MUNSTER HEAD COACH Graham Rowntree said discussions about centre Antoine Frisch’s future with the province are ongoing.
27-year-old Frisch declared his desire to play international rugby for France in an interview with French sports newspaper L’Équipe last week.
He had previously stated his aim of playing for Ireland – for whom he qualifies through his grandmother – after joining Munster on a three-year contract in 2022 but has never been called into Andy Farrell’s senior squad.
France called Frisch up for the final week of their recent Six Nations camp and trained with Fabien Galthié’s side for several days. Though he remains eligible for Ireland right now, he has announced his intention of chasing caps with les Bleus.
France boss Galthié is set to leave many of his front-liners out of this summer’s tour to South America, while he will be without players involved in the Top 14, meaning Frisch could make his debut in Argentina.
France native Frisch is contracted to Munster until the summer of 2025 but there is a growing sense that he could leave the province at the end of this season.
It’s understood that several Top 14 clubs, including La Rochelle, Montpellier, Toulon, and Toulouse, are interested in signing Frisch this summer if Munster agree to release him early.
Speaking after yesterday’s Champions Cup defeat to Northampton, Rowntree confirmed that the situation is unclear.
“We’ll see how that pans out,” said Rowntree.
“I’m not going to lie to you, that’s ongoing. We’ll see how that plays out but his game has not changed, his focus has not moved away from the job in hand.
“We’ll just see how that plays out.”
