2016–17 Munster Rugby season
| Ground(s) | Thomond Park (Capacity: 25,600) Irish Independent Park (Capacity: 9,500) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Director of Rugby | Rassie Erasmus | ||
| Coach(es) | Anthony Foley (Head Coach) | ||
| Captain(s) | Peter O'Mahony | ||
| League(s) | Pro 12 | ||
| |||
| |||
The 2016–17 Munster Rugby season is Munster's sixteenth season competing in the Pro12, alongside which they will also compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup. It is Anthony Foley's third season as Head Coach and Rassie Erasmus's first season as Director of Rugby.
Events
In August 2016, Munster started using the new central training base at the University of Limerick campus, thus marking an end to the days of splitting training between Cork and Limerick.[1]
Munster opened their pre-season with a 17-0 victory over Zebre in a pre-season friendly at Waterford Regional Sports Centre on 19 August.[2]
The new Pro12 season was launched on 23 August at the Aviva Stadium. Munster began the new season on 3 September with an away game against Scarlets.[3]
On 26 August, Munster defeated Worcester in their final pre-season friendly at Musgrave Park, scoring seven-tries during the game.[4]
On 16 October 2016, head coach Anthony Foley died suddenly while in Paris with Munster.[5] The team was preparing to face Racing 92 in their opening game of the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup. The match was postponed as a result of Foley's death.[6][7][8][9]
On 22 October Munster paid tribute to the late Anthony Foley with a 38-17 bonus-point win over Glasgow in the European Champions Cup.[10][11] A minutes silence was observed before the match during which a special tribute took place in the West Stand with the words "AXEL" spelled out with the number 8 on either side. The Munster Rugby Supporter's Club Choir performed 'There Is An Isle', and soprano Sinead O'Brien joined the Choir to perform 'Stand Up And Fight.[12][13][14][15]
Coaching & Management Staff 2016–17
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Director of Rugby | Rassie Erasmus |  South Africa
|
| Head Coach | Anthony Foley |  Ireland
|
| Defence Coach | Jacques Nienaber | South Africa
|
| Team Manager | Niall O'Donovan | Ireland
|
| Scrum Coach | Jerry Flannery | Ireland
|
| Technical Coach | Felix Jones | Ireland
|
| Head of Fitness | Aled Walters |  Wales
|
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Aidan O'Connell | Ireland
|
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Adam Sheehan | Ireland
|
| Performance Analyst | George Murray | Ireland
|
| Operations Manager | Bryan Murphy | Ireland
|
Senior Playing Squad 2016–17
Players In
|
Players Out
|
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
- Internationally capped players in bold.
- Players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. *
- Irish provinces are currently limited to four non-Irish eligible (NIE) players and one non-Irish qualified player (NIQ or "Project Player").
| 3 September 2016 15:00 |
| Scarlets | 13–23 | Munster |
| Try: G. Davies 31' c Con: Patchell (1/1) Pen: Patchell (2/4) 26', 47' | Report | Try: Cronin 18' c O'Mahony 29' c Con: Bleyendaal (2/2) Pen: Bleyendaal (2/3) 37', 53' Keatley (1/1) |
| Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 6,107 Referee: Lloyd Linton (SRU) |
| 9 September 2016 19:35 |
| (1 BP) Munster | 23–24 | Cardiff Blues |
| Try: Conway 9' c Kilcoyne 61' c Con: Keatley (2/2) Pen: Keatley (3/3) 29', 54', 71' | Report | Try: James (2) 7' c, 35' c Fish 67' c Con: Anscombe (2/2) Shingler (1/1) Pen: Anscombe (1/2) 14' |
| Irish Independent Park Attendance: 7,405 Referee: Ian Davies (WRU) |
| 17 September 2016 17:15 |
| (1 BP) Newport Gwent Dragons | 16–20 | Munster |
| Try: Amos 32' c Con: O'Brien (1/1) 32' Pen: O'Brien (3/3) 14', 49', 54' | Report | Try: Kleyn 20' c Bohane 56' c Con: Bleyendaal (2/2) 20', 56' Pen: Bleyendaal (2/2) 11', 51' |
| Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,841 Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU) |
| 24 September 2016 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Munster | 28–14 |  Edinburgh |
| Try: Murray (2) 27' c, 38' c Oliver 42' c O'Callaghan 57' c Con: Bleyendaal (4/4) 27', 38', 42', 57' | Report | Try: Dean 23' c Hardie 67' c Con: Weir (1/1) 23' Kinghorn (1/1) 67' |
| Thomond Park Attendance: 12,826 Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU) |
| 1 October 2016 17:00 |
| (1 BP) Munster | 49–5 |  Zebre |
| Try: Sweetnam 2' c Murray 22' c Stander (2) 28' c, 78' c Zebo 31' c Penalty try 52' c Archer 63' c Con: Bleyendaal (4/4) Keatley (3/3) | Report | Try: Di Giulio 71' m |
| Thomond Park Attendance: 11,737 Referee: Dan Jones (WRU) |
| 8 October 2016 14:05 |
| Leinster | 25–14 | Munster |
| Try: Nacewa (2) 35' m, 55' c Gibson-Park 68' c Con: Sexton (1/1) 55' Nacewa (1/1) 68' Pen: Sexton (2/2) 6', 10' | Report | Try: O'Mahony 26' c Taute 74' c Con: Bleyendaal (2/2) 26', 74' |
| Aviva Stadium Attendance: 40,527 Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU) |
| 28 October 2016 19:35 |
| (1 BP) Ulster | 14-15 | Munster |
| Try: Piutau 4' c Lyttle '34 c Con: Jackson (2/2) 5', 35' | Report | Try: Scannell 40' c Taute 63' c Con: Scannell (1/1) 64' Drop: Scannell 74' |
| Kingspan Stadium |
| 4 November 2016 19:35 |
| (1 BP) Munster | 33–0 | Ospreys |
| Try: Kilcoyne (2) 8' c, 69' c Sweetnam 14' c O'Mahony 54' m Copeland 78' c Con: Bleyendaal (4/5) 8', 14', 69', 78' | Report |
| Irish Independent Park Attendance: 8,008 Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR) |
| 26 November 2016 14:00 |
| (1 BP) Munster | 46-3 | Benetton Treviso |
| Try: Copeland 20' c Conway 25' m, 34' c O'Shea 42' c R. O'Mahony 64' m, 71' m Wootton 69' Con: Bleyendaal (3/5) 21', 35', 43' Keatley (1/2) 69' Pen: Bleyendaal (1/1) 14' | Report | Pen: McKinley (1/1) 8' |
| Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi |
Munster will face Racing Metro, Glasgow Warriors and Leicester, in Pool 1, of the 2016-17 Champions Cup. They were seeded in the bottom tier following their sixth placed position in the 2015-16 Pro12.[28]
| 22 October 2016 13:00 |
| (1 BP) Munster | 38–17 | Glasgow Warriors |
| Try: Bleyendaal 4' c Taute 14' c Zebo 30' c Penalty try 47' c Scannell 75' c Con: Bleyendaal (4/4) 4', 14', 30', 47' Keatley (1/1) 75' Pen: Bleyendaal (1/1) 7' | Report | Try: MacArthur 66' c Bennett 70' c Con: S. Hogg (2/2) 66', 70' Pen: Russell (1/2) 10' |
| Thomond Park Attendance: 25,600 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR) |
References
- ^ "'It's the 1st time I've been in his house': Munster squad learning to love centralised training". The 42. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "'Solid start' for Rassie Erasmus". Irish Examiner. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Dublin's Aviva Stadium to host 2017 Pro12 final as Guinness extends league sponsorship". The 42. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Tyler Bleyendaal impresses as Munster earn emphatic pre-season win". The 42. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- ^ "Losing hurt him deeply, losing him hurts deeper still". Irish Independent. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ^ "Statement On The Sudden Passing Of Anthony Foley". munsterrugby.ie. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "'Heartbroken…We have lost an incredible man': Rugby world mourns Munster great Anthony Foley". Irish Examiner. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ^ "'He is part of the history of Munster, he is Monsieur Munster'". The 42. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ^ "Frankie Sheahan: 'It seems so wrong to be talking about Anthony Foley in the past tense'". Irish Independent. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ^ "Munster reborn on a day when the province finds new strength in adversity". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Inspired Munster deliver stunning Anthony Foley tribute". Irish Examiner. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Anthony Foley To Be Remembered At Munster V Glasgow". Munster Rugby. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Alan Quinlan: Axel impact shines through on tough occasion". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Munster 'Stand Up and Fight' at emotional send-off for their great number eight Foley". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "'From boys to men' - Munster pay Foley the ultimate compliment". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Munster sign Ulster prospect centre Sam Arnold". Independent.ie. 4 February 2016.
- ^ "Munster sign Edinburgh prop John Andress and Worcester lock Darren O'Shea". Sky Sports. 29 March 2016.
- ^ "Munster sign Stormers second-row forward Jean Kleyn". Sky Sports. 25 July 2016.
- ^ "Taute hoop hy kan sy vuur by Munster herwin". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "Nottingham sign Munster back-rower Jordan Coghlan". Nottingham Rugby. 22 April 2016.
- ^ "Nottingham sign Munster fly-half Gearoid Lyons". Nottingham Post. 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Nottingham sign Munster back-row forward Shane Buckley". Nottingham Post. 13 May 2016.
- ^ "London Scottish to sign Munster scrum-half Jack Cullen". London Scottish. 29 June 2016.
- ^ "Former Munster scrum-half takes player/coach role with UL Bohemians". Limerick Leader. 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Lyon sign former Springboks prop BJ Botha for next season". Rugby365.fr (in French). 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Munster fly-half Johnny Holland force to retire at 25 from recurring hamstring injury". Sky Sports. 1 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Departing Players". Munster Rugby. 10 May 2016.
- ^ "O'Donovan On Champions Cup Draw". Munster Rugby. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.