LONG READ Munster hoping bold transfer decisions can help deliver more URC glory

“He’s there on merit and, to me, it’s a great story.” Munster head into the 2024/25 season with four notable incomings, several Ireland U20s brought into the senior squad and a newcomer that was one chasing All-Ireland dreams, as a hurler.

Graham Rowntree’s side may have fallen short in the Champions Cup, but looked on course for a second successive trip to the United Rugby Championship Final. On the same day as Leinster were outgunned by Bulls, however, Glasgow Warriors came to Limerick and were wholly deserving semi-final winners.

2023’s URC triumph always had the feel of coming a season (or two) ahead of schedule for Rowntree and his coaching staff. They fully earned their unlikely league title success after winning seven, and drawing one, of their final eight away games, including tricky assignments in Glasgow, Dublin and Cape Town. Munster had been in danger of missing out on the playoffs and Champions Cup qualification but were sparked by a bonus point win over Stormers, and never looked back.

Ending a 12-year trophy drought came with the added reward of a top seeding for the Champions Cup pool stages. They won just one of their five games in that competition, though, and a prime opportunity was spurned. They were in better shape in the URC and topped the regular season standings to get a home run to the final, until Glasgow did for them.

Heading into the new season, Munster have lost Test-level stars and have been forced into some transfer market creativity. Their hope will be that younger squad members will kick on, this season, but injury issues from the last campaign are already bleeding into the new one. The promising duo of Brian Gleeson and Edwin Edogbo are recovering from respective shoulder and Achilles issues and are not likely to figure in the first block of games. Roman Salanoa and Rory Scannell are in the same boat.

There is better news about Tom Ahern, who missed out on the URC playoffs and a potential Ireland call-up for South Africa, after undergoing ankle surgery. The 24-year-old is pushing to start the first game of the season, as is the squad’s sole remaining World Cup winner. Jean Kleyn returned triumphant from the 2023 World Cup and played just 68 minutes of a game against Leinster before eye and, more importantly, knee injuries ended his season.

“It’s great to have him back,” says Munster assistant coach, Mike Prendergast. “It’s kind of like a new signing, as well. Jean is going to come back incredibly fresh. You look back, two years ago, when we did manage to go on and win the league, he’s a massive part of what we do.

The Munster coaching staff got together and selected targets that would not break the bank. There would be no Malcolm Marx on the shopping list, as there had been in 2023.

“I couldn’t speak highly enough of him as a player. He’s incredibly honest, his work-rate is non-stop, so to have a guy like Jean Kleyn to come back, and back really fresh and hungry, is exciting. He’s a World Cup winner. He’s going to bring a huge amount to the group and he’s not too far away.”

Munster’s other World Cup winner, RG Snyman, is now up the N7 at Leinster. Not content with taking Snyman off the hands/books of their rivals, Leinster are bringing in France prop Rabah Slimani and, in December, All Blacks star Jordie Barrett. Munster may have had salary space added by departures of Joey Carbery, Antoine Frisch and the retirement of Simon Zebo, but there have been no razzmatazz moves.

Instead, the Munster coaching staff got together and selected targets that would not break the bank. There would be no Malcolm Marx on the shopping list, as there had been in 2023. Ultan Dillane was discussed but he is on good terms at La Rochelle and enjoying life in France. The former Connacht star was scratched off, but Munster did look West and acquired two players to boost their backline. Tom Farrell and Diarmuid Kilgallen are astute signings. Farrell is a direct replacement for Frisch. It has been five years since Joe Schmidt called the Dubliner into an Ireland squad and, 30 now, an elusive Test cap may have passed him by. He was well-regarded at Connacht and is as robust as they come. If he can steer clear of injuries, Farrell is capable of being a steady foil to the likes of Alex Nankivell and Sean O’Brien.

Kilgallen is an exciting prospect but, at 24, he will be desperate to steer clear of injuries and really show what he can do. Hailing from Kildare, Kilgallen once formed a Schools Cup centre partnership with current Ulster forward Cormac Izuchukwu, at Cistercian College. He got a trial with Connacht’s Under 19 squad, joined their academy set-up and made his senior debut in August 2020. Former Ireland Sevens star Greg O’Shea once recalled Kilgallen coming in to his squad. “Diarmuid’s scores were off the charts – his jumping, his speed. He’s one of the best athletes, if not the best athlete I’ve ever seen.”

In Tadhg Beirne, Kilgallen will have another ‘Lilywhite’ at Munster, and another Eadestown native. “It’s a very small village,” says Kilgallen. “There’s a school and a church, and that’s about it. There’s not even a shop. But it’s funny – in the radius of about a kilometre, there’s Jimmy O’Brien, who is a neighbour, Tadhg Beirne and myself. We’re all very close. And there’s Rowan Osborne, who is not too far away. There’s a few boys knocking around the rugby scene. We all would have played for Naas RFC as minis.”

Munster were given the all-clear by the IRFU to look beyond the island for some added firepower. In comes Thaakir Abrahams, a product of Sharks and a South African U20 star who spent last season in France with Lyon.

Kilgallen is blessed with a formidable, six-foot-four frame and electric pace. His final two seasons at Connacht saw him blaze in 10 tries in 15 appearances. He started off last season with a fantastic try-scoring sequence – two against Glasgow, one against Ulster, one against Bulls and one against Leinster – and was starting to attract Ireland squad chatter. Shoulder injuries have dogged him, though, and he still only has 24 senior appearances since that try-scoring debut against Ulster, four years ago. Munster will have seen all the medical reports, though, and have made a show of faith in the winger.

Staying out wide, Munster were given the all-clear by the IRFU to look beyond the island for some added firepower. In comes Thaakir Abrahams, a product of Sharks and a South African U20 star who spent last season in France with Lyon. Prendergast likens the 25-year-old to another South African, Gio Aplon, who he coached when he was attack coach at Grenoble. Abrahams, he reasons, is the sort of player that can make the opposition pay if his team work the ball to the edges.

If you opened a restaurant, what type of food would you serve? 🤔

Find out what the lads chose 👇#SUAF 🔴 pic.twitter.com/MvzaGzQdJX

— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) September 10, 2024

“Just looking at him,” muses Prendergast, “his footwork, he’s got X-factor, that’s the type of player he is. The way we play the game it’s something that we hope his profile will suit us. He’s come in and he’s enjoyed how we play the game. He, obviously, would have watched us to see what he was coming into and he came in prepared as well, to be fair to the fella, so he has knowledge of what needs to be done. There’s an excitement around him. He’s got real X-factor.”

Prendergast referred to Kleyn as a new signing, and Paddy Campbell is another. The 22-year-old is ready to tear into the new season after his 2023/24 was completely written off through injury. Campbell made a try-scoring Munster debut, against Wasps, before he had even featured for Ireland U20s. 10 more senior outings followed, at fullback and left wing, before surgery was required on a damaged shoulder. The former Cork minor hurling star will be keen to make up for that lost season.

While his international rugby days may be in his rearview, Prendergast feels [Billy] Burns still has the quality to unlock quality, pressing defences, as twice demonstrated against Leinster, last season.

Munster have another hurler in the midst. Patrickswell clubman Bryan Fitzgerald is impressing after being initially given a short-term contract. Fitzgerald is 25 so, in professional rugby terms, is a particularly late bloomer. Prendergast is a fan. “Bryan has been consistently good over a number of years in the AIL (All-Ireland League). I watched him in a development game, against Munster, last year and he caught my eye, from an attacking point of view. He’s there on merit and to me it’s a great story. We’ve seen it a number of times with players like James Coughlan. It doesn’t happen too much, but when it does it can be a breath of fresh air. He’s come in, he’s fit, he’s got a GAA background, he’s on his bike and he goes.”

The only Test-experienced signing Munster have brought in is Billy Burns. The 30-year-old spent six seasons with Ulster, having previously played for Gloucester. Burns has played eight times for Ireland, but the last occasion was in the summer of 2021. Jack Crowley has established himself as Ireland’s 10, so Burns will get plenty of game-time, especially in the URC. While his international rugby days may be in his rearview, Prendergast feels Burns still has the quality to unlock quality, pressing defences, as twice demonstrated against Leinster, last season.

Bad injury luck pushed Munster’s squad to breaking point, last season. There is no blockbuster arrival this season but the coaching staff, heading into their third full season under Rowntree, look to have made some canny moves. They should fare well in the URC, again, but their squad pales in comparison with heavyweights Leinster, La Rochelle and Toulouse.