against Argentina in September 2013 at Hamilton, and was part of the New Zealand Under 20 team that won the Junior World Championship in Italy in 2011.
Last November the Auckland native also featured for the Barbarians, scoring a try against Australia in Twickenham.
Round 15 of the Guinness PRO12 started on Friday night and concluded on Sunday with the position at the top the same as when the Round started, with Glasgow Warriors still looking down on the other 11 from the pinnacle of the table. However, they have increased their lead and are now 4 points ahead of 2nd placed Ulster.
There could have been no greater difference in emotions experienced after the matches than that between Newport Dragons captain Rynard ‘Ligtoring’ Landman and Munster’s flyer JJ Hanrahan. Landman would have been feeling low and filled with nervous anticipation following his Red Card for elbowing Connacht’s flyhalf Jack Carty early in their match. JJ Hanrahan on the other hand would have been feeling on top of the world following his very late try which earned Munster a draw against Llanelli Scarlets.
BJ Botha
Veteran World Cup-winning prop BJ Botha is happier than ever at Munster and hopes to sign on for another year with the Irish side.
The 35-year-old former Sharks stalwart moved to Ireland in 2008, originally joining Ulster, and made the move to their rivals Munster in 2011.
He said that while he is coming to the end of his career, he still has more to give and has his sights set on earning 100 caps for Munster.
The festive season continues with derby matches in Round 12 of the Guinness PRO12. Some of the matches are the return leg of derbies played around the Boxing Day period. The attention in Scotland will be focussed on BT Murrayfield on Friday night where Edinburgh will host their rivals from the west, Glasgow Warriors, in a PRO12 fixture that doubles up as the second leg of the 1872 Cup.
Glasgow Warriors go into the game with a 10-point advantage following their win over Edinburgh on Boxing Day and will be looking to retain what is said to be the oldest cup in club rugby, yet again. There was only 1 try scored in the first leg of the 1872 Cup last week and with blustery conditions likely for Friday night the game may be a low scoring battle of attrition that could go the way of the team that makes the least errors.
Considering the relative positions of the 2 teams on the PRO12 table and the fact that Glasgow go into the game with that 10- point cushion one should expect at the very least that they maintain their grip on the 1872 Cup.
Round 11 of the Guinness PRO12 kicked off on Friday night and ended with the final fixture on Sunday, with big derby matches being played between the teams from all four countries who have teams in the competition. South African players made a big impact during the Round, earning Player Of The Match accolades in 3 out of the 6 fixtures.
Rynard ‘Ligtoring’ Landman started it off with a Man Of The Match performance for Newport Gwent Dragons against Cardiff Blues at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday afternoon. CJ Stander added a Man Of The Match accolade in a comfortably victorious Munster effort against Leinster, while Rob Herring completed the trio of South African Man Of The Match performances on Friday for Ulster who scraped home against Connacht. Josh Strauss was pipped to the award by skipper Alastair Kellock for Glasgow Warriors against Edinburgh, but Strauss put in a fine performance for the Scotstoun-based outfit outshining his opposite number David Denton and scored the only try of the match, late in the first half.
Head coach Marius Goosen’s Benetton Treviso picked up their first win of the season in the competition in their Italian derby match away to Zebre.
Pat Howard in action for Munster against Newport Gwent Dragons
South African centre Pat Howard admits he is ready for whatever comes his way as he bids to build on his first appearance for Munster.
Howard began a three-month contract with the Irish province at the start of the month and got his first taste of the Guinness PRO12 at the weekend.
The 22-year-old featured off the bench as Munster made light work of seeing off Newport Gwent Dragons 38-12 in their return to Guinness PRO12 action.
Howard arrived at Munster to bolster the options in midfield due to injuries to Keith Earls and Cian Bohane with an Irish derby with Ulster next up.
Munster will then break for European action and Howard insists he is acclimatising well and relishing the challenges that lie ahead both domestically and on the continent.
This weekend sees action in Round 6 of the Guinness PRO12 and is the last round of action before a few weeks break as we head into the initial stages of the European Professional Rugby Cup competitions – with the Champion and Challenge Cup matches kicking off next weekend.
There has already been two Round 6 PRO12 matches this weekend (Friday night) while there will be a further three on Saturday and the last match of the Round is due to be played on Sunday.
Leinster’s indifferent start to the season continued as they slipped to a second loss of the campaign away at Connacht, going down 10-9.
The defending champions had led 9-3 at half-time thanks to three Ian Madigan penalties but Kieran Marmion’s solo try ensured Connacht – who had lost their previous 11 all-Ireland clashes – preserved their 100 per cent start to the season.
At the Liberty Stadium, Ospreys ran in nine tries against Edinburgh to consolidate their one point lead at the top of the table.
The third round of matches in the Guinness PRO12 take place this weekend with three matches scheduled for Friday night, two for Saturday and one for Sunday.
Welsh outfit the Ospreys, who are unbeaten in the PRO12 this season, will head into round 3 at the top of the table with nine points. The only two other unbeaten teams are Glasgow Warriors and Connacht who are in 2nd and 3rd position respectively. Ulster are the other team in the top 4, courtesy of a draw and a win in their first two fixtures and they are the only team who have two bonus points for scoring four tries or more. Ulster top the try scoring list at this early stage in the competition having scored nine tries in their two matches. However, they have conceded the most tries, a handful, of the teams in the top four.
Connacht continued their winning start to the season with another tight triumph, this time a 14-13 victory over Edinburgh Rugby thanks to Willy Faloon’s last-gasp try.
Tom Heathcote’s boot and a try from Cornell du Preez gave Edinburgh a 13-6 lead at half time; Connacht’s points coming from two Darragh Leader penalties.
Faloon was sent to the sin bin with 16 minutes left on the clock, but returned to touch down the winning try in the dying minutes.
With the new Guinness PRO12 season kicking off this weekend on Friday, we take a look at the prospects of each of the 12 clubs. The competition is between clubs from Ireland, Italy, Wales and Scotland. Ireland and Wales have four clubs / regions/provinces in the Guinness PRO12, while Italy and Scotland both provide two teams each to complete the twelve team line-up.
We have reached the knockout stage of the 2013 / 2014 RaboDirect PRO12 season with the semi-finals to be played this weekend. The first game takes place in Glasgow tonight (Friday) and will see Glasgow Warriors, who finished in second spot on the log host third placed Munster. This is the first time that Glasgow Warriors have hosted a semi-final game in the PRO12.
The second game, to be played tomorrow (Saturday) will be an all Ireland affair with first placed Leinster hosting fourth placed Ulster. Johan Muller, in his last season at the club, will be captaining Ulster and will be hoping for a win to make it one more game before the curtain falls on what has been a very good time for him at the Belfast club.
Crusaders and Canterbury flyhalf Tyler Bleyendaal has become the latest high-profile New Zealand player to head abroad to continue his career.
He announced he will move to Ireland to play for the Munster at the end of this year.