2016–17 Munster Rugby season

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
1st kit 2nd kit
← 2015–16 2017–18 →

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 Sam Arnold from Ulster[16] John Andress from Edinburgh Rugby Darren O'Shea from Worcester Warriors[17] Jean Kleyn from Stormers[18] Jaco Taute from Stormers / Western Province[19]

Players Out Jordan Coghlan to Nottingham[20] Gearoid Lyons to Nottingham[21] Shane Buckley to Nottingham[22] Jack Cullen to London Scottish[23] Cathal Sheridan to UL Bohemians RFC[24] BJ Botha to Lyon[25] Johnny Holland retired[26] Gerhard van den Heever released[27] Denis Hurley released[27]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Casey, DuncanDuncan Casey Hooker Ireland O'Byrne, KevinKevin O'Byrne Hooker Ireland Scannell, NiallNiall Scannell Hooker Ireland Sherry, MikeMike Sherry Hooker Ireland Andress, JohnJohn Andress Prop Ireland Archer, StephenStephen Archer Prop Ireland Cronin, JamesJames Cronin Prop Ireland Kilcoyne, DavidDavid Kilcoyne Prop Ireland McCabe, PeterPeter McCabe Prop Ireland Ryan, JohnJohn Ryan Prop Ireland Chisholm, MarkMark Chisholm Lock Australia Foley, DaveDave Foley Lock Ireland Holland, BillyBilly Holland Lock Ireland Kleyn, JeanJean Kleyn Lock South Africa Madigan, JohnJohn Madigan Lock Ireland McCarthy, SeanSean McCarthy Lock Ireland O'Shea, DarrenDarren O'Shea Lock Ireland Ryan, DonnachaDonnacha Ryan Lock Ireland O'Callaghan, DaveDave O'Callaghan Flanker Ireland O'Donnell, TommyTommy O'Donnell Flanker Ireland O’Mahony, PeterPeter O’Mahony (c) Flanker Ireland Copeland, RobinRobin Copeland Number 8 Ireland O'Donoghue, JackJack O'Donoghue Number 8 Ireland Stander, CJCJ Stander Number 8 Ireland

Player Position Union Murray, ConorConor Murray Scrum-half Ireland O'Leary, TomásTomás O'Leary Scrum-half Ireland Williams, DuncanDuncan Williams Scrum-half Ireland Keatley, IanIan Keatley Fly-half Ireland Arnold, SamSam Arnold Centre Ireland Bleyendaal, TylerTyler Bleyendaal Centre New Zealand Bohane, CianCian Bohane Centre Ireland Johnston, DavidDavid Johnston Centre Ireland Saili, FrancisFrancis Saili Centre New Zealand Scannell, RoryRory Scannell Centre Ireland Taute, JacoJaco Taute Centre South Africa Conway, AndrewAndrew Conway Wing Ireland Earls, KeithKeith Earls Wing Ireland O'Mahony, RonanRonan O'Mahony Wing Ireland Wootton, AlexAlex Wootton Wing Ireland Sweetnam, DarrenDarren Sweetnam Fullback Ireland Zebo, SimonSimon Zebo Fullback Ireland

• 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").

2016–17 Pro12

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

2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup

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

1. "'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.
2. "'Solid start' for Rassie Erasmus". Irish Examiner. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
3. "Dublin's Aviva Stadium to host 2017 Pro12 final as Guinness extends league sponsorship". The 42. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
4. "Tyler Bleyendaal impresses as Munster earn emphatic pre-season win". The 42. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
5. "Losing hurt him deeply, losing him hurts deeper still". Irish Independent. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
6. "Statement On The Sudden Passing Of Anthony Foley". munsterrugby.ie. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
7. "'Heartbroken…We have lost an incredible man': Rugby world mourns Munster great Anthony Foley". Irish Examiner. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
8. "'He is part of the history of Munster, he is Monsieur Munster'". The 42. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
9. "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.
10. "Munster reborn on a day when the province finds new strength in adversity". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
11. "Inspired Munster deliver stunning Anthony Foley tribute". Irish Examiner. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
12. "Anthony Foley To Be Remembered At Munster V Glasgow". Munster Rugby. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
13. "Alan Quinlan: Axel impact shines through on tough occasion". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
14. "Munster 'Stand Up and Fight' at emotional send-off for their great number eight Foley". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
15. "'From boys to men' - Munster pay Foley the ultimate compliment". Irish Independent. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
16. "Munster sign Ulster prospect centre Sam Arnold". Independent.ie. 4 February 2016.
17. "Munster sign Edinburgh prop John Andress and Worcester lock Darren O'Shea". Sky Sports. 29 March 2016.
18. "Munster sign Stormers second-row forward Jean Kleyn". Sky Sports. 25 July 2016.
19. "Taute hoop hy kan sy vuur by Munster herwin". Netwerk24 (in Afrikaans). 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
20. "Nottingham sign Munster back-rower Jordan Coghlan". Nottingham Rugby. 22 April 2016.
21. "Nottingham sign Munster fly-half Gearoid Lyons". Nottingham Post. 13 May 2016.
22. "Nottingham sign Munster back-row forward Shane Buckley". Nottingham Post. 13 May 2016.
23. "London Scottish to sign Munster scrum-half Jack Cullen". London Scottish. 29 June 2016.
24. "Former Munster scrum-half takes player/coach role with UL Bohemians". Limerick Leader. 24 August 2016.
25. "Lyon sign former Springboks prop BJ Botha for next season". Rugby365.fr (in French). 30 August 2016.
26. "Munster fly-half Johnny Holland force to retire at 25 from recurring hamstring injury". Sky Sports. 1 September 2016.
27. "Departing Players". Munster Rugby. 10 May 2016.
28. "O'Donovan On Champions Cup Draw". Munster Rugby. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.

External links

• 2016–17 Munster Rugby season at official site
• 2016–17 Munster Rugby season at Pro12