Breaking: Massive News For Munster As The Province Confirms Three New Signings

Munster Rugby and the IRFU have today confirmed that Chris Farrell, JJ Hanrahan and James Hart will join the province next season.

There’s further good news with the southern province confirming that Dave Kilcoyne, Niall Scannell, Rory Scannell, Tyler Bleyendaal, Duncan Williams and Darren Sweetnam have all signed contract extensions.

The incoming Irish trio of Chris Farrell, JJ Hanrahan and James Hart have signed two-year contracts with the province. Farrell and Harte will make the move from their respective Top 14 sides, Grenoble and Racing 92, while Hanrahan will return after two seasons with Premiership outfit Northampton Saints.

Kilcoyne will remain with the province until June 2020, while the others have signed extensions that will see them remain with the province until at least June 2019.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that Tomás O’Leary, who joined Top 14 side Montpellier on a short-term loan in October, will not be returning to the province. The 33-year-old scrumhalf made 145 appearances in the red jersey scoring 10 tries.

Commenting on the new signings Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus said:

“I’ve always indicated our intention to recruit Irish qualified players where and when possible so to secure the young trio of Farrell, Hanrahan and Hart is great for the province and Irish rugby in general. In addition to being hugely talented they bring a wealth of knowledge with their combined experiences from playing abroad and this will help with our overall squad development.”

Referring to the contract extensions Erasmus added:

“I’ve talked about maximising our potential time and time again. Retaining players such as Killer (Dave Kilcoyne), Niall, Rory, Tyler, Duncan and Sweets (Darren Sweetnam) is key to our long-term plans and they have all played an integral role in our success so far this season.

“Developing home-grown players is at the core of everything we do and it’s rewarding to see five players who have advanced from the Munster pathway commit their future to the club, while also recognising the efforts of Tyler who has overcome long-term injury to make his mark in the squad this season.”