MUNSTER HAVE SIGNED Garryowen centre and captain Bryan Fitzgerald on a three-month contract ahead of the new season.
The 25-year-old Patrickswell man was among the standout players from the province in the AIL last season, scoring tries in both the Munster Senior Cup final and the Division 1B playoff final as Garryowen were promoted to the top flight.
Fitzgerald went on to impress for an AIL XV in a challenge match against Munster ‘A’ back in May, scoring two tries against his native province.
“As part of Munster Rugby’s recruitment and succession planning, AIL players are continually tracked and observed by Munster staff throughout the domestic season with Fitzgerald’s performances throughout 2023/24 catching the eye and resulting in this exciting opportunity,” a Munster statement read.
Fitzgerald, who played schools rugby with Calvin Nash at Crescent College Comprehensive and has two caps for Ireland Clubs, has joined Munster upon their return to pre-season training this week.
The province’s Ireland internationals who toured South Africa will rejoin the squad on later dates.
What a boost for the AIL, play well and you could get a chance at pro.
Hope it goes well for him
@Conor Mulloy: Not trying to knock your positive sentiment but a 3 month contract (probably rolling contract) is not a huge show of faith. That said most employers do have a 6 month get out clause I guess it’s just a sign of the times
@Fintan O’Halloran: get your foot in the door and prove yourself. Work hard everyday, stand up and fight.
Munster may not move forward in the end, but exposure to the pro environment will stand to him. If he goes back to the AIL, he’ll be much improved or if he decides to go abroad to try with English/French pro teams then good for him. I think all of our schoolboy dreams would be satisfied with a 3 month pro contract
3 months isn’t a great deal. Best of luck to him. I’ve a suggestion though. How about the IRFU allow the province’s to bring 1 player each year from AIL. 12 mth deal fully covered by IRFU. It’s not like it would be huge money and would give players in the league greater exposure and security.
A full time pro environment might be the making of him too, y’ know
He is a fine player big and strong was captain of Garryowen also so must have leadership qualities he could thrive in professional environment Probably covering Rory Scannell who will be out for a while.
Munster have no money, they have to take punts on cheaper options like this and hope it works. Best wishes to the lad but I’d be surprised if he is good enough to make the step up.
@Aidan Farrell: interesting, I wasn’t aware they published annual financial statements.
“Repayments on Thomond Park’s redevelopment 15 years ago are down from €42m to €6.5m. There’s a lot written about how that ‘cripples’ Munster – ‘Oh, Munster aren’t competitive, they can’t afford to spend any money because of this Thomond Park debt.’ That’s not a fair reflection of where we’re at as our player budgets are comparable with the majority of our competitors. Our repayments on that loan are €100k per year, compared to a turnover of €13-15m and sometimes higher than that” – Philip Quinn (indo 2022).
Great news, Players come into form in different ways and usually not in the expected time frames, to play beyond 23 is a commitment when not pro, he’ll be very pleased with this acknowledgement of his obvious hard work. Good to see the ‘up-flow’ of players from the provinces most valuable resources (clubs).