2022–23 Munster Rugby season

The 2022–23 Munster Rugby season will be Munster's twenty-second season competing in the United Rugby Championship, alongside which they will also compete in either the European Rugby Champions Cup or EPCR Challenge Cup. It will be Graham Rowntree's first season as head coach following his promotion.[1]

2022–23 Munster Rugby season
Ground(s)Thomond Park (Capacity: 25,600)[note 1]
Musgrave Park (Capacity: 8,008)
ChairmanGerry O'Shea
CEOIan Flanagan
Coach(es)Graham Rowntree
Captain(s)Peter O'Mahony
League(s)United Rugby Championship
← 2021–22 2023–24 →

Events

Head coach Johann van Graan, who joined Munster in November 2017, confirmed in December 2021 that he would be leaving the province at the end of the 2021–22 season to join English club Bath. In addition to this, senior coach Stephen Larkham also left the province to return home to Australia to become head coach of the Brumbies, and defence coach JP Ferreira followed van Graan to join Bath. However, forwards coach Graham Rowntree extended his stay with the province by a further two years,[2] and the province confirmed in April 2022 that Rowntree would be promoted to head coach from the 2022–23 season.[1]

In player news, Munster's marquee signing ahead of the commencement of the season was centre Malakai Fekitoa, who won the 2015 Rugby World Cup with New Zealand before reverting his international allegiance to his native Tonga.[3] Irish-qualified hooker Chris Moore joined from Exeter University,[4] and five players were promoted from the academy to the senior squad: hooker Scott Buckley,[5] lock Paddy Kelly,[4] back-rower Alex Kendellen,[6] lock Eoin O'Connor,[4] and scrum-half Paddy Patterson.[4] Centre Antoine Frisch, who is Irish-qualified, also joined the province from English club Bristol Bears.[7]

Hooker Declan Moore left the province to join Ulster on a permanent basis, having spent time on loan at the northern province during the previous season.[8] Fly-half Jake Flannery joined Moore in moving north to Ulster,[9] whilst lock Jason Jenkins moved east to join Leinster after an injury-disrupted season at Munster,[10] and fullback Matt Gallagher and flanker Chris Cloete joined former head coach Johann van Graan at Bath.[11][12] South African world cup-winning centre Damian de Allende will also depart the province, to an as-yet-unannounced club,[13] and veteran prop John Ryan will leave to join English club Wasps.[14]

Any additional player and coaching arrivals and departures will be added here if and when they are announced.

Player movements

Below are the players who joined and left the Munster senior and academy squads ahead of the 2022–23 season. Italics indicates players that transferred during the 2022–23 season.

Senior squad

Academy squad

Coaches and staff

Senior squad

Position Name Nationality
Head coach Graham Rowntree  England
Backs coach Vacant
Defence coach Vacant
Team manager Niall O'Donovan  Ireland
Head of athletic performance Ged McNamara  Ireland
Strength and conditioning coach Adam Sheehan  Ireland
Head of medical Jamie Kearns  Ireland
Lead physiotherapist Damien Mordan  Ireland
Physiotherapist Keith Thornhill  Ireland
Physiotherapist Ray McGinley  Ireland
Lead performance analyst George Murray  Ireland
Performance analyst Paul O'Brien  Ireland

Academy squad

Position Name
Academy manager Ian Costello
Elite player development officer Greig Oliver
Elite player development officer Andy Kyriacou
Provincial talent coach Mark Butler
Lead academy athletic development coach Danielle Cunningham
Academy performance analyst Elliot Corcoran
Academy physio Shane Malone
Academy performance nutritionist Clare Farrell
Mental skills coach Cathal Sheridan

Players
For a full list of player movements before or during the 2022–23 season, see List of 2022–23 United Rugby Championship transfers.

Senior squad

Senior squad reflects arrivals and departures currently confirmed. Future changes will be made if and when they are announced.

Munster Rugby senior squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Back three

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
ST denotes a short-term signing.
L denotes a player on loan at the club.
Players and their allocated positions from the Munster Rugby website.[15]

    Academy squad

    Academy squad reflects promotions to the senior squad that have been confirmed. Future arrivals and departures will be reflected if and when they are announced. Jonathan Wren's future with the province has not yet been confirmed. Numbers in brackets are as of the 2022–23 season.

    Munster Rugby academy squad

    Props

    Hookers

    • None at present

    Locks

    Back row

    Scrum-halves

    Fly-halves

    Centres

    • None at present

    Back three

    (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle.
    * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
    Players and their allocated positions from the Munster Rugby website.[16]

      Pre-season

      Munster's pre-season fixtures have not yet been announced.

      2022–23 United Rugby Championship

      Fixtures for the 2022–23 United Rugby Championship season have not yet been announced.

      2022–23 European competition

      Fixtures for the 2022–23 European season have not yet been announced.

      2022–23 Munster A/Development season

      Munster A/Development fixtures for the 2022–23 season have not yet been announced.

      Player statistics

      Player statistics from the 2022–23 season. Stats from the league and European competitions only are shown. Academy players in italics.

      References
      1. "Graham Rowntree Confirmed As Next Munster Head Coach". Munster Rugby. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
      2. "Peter O'Mahony admits coaching uncertainty 'not ideal'". Irish Examiner. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      3. "Malakai Fekitoa To Join Munster Rugby". Munster Rugby. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      4. "Three Academy Players Stepping Up & New Addition". Munster Rugby. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      5. "Key Players Continue To Commit To Munster Rugby". Munster Rugby. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      6. "Six Munster Players Sign Two-Year Contract Extensions". Munster Rugby. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      7. "Munster confirm signing of Irish-qualified Antoine Frisch on three-year-deal". The42. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
      8. "Shanahan, Postlethwaite and Moxham commit to Ulster as Moore signs on". Ulster Rugby. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      9. "Ulster announce signing of Munster fly-half Jake Flannery on one-year deal". Belfast Telegraph. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      10. "Leinster confirm signing of South African international from Munster". The42. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      11. "Joe Maddock returns to Bath as attack coach as club signs three new players". BBC Sport. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      12. "Cloete the latest to swap Munster for Bath next season". RTÉ Sport. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      13. "South African World Cup-winning centre Damian de Allende to depart from Munster". The42. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      14. "John Ryan: Wasps sign Ireland prop from Munster for 2022-23 season". BBC Sport. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
      15. "Munster Rugby | 1st Team Squad". Munster Rugby. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
      16. "Munster Rugby | Academy Squad". Munster Rugby. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

      Notes
      1. Thomond Park's official capacity is 25,600 but can be expanded up to 26,276 with temporary seating.
        This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.