2019–20 Munster Rugby season

Backs coach Felix Jones and forwards coach Jerry Flannery left the province when their contracts expired in June 2019.[5] Graham Rowntree joined the province as their new forwards coach after the completion of his duties with Georgia at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[6] Stephen Larkham, attack coach for the Australian national team, also joined the province as a senior coach ahead of the 2019–20 season.[7]

Club legend and head of commercial and marketing, Doug Howlett, also left the province to return to New Zealand in the summer of 2019, ending his 11-year association with Munster.[8] Munster's CEO Garrett Fitzgerald retired upon reaching retirement age in June 2019. Fitzgerald was Munster's first CEO and had been in the post since 1999, making him the longest serving provincial chief executive in Irish rugby at the time.[9] Ian Flanagan, who was born in Cork and previously worked at Leicester City F.C, was appointed to replace Fitzgerald.[10]

In a change from the previous two seasons, Munster will be in conference B for the 2019–20 Pro14 season, alongside Benetton, Cardiff Blues, Connacht, Edinburgh, Scarlets and Southern Kings. This will also be the case for the 2020–21 season, and the change was made based on the points total each club achieved after the completion of the regular 2018–19 season.[11]

Munster opened their 2019–20 Pro14 season with a 39–9 home victory against Welsh side Dragons on 28 September 2019, with the tries coming from Arno Botha, Jack O'Donoghue, Man-of-the-Match Shane Daly, Tyler Bleyendaal and academy member Diarmuid Barron, and fly-half J. J. Hanrahan contributing 14 points off the kicking tee. New signing Nick McCarthy and academy members Keynan Knox and Jack O'Sullivan all made their senior competitive debuts for the province, and hooker Kevin O'Byrne won his 50th cap.[12] Short-term signing Jed Holloway made his debut for the province in their 31–20 away win against South African side Southern Kings on 5 October 2019.[13]

In the opening two rounds of the 2019–20 Champions Cup, Munster beat Welsh Pro14 rivals Ospreys 32–13 away from home on 16 November 2019, with tries from Jeremy Loughman, Keith Earls, Andrew Conway and James Cronin and twelve points off the kicking tee from Tyler Bleyendaal,[14] before drawing 21–21 at home against French side Racing 92 on 23 November 2019; Munster's tries came from Keith Earls and Andrew Conway, and JJ Hanrahan contributed eleven points with the boot. The draw was Munster's first at home in the Champions Cup, against a Racing side that included former Munster players Donnacha Ryan and Simon Zebo in their starting XV.[15]

Prop Stephen Archer won his 200th cap for Munster in their 2019–20 Pro14 round 7 fixture against Edinburgh on 29 November 2019, becoming the eleventh player to achieve the accolade for the province. Academy fly-half Ben Healy made his debut for Munster during the same game, scoring 11 points in the 18–16 defeat to the Scottish side.[16]

In the Champions Cup back-to-backs against defending champions Saracens, Munster won 10–3 at home on 7 December 2019, with the English side picking up a losing bonus point.[17] In the return fixture one week later, Munster were beaten 15–6, with two tries in the final quarter securing the win for Saracens and denying Munster a losing bonus point.[18]

Following an incident that triggered a large brawl in Munster's second fixture against Saracens in December 2019 and a complaint to the EPCR from Saracens, in which Munster team doctor Jamie Kearns was accused of verbally abusing Saracens hooker Jamie George, an independent panel upheld the complaint and found that Kearns had breached the EPCR's disciplinary rules, handing Kearns a three-week ban, suspended for 12 months, and a fine of €2,000 to be paid immediately.[19]

Munster went into their round 5 Champions Cup clash away to Racing 92 on 12 January 2020 knowing that they had to win to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals of the tournament, but despite leading the French club with ten minutes to go, late tries from Racing secured a 39–22 win for the home side.[20] Munster needed results elsewhere to go their way if they were to stand any chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals as the final round of pool matches took place, but Glasgow Warriors 45–7 win against Sale Sharks ended those hopes before Munster's final game against Ospreys had even taken place.[21] In the event, Munster won 33–6 against Ospreys, with Craig Casey, who made his European debut for the province in the defeat to Racing, scoring his first try for Munster, and Calvin Nash, Jack O'Sullivan and Ben Healy making their European debuts for the province.[22]

Munster's 68–3 win against South African side Southern Kings in round 11 of the Pro14 on 14 February 2020 was a record margin of victory for the province in the competition, and the ten tries scored also set a new record for the province. Academy member John Hodnett made his debut for Munster in the fixture, scoring a try and earning the Man-of-the-Match award.[23] The match had an added poignancy for Munster, as their long-serving former CEO, Garrett Fitzgerald, who had only retired in June 2019, passed away following a battle with illness earlier that day.[24]

The 2019–20 Pro14 was suspended indefinitely by tournament organisers on 12 March 2020 in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[25] Munster's round 14 and 15 fixtures against Italian side Benetton had already been postponed,[26] with the resumption of the season under constant review. Tyler Bleyendaal was forced to retire from playing rugby with immediate effect in May 2020 due to a persistent neck injury.[27] In the same month, prop Brian Scott was also forced to retire with immediate effect due to injury.[28]

The 2019–20 Pro14 will resume on 22 August 2020. The regular season will be cut from 21 games to 15, with any games postponed prior to the indefinite suspension of the season being deemed as 0–0 draws and both teams awarded two points. Rounds 14 and 15 will take place as derbies in each territory, with the fixtures in Ireland yet to be confirmed. The top two teams in each conference will progress to a semi-final stage, with the location of the final also yet to be confirmed.[29]

Munster player movements for the 2019–20 season. For a full list, see List of 2019–20 Pro14 transfers.
(Player's name in italics indicates a transfer that took place during the course of the season)

The Munster senior squad for 2019–20 is:[41]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Rhys Marshall* Hooker New Zealand Kevin O'Byrne Hooker Ireland Niall Scannell Hooker Ireland Stephen Archer Prop Ireland James Cronin Prop Ireland Dave Kilcoyne Prop Ireland Jeremy Loughman Prop Ireland Liam O'Connor Prop Ireland Ciaran Parker* Prop England John Ryan Prop Ireland Brian Scott Prop Ireland Tadhg Beirne Lock Ireland Billy Holland Lock Ireland Jed Holloway Lock Australia Jean Kleyn Lock Ireland Seán O'Connor Lock Ireland Darren O'Shea Lock Ireland Fineen Wycherley Lock Ireland Arno Botha Back row South Africa Chris Cloete Back row South Africa Gavin Coombes Back row Ireland Tommy O'Donnell Back row Ireland Jack O'Donoghue Back row Ireland Conor Oliver Back row Ireland Peter O'Mahony (c) Back row Ireland C. J. Stander Back row Ireland

Player Position Union Craig Casey Scrum-half Ireland Neil Cronin Scrum-half Ireland Alby Mathewson Scrum-half New Zealand Nick McCarthy Scrum-half Ireland Conor Murray Scrum-half Ireland Tyler Bleyendaal* Fly-half New Zealand Joey Carbery Fly-half Ireland J. J. Hanrahan Fly-half Ireland Sammy Arnold Centre Ireland Shane Daly Centre Ireland Chris Farrell Centre Ireland Dan Goggin Centre Ireland Rory Scannell Centre Ireland Andrew Conway Wing Ireland Keith Earls Wing Ireland Calvin Nash Wing Ireland Darren Sweetnam Wing Ireland Alex Wootton Wing Ireland Mike Haley Fullback Ireland

• Internationally capped players in bold
• Players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality *
• Irish provinces are currently limited to four non-Irish eligible (NIE) players and one non-Irish qualified player (NIQ or "Project Player").[42]
• Notes:

The Munster academy squad for the 2019–20 season is:[43]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Diarmuid Barron (Year 2) Hooker Ireland Eoghan Clarke (Year 2) Hooker Ireland James French (Year 2 Prop Ireland Keynan Knox (Year 3) Prop South Africa Josh Wycherley (Year 2) Prop Ireland Thomas Ahern (Year 2) Lock Ireland Paddy Kelly (Year 1) Lock Ireland Eoin O'Connor (Year 1) Lock Ireland Jack Daly (Year 2) Back row Ireland John Hodnett (Year 1) Back row Ireland Jack O'Sullivan (Year 3) Back row Ireland

Player Position Union Jack Stafford (Year 3) Scrum-half Ireland Jake Flannery (Year 1) Fly-half Ireland Ben Healy (Year 2) Fly-half Ireland Seán French (Year 2) Centre Ireland Alex McHenry (Year 3) Centre Ireland Liam Coombes (Year 3) Wing Ireland Alan Tynan (Year 3) Fullback Ireland Jonathan Wren (Year 2) Fullback Ireland

• Notes:

Munster were seeded in tier 2 when the draw for the 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup was made in Lausanne, Switzerland on Wednesday 19 June 2019,[44] and were drawn in pool 4 alongside defending champions Saracens, Racing 92, who count former Munster players Donnacha Ryan and Simon Zebo amongst their squad, and fellow Pro14 side Ospreys.[45]

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
Racing 92 (Q)	6	4	1	1	194	126	68	26	15	4	1	23
Saracens (Q)	6	4	0	2	121	88	33	13	10	1	1	18
Munster	6	3	1	2	124	97	27	13	10	2	0	16
Ospreys	6	0	0	6	83	211	-128	11	28	1	1	2

[46]

Round 1

16 November 2019 17:30

Ospreys	13–32	Munster (1 BP)
Try: A. Davies 77' c Con: Price (1/1) 78' Pen: Price (2/2) 7', 28'	Report	Try: Loughman 33' c Earls 49' m Conway 51' c J. Cronin 80'+4 Con: Bleyendaal (3/4) 34', 52', 80'+5 Pen: Bleyendaal (2/2) 15', 19'

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,295 Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)

Round 2

23 November 2019 17:30

Munster	21–21	Racing 92
Try: Earls 39' m Conway 74' c Con: Hanrahan (1/2) 75' Pen: Hanrahan (3/3) 8', 26', 46'	Report	Try: Russell 18' c Thomas 28' c Imhoff 47' c Con: Iribaren (3/3) 19', 29', 48'

Thomond Park Attendance: 25,600 Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)

Round 3

7 December 2019 17:30

Munster	10–3	Saracens (1 BP)
Try: O'Mahony 30' c Con: Hanrahan (1/1) 31' Pen: Hanrahan (1/1) 17'	Report	Pen: Spencer (1/3) 36'

Thomond Park Attendance: 25,034 Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)

Round 4

14 December 2019 15:00

Saracens	15–6	Munster
Try: Maitland 65' m Mak. Vunipola 71' c Con: Farrell (1/2) 72' Pen: Farrell (1/2) 7'	Report	Pen: Hanrahan (2/3) 24', 43'

Allianz Park Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)

Round 5

12 January 2020 15:15

(1 BP) Racing 92	39–22	Munster
Try: Thomas (2) 28' m, 71' m Vakatawa 76' c Imhoff 80' c Con: Machenaud (2/3) 77', 80'+2 Pen: Iribaren (5/5) 19', 32', 46', 53', 57'	Report	Try: Conway 37' c Con: Hanrahan (1/1) 38' Pen: Hanrahan (5/6) 3', 10', 17', 49', 63'

Paris La Défense Arena Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)

Round 6

19 January 2020 13:00

(1 BP) Munster	33–6	Ospreys
Try: Stander (2) 30' c, 77' c Archer 39' c Murray 46' m Casey 58' c Con: Hanrahan (4/5) 31', 40', 59', 78'	Report	Pen: Price (2/2) 7', 13'

Thomond Park Attendance: 19,891 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (FFR)