2017–18 Munster Rugby season

2017–18 Munster Rugby season

Ground(s)	Thomond Park (Capacity: 25,600) Irish Independent Park (Capacity: 9,500)
Director of Rugby	Rassie Erasmus
Captain(s)	Peter O'Mahony
League(s)	Pro14
1st kit 2nd kit
← 2016–17 2018–19 →

The 2017–18 Munster Rugby season is Munster's seventeenth season competing in the Pro14, alongside which they will also compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup. It was Rassie Erasmus's second season as Director of Rugby.

Events

In June 2017, after many weeks of media speculation, Munster confirmed that Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and Defence Coach Jacques Nienaber would leave their roles with the province and return to South Africa on 31 December 2017.^[1] In the same month however, coaches Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones extended their contracts with the province by two years, both expanding their roles to Forwards Coach and Backline & Attack Coach respectively. Team Manager Niall O'Donovan also signed a new three-year contract.^[2]

Coaching & Management Staff 2016–17

Position	Name	Nationality
Director of Rugby	Rassie Erasmus	South Africa
Backs & Attack Coach	Felix Jones	Ireland
Forwards Coach	Jerry Flannery	Ireland
Defence Coach	Jacques Nienaber	South Africa
Team Manager	Niall O'Donovan	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 2017–18

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 Marshall, RhysRhys Marshall Hooker New Zealand O'Byrne, KevinKevin O'Byrne Hooker Ireland Scannell, NiallNiall Scannell Hooker Ireland Sherry, MikeMike Sherry Hooker Ireland Archer, StephenStephen Archer Prop Ireland Cronin, JamesJames Cronin Prop Ireland Kilcoyne, DavidDavid Kilcoyne Prop Ireland Ryan, JohnJohn Ryan Prop Ireland Scott, BrianBrian Scott Prop Ireland Grobler, GerbrandtGerbrandt Grobler Lock South Africa Holland, BillyBilly Holland Lock Ireland Kleyn, JeanJean Kleyn Lock South Africa McCarthy, SeanSean McCarthy Lock Ireland O'Shea, DarrenDarren O'Shea Lock Ireland Cloete, ChrisChris Cloete Flanker South Africa O'Callaghan, DaveDave O'Callaghan Flanker Ireland O'Donnell, TommyTommy O'Donnell Flanker Ireland Oliver, ConorConor Oliver 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 Hart, JamesJames Hart Scrum-half Ireland Murray, ConorConor Murray Scrum-half Ireland Williams, DuncanDuncan Williams Scrum-half Ireland Bleyendaal, TylerTyler Bleyendaal Fly-half New Zealand Hanrahan, J. J.J. J. Hanrahan Fly-half Ireland Johnston, BillBill Johnston Fly-half Ireland Keatley, IanIan Keatley Fly-half Ireland Arnold, SamSam Arnold Centre Ireland Farrell, ChrisChris Farrell Centre Ireland Goggin, DanDan Goggin Centre Ireland Johnston, DavidDavid Johnston Centre Ireland 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 Sweetnam, DarrenDarren Sweetnam Wing Ireland Wootton, AlexAlex Wootton Wing Ireland Fitzgerald, StephenStephen Fitzgerald 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").

2017–18 Pro14

2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup

References

External links