MUNSTER HAVE CONFIRMED that a number of players have signed new contact extensions with the province. The eight senior players to agree new deals are all homegrown talent who have come through the provincial pathway.
Brothers Niall and Rory Scannell, Jack O’Donoghue, Craig Casey, Shane Daly and Calvin Nash have all put pen-to-paper on two-year extensions, while Liam Coombes and Alex McHenry have agreed one-year deals.
Munster supporters will hope this is the start of a series of contract announcements, with a number of players still to agree new deals. The IRFU had postponed all contract negotiations this season due to the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic, but in recent weeks the provinces have been given the green light to open talks with players and staff.
Today’s announcement is the first bit of contract news confirmed by Munster this season.
Munster captain Peter O’Mahony, number eight CJ Stander, and wing Keith Earls are among the senior players yet to have their futures confirmed. All three are currently on central IRFU contracts.
It is hoped there will be news on their futures soon, but for now, today’s announcement will be viewed as a welcome development following months of uncertainty, and was described as a “huge positive” by head coach Johann van Graan.
“We are delighted to be in this position, confirming player contracts for the season ahead,” he said.
“The calibre of this initial player group is a huge positive with the province retaining the services of experienced, quality players while also securing the futures of up-and-coming talent.
“It’s further reward for the clubs, schools and volunteers that have invested time and effort into the development of these players.”
Centre Rory Scannell, 27, has represented Munster 138 times and has three Ireland caps to his name. Hooker Niall Scannell is on 110 Munster caps, and won the most recent of his 20 Ireland caps at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
O’Donoghue has played for Munster 130 times and holds the distinction of being the first Waterford player to captain the province.
Daly joined the senior squad at the beginning of the 2019/20 season and has scored five tries in 24 appearances. The 24-year-old made his Ireland debut in the Autumn Nations Cup win over Georgia in November.
Scrum-half Casey is one of the most exciting young prospects at the club, with his excellent form this season leading to a call-up for Andy Farrell’s Six Nations squad, making the bench for last weekend’s defeat to France. Casey, 21, has scored two tries in 21 games for Munster.
Nash, 23, made his Munster debut in 2017 and has 26 caps to his name, scoring six tries.
Coombes joined the senior squad at the start of the season, with a total of six caps to his name. Alex McHenry, who also made the step-up to the senior squad this season, has made two appearances so far.
Bernard Jackman, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey take the fine-tooth comb to Ireland’s defeat to France and get to the bottom of their issues on both sides of the ball:
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
