THIS SUMMER MARKS the true end of an era at tighthead prop in Munster.
After the remarkably durable Stephen Archer hung up his boots at the end of last season, the similarly long-serving John Ryan will follow him into retirement when the current campaign concludes.
That means Munster will have lost more than 550 appearances of experience at tighthead prop in the space of a year.
Archer and Ryan played on for longer than some people expected, which is a credit to their ability and resilience. It’s also perhaps an indicator that Munster have taken their time in trying to figure out the next steps for this area of their squad.
As things stand, Munster have yet to produce a homegrown tighthead prop to follow in the footsteps of Cork natives Archer and Ryan, who themselves began to take bigger strides after the retirement of the legendary John Hayes at the end of 2011.
Archer made his Munster debut in 2009, with Ryan getting his first Munster cap in 2011.
They saw plenty of fellow tightheads come and go during around that time and in the years that followed.
Tim Ryan, Dave Ryan, Darragh Hurley, Tony Buckley, Peter Borlase, BJ Botha, Christy Condon, Alan Cotter, Martin Kelly, Mario Sagario, John Andress, Thomas du Toit, Ciaran Parker, Brian Scott, Keynan Knox.
Some stayed for short spells, others were there for years. Some decided to move on, others were forced to retire with injury, and Munster let some of them go.
Munster made the unusual move of signing young South African tighthead Knox straight after he had finished school in December 2017.
Knox had no connection to Ireland, but he qualified under the old residency rule in December 2020. He came through the Munster academy and earned a senior contract, playing for the province 33 times.
Keynan Knox was released by Munster in 2024. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
However, Munster released Knox from his deal early in February 2024 and after a season with Bourgoin in France’s Nationale league, he is now playing for Nevers in the Pro D2. It was a project that didn’t work out the way Munster had hoped.
Hawaii native Roman Salanoa joined Munster in the summer of 2020, making the move from Leinster, who were unhappy with the IRFU’s role in facilitating the switch.
Salanoa, a big, powerful athlete, had made a breakthrough with Leinster and earned three senior caps, but the union hoped that an inter-provincial move would allow him to get frontline starts as soon as possible.
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Unfortunately for Salanoa and Munster, he has been bedevilled by injuries since.
Salanoa’s most recent appearance for Munster was in the 2023 URC final, nearly three years ago. He looked ready to finally make a return for Munster a few months ago after overcoming his knee problems – even playing in the AIL for Nenagh – but was hit by further setbacks.
Most recently, a calf strain has kept him sidelined, although Salanoa is again nearing a return, and McMillan has spoken positively about the former American footballer’s chances of earning a new contract for next season if he can just get back onto the pitch.
Salanoa had been going well before the knee injury, playing 20 times in the 2022/23 season and earning a call-up to Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad during the 2023 Grand Slam campaign.
Salanoa had already played for Emerging Ireland in 2022, while the fact that he has been spending time rehabbing at the IRFU’s training centre in Dublin this season suggests that he has remained a player of national interest.
The hope in all quarters now is that 28-year-old Salanoa can just get back onto the pitch and demonstrate that he still has plenty to offer.
It’s worth remembering that John Ryan left and re-signed for Munster twice during recent years. The Cork man initially moved to Wasps in 2022, but the English club folded just months after.
With Archer sidelined by an ankle injury, Munster brought Ryan back in on a short-term deal in October 2022, with that deal expiring in January 2023.
Oli Jager has oinly played six times this season. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Ryan quickly picked up a contract with the Chiefs in New Zealand, where he linked up with McMillan. The Chiefs ended up in the Super Rugby final. Ryan’s form once again caught Munster’s eye, and he returned for the start of the 2023/24 season.
But it’s also worth noting that Munster had angled for a non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] signing at tighthead prop on several occasions in those early 2020 years. They were linked with some top-class players, but it’s believed they struggled to get the green light from the IRFU.
In November 2023, Munster brought Oli Jager back to Irish rugby after his remarkable time in New Zealand with the Crusaders, where he was part of a set-up that won seven consecutive Super Rugby titles.
The former Ireland U18s prop was lured by the prospect of playing senior international rugby with Ireland, and he got his first cap in the 2024 Six Nations, but the move hasn’t quite worked out as hoped yet.
Jager has had misfortune with injuries, including several months on the sidelines due to concussion this season. The tighthead has recently been out with a foot injury, but Munster said today that he is back training.
The 30-year-old is under contract until the summer of 2027 and, similarly to Salanoa, the hope is that Jager can just stay fit from here on.
With Salanoa and Jager struggling, Munster were granted IRFU permission to bring in experienced Samoa international tighthead Michael Ala’alatoa from Clermont until the end of this season.
34-year-old Ala’alatoa, who was previously with Leinster, hasn’t been able to hit his best form in Munster amid their collective struggles, and the expectation is that he will move on at the end of the season.
Ala’alatoa joined at a time when fellow tighthead Conor Bartley was also recovering from an injury. 30-year-old Bartley was a latecomer to professional rugby, earning his chance with Munster thanks to a decade of strong form in the AIL with Young Munster.
Bartley joined Munster on a short-term deal in November 2024 and struggled with injuries initially, only making his debut at the start of this season. He has been sidelined with a neck injury recently, but is also now back in training.
Fellow Limerick man Kieran Ryan initially made his breakthrough with Munster as a loosehead, but the 24-year-old is also seen as a tighthead option and covered that position from the bench against Argentina XV earlier this season. Ryan is under contract until 2027.
Academy tighthead Ronan Foxe, a big man of nearly 130kg, made his senior debut in 2024 and has racked up seven more appearances since, helping him to earn a two-year senior contract that kicks in this summer.
Roman Salanoa hasn't played for Munster for nearly three years. Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO
Tom O’Hanlon / INPHO / INPHO
Westmeath man Foxe, who played underage rugby with Leinster before switching to Munster, impressed for the Ireland U20s in 2023. Now, the 23-year-old plans to take things to the next level in the coming seasons.
Although it has yet to be officially confirmed by Munster, the widespread expectation is that current Connacht tighthead Jack Aungier will join them this summer.
27-year-old Aungier initially broke through with his native Leinster before moving west in 2020. He is close to 100 appearances for Connacht and also has one Ireland cap, having made his Test debut off the bench against Georgia last summer.
Aungier hasn’t been involved with Farrell’s Ireland this season, so he will hope the expected move to Munster helps him to force his way back into the international mix.
It’s understood that Munster now also have IRFU approval to bring in a non-Irish-qualified tighthead prop, although it seems increasingly likely that such a move would take place after the 2027 World Cup.
The reality is that the majority of top tightheads are under contract into next season and that the market for such players will open up after the World Cup.
As such, Munster may need to wait to bring in the best tighthead possible.
So it could be 2027 before Munster fans see the kind of high-profile signing at tighthead that they have long been hoping for.
It will be strange not seeing either Archer or Ryan in Munster’s matchday squads next season, and the southern province has to hope that the next generation is ready.
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Munster looking into a new era without their tighthead stalwarts
THIS SUMMER MARKS the true end of an era at tighthead prop in Munster.
After the remarkably durable Stephen Archer hung up his boots at the end of last season, the similarly long-serving John Ryan will follow him into retirement when the current campaign concludes.
That means Munster will have lost more than 550 appearances of experience at tighthead prop in the space of a year.
Archer and Ryan played on for longer than some people expected, which is a credit to their ability and resilience. It’s also perhaps an indicator that Munster have taken their time in trying to figure out the next steps for this area of their squad.
As things stand, Munster have yet to produce a homegrown tighthead prop to follow in the footsteps of Cork natives Archer and Ryan, who themselves began to take bigger strides after the retirement of the legendary John Hayes at the end of 2011.
Archer made his Munster debut in 2009, with Ryan getting his first Munster cap in 2011.
They saw plenty of fellow tightheads come and go during around that time and in the years that followed.
Tim Ryan, Dave Ryan, Darragh Hurley, Tony Buckley, Peter Borlase, BJ Botha, Christy Condon, Alan Cotter, Martin Kelly, Mario Sagario, John Andress, Thomas du Toit, Ciaran Parker, Brian Scott, Keynan Knox.
Some stayed for short spells, others were there for years. Some decided to move on, others were forced to retire with injury, and Munster let some of them go.
Munster made the unusual move of signing young South African tighthead Knox straight after he had finished school in December 2017.
Knox had no connection to Ireland, but he qualified under the old residency rule in December 2020. He came through the Munster academy and earned a senior contract, playing for the province 33 times.
However, Munster released Knox from his deal early in February 2024 and after a season with Bourgoin in France’s Nationale league, he is now playing for Nevers in the Pro D2. It was a project that didn’t work out the way Munster had hoped.
Hawaii native Roman Salanoa joined Munster in the summer of 2020, making the move from Leinster, who were unhappy with the IRFU’s role in facilitating the switch.
Salanoa, a big, powerful athlete, had made a breakthrough with Leinster and earned three senior caps, but the union hoped that an inter-provincial move would allow him to get frontline starts as soon as possible.
Unfortunately for Salanoa and Munster, he has been bedevilled by injuries since.
Salanoa’s most recent appearance for Munster was in the 2023 URC final, nearly three years ago. He looked ready to finally make a return for Munster a few months ago after overcoming his knee problems – even playing in the AIL for Nenagh – but was hit by further setbacks.
Most recently, a calf strain has kept him sidelined, although Salanoa is again nearing a return, and McMillan has spoken positively about the former American footballer’s chances of earning a new contract for next season if he can just get back onto the pitch.
Salanoa had been going well before the knee injury, playing 20 times in the 2022/23 season and earning a call-up to Andy Farrell’s Ireland squad during the 2023 Grand Slam campaign.
Salanoa had already played for Emerging Ireland in 2022, while the fact that he has been spending time rehabbing at the IRFU’s training centre in Dublin this season suggests that he has remained a player of national interest.
The hope in all quarters now is that 28-year-old Salanoa can just get back onto the pitch and demonstrate that he still has plenty to offer.
It’s worth remembering that John Ryan left and re-signed for Munster twice during recent years. The Cork man initially moved to Wasps in 2022, but the English club folded just months after.
With Archer sidelined by an ankle injury, Munster brought Ryan back in on a short-term deal in October 2022, with that deal expiring in January 2023.
Ryan quickly picked up a contract with the Chiefs in New Zealand, where he linked up with McMillan. The Chiefs ended up in the Super Rugby final. Ryan’s form once again caught Munster’s eye, and he returned for the start of the 2023/24 season.
But it’s also worth noting that Munster had angled for a non-Irish-qualified [NIQ] signing at tighthead prop on several occasions in those early 2020 years. They were linked with some top-class players, but it’s believed they struggled to get the green light from the IRFU.
In November 2023, Munster brought Oli Jager back to Irish rugby after his remarkable time in New Zealand with the Crusaders, where he was part of a set-up that won seven consecutive Super Rugby titles.
The former Ireland U18s prop was lured by the prospect of playing senior international rugby with Ireland, and he got his first cap in the 2024 Six Nations, but the move hasn’t quite worked out as hoped yet.
Jager has had misfortune with injuries, including several months on the sidelines due to concussion this season. The tighthead has recently been out with a foot injury, but Munster said today that he is back training.
The 30-year-old is under contract until the summer of 2027 and, similarly to Salanoa, the hope is that Jager can just stay fit from here on.
With Salanoa and Jager struggling, Munster were granted IRFU permission to bring in experienced Samoa international tighthead Michael Ala’alatoa from Clermont until the end of this season.
34-year-old Ala’alatoa, who was previously with Leinster, hasn’t been able to hit his best form in Munster amid their collective struggles, and the expectation is that he will move on at the end of the season.
Ala’alatoa joined at a time when fellow tighthead Conor Bartley was also recovering from an injury. 30-year-old Bartley was a latecomer to professional rugby, earning his chance with Munster thanks to a decade of strong form in the AIL with Young Munster.
Bartley joined Munster on a short-term deal in November 2024 and struggled with injuries initially, only making his debut at the start of this season. He has been sidelined with a neck injury recently, but is also now back in training.
Fellow Limerick man Kieran Ryan initially made his breakthrough with Munster as a loosehead, but the 24-year-old is also seen as a tighthead option and covered that position from the bench against Argentina XV earlier this season. Ryan is under contract until 2027.
Academy tighthead Ronan Foxe, a big man of nearly 130kg, made his senior debut in 2024 and has racked up seven more appearances since, helping him to earn a two-year senior contract that kicks in this summer.
Westmeath man Foxe, who played underage rugby with Leinster before switching to Munster, impressed for the Ireland U20s in 2023. Now, the 23-year-old plans to take things to the next level in the coming seasons.
Although it has yet to be officially confirmed by Munster, the widespread expectation is that current Connacht tighthead Jack Aungier will join them this summer.
27-year-old Aungier initially broke through with his native Leinster before moving west in 2020. He is close to 100 appearances for Connacht and also has one Ireland cap, having made his Test debut off the bench against Georgia last summer.
Aungier hasn’t been involved with Farrell’s Ireland this season, so he will hope the expected move to Munster helps him to force his way back into the international mix.
It’s understood that Munster now also have IRFU approval to bring in a non-Irish-qualified tighthead prop, although it seems increasingly likely that such a move would take place after the 2027 World Cup.
The reality is that the majority of top tightheads are under contract into next season and that the market for such players will open up after the World Cup.
As such, Munster may need to wait to bring in the best tighthead possible.
So it could be 2027 before Munster fans see the kind of high-profile signing at tighthead that they have long been hoping for.
It will be strange not seeing either Archer or Ryan in Munster’s matchday squads next season, and the southern province has to hope that the next generation is ready.
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depth chart Munster Oli Jager Roman Salanoa Succession