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Ireland U20 Grand Slam winners on list of Munster departures
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Fly-half Tony Butler and centre Fionn Gibbons, both members of Ireland U20s Six Nations Grand Slam-winning team of 2022, are among the quartet of senior players released by Munster.
Butler and Gibbons are joined in leaving Thomond Park by scrum-half Paddy Patterson and Ireland 7s winger Andrew Smith.
The four leavers made fewer than 100 senior appearances for Munster, with former Leinster man Patterson accounting for over half of them.
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Signed in 2020, Patterson played a major role in the URC title-winning 2022/23 season, with his 14 appearances including five tries and a Player of the Match display against South Africa A at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in November 2022.
He won his 50th Munster cap against Zebre in February.
Butler is the next most-experienced player of the group, having scored 76 points in 28 appearances for the province over his three years in the Academy and two years in the senior squad.
Academy props George Hadden and Darragh McSweeney – a third U20 Grand Slam winner in 2022, and out-half Dylan Hicks have also completed their time at the province.
