2024–25 Munster Rugby season

The 2024–25 season was Munster Rugby's fourth season in the United Rugby Championship, and their 137th season of representative rugby since their foundation. Along with competing in the URC and its Irish Shield competition, the club also participated in the 2024-25 European Rugby Champions Cup, their 31st season of European and professional competition.

Munster Rugby

Full name	Munster Rugby
Union	IRFU
Nickname(s)	The Red Army
Founded	1879; 146 years ago (1879)
Location	Limerick and Cork, Ireland
Ground(s)	Thomond Park (Capacity: 25,600)[note 1] Musgrave Park (Capacity: 8,800)
Chairman	Gerry O'Shea[1]
CEO	Ian Flanagan[1]
President	Michael Carroll[2]
Coach(es)	Mike Prendergast (interim)
Captain(s)	Tadhg Beirne
Top scorer	Jack Crowley : 112
Most tries	Tom Farrell : 10
League(s)	United Rugby Championship (2024-25) European Champions Cup (2024-25)
2024-25	URC : 6th (ladder) Quarter-final (play-offs) Irish Shield - 2nd EPCR CC : Quarter-final
1st kit 2nd kit 3rd kit
Official website
www.munsterrugby.ie
Current season
← 2023–24 2025–26 →

On 29 October 2024, Munster announced the departure of Graham Rowntree by mutual agreement after four losses in six games in the United Rugby Championship.^[3] Ian Costello took over as interim head coach. In February, Munster announced that New Zealander Clayton McMillan had agreed to take the role from the end of the season, and that Mike Prendergast would take the interim role for the remainder of the campaign.^[4]

Following a poor start, including four losses from six games in the league, that was eventually to cost coach Graham Rowntree his position, the province was able to salvage its position somewhat, making the knock-out stages of both the European Rugby Champions Cup and the United Rugby Championship; in the former, an impressive away win in the Round of 16 at Stade Rochelais led to a quarter-final defeat against eventual champions Bordeaux Begles (UBB); in the latter Munster were eliminated after a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-final away to Sharks.

Senior squad

Coaching and management staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Head coach	vacant Mike Prendergast (interim)	Ireland
Attack coach	Mike Prendergast	Ireland
Forwards coach	Andi Kyriacou	England
Defence coach	Denis Leamy	Ireland
Skills coach	Mossy Lawler	Ireland
Performance analyst and technical coach	George Murray	Ireland
Team manager	Niall O'Donovan	Ireland
Head of rugby operations	Ian Costello	Ireland
Head of athletic performance	Ged McNamara	Ireland
Strength and conditioning coach	Adam Sheehan	Ireland

Senior squad

For player movements before or during the 2024–25 season, see List of 2024–25 United Rugby Championship transfers § Munster.

Munster Rugby senior squad
Props Stephen Archer Mark Donnelly Oli Jager Dave Kilcoyne Jeremy Loughman John Ryan Roman Salanoa Josh Wycherley Hookers Diarmuid Barron Scott Buckley Niall Scannell Locks Thomas Ahern Tadhg Beirne (c) Edwin Edogbo Cian Hurley Jean Kleyn Fineen Wycherley	Back row Gavin Coombes Jack Daly Brian Gleeson John Hodnett Alex Kendellen Jack O'Donoghue Peter O'Mahony Scrum-halves Craig Casey Ethan Coughlan Conor Murray Paddy Patterson Fly-halves Billy Burns Tony Butler Jack Crowley	Centres Tom Farrell Alex Nankivell Seán O'Brien Rory Scannell Back three Thaakir Abrahams Patrick Campbell Liam Coombes Shane Daly Mike Haley Diarmuid Kilgallen Calvin Nash
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. ST denotes a short-term signing. L denotes a player on loan at the club. Players and their allocated positions from the Munster Rugby website.[5]

Academy squad

Coaching and management staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Academy and pathway manager	Gearóid Prendergast	Ireland
Elite player development officer	Brendan O'Connor	Ireland
Elite player development officer	Tommy O'Donnell	Ireland
Pathway development coach	Matt Brown	Ireland
National talent coach	Mark Butler	Ireland
Strength and conditioning coach	Danielle Cunningham	Ireland

Academy squad

Munster Rugby academy squad
Props George Hadden (2) Ronan Foxe (2) Darragh McSweeney (3) Kieran Ryan (3) Hookers Danny Sheahan (1) Max Clein (2) Locks Michael Foy (1) Evan O'Connell (3)	Back row Seán Edogbo (1) Luke Murphy (1) Ruadhán Quinn (3) Scrum-halves Jake O'Riordan (1) Jack Oliver (3) Fly-halves Dylan Hicks (2)	Centres Gene O'Leary Kareem (1) Fionn Gibbons (3) Back three Shay McCarthy (2) Ben O'Connor (2)
Bold denotes internationally capped players, number in brackets indicates players stage in the three-year academy cycle. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality. Players and their allocated positions from the Munster Rugby website.[6]

Transfers

United Rugby Championship

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Leinster	18	16	0	2	542	256	+286	79	35	11	1	76	Qualifies for home URC quarter-final; Qualification for the 2025–26 Champions Cup
2	Bulls	18	14	0	4	542	361	+181	71	44	9	3	68
3	Sharks	18	13	0	5	436	402	+34	55	59	7	3	62
4	Glasgow Warriors	18	11	0	7	468	327	+141	70	40	10	5	59
5	Stormers	18	10	0	8	507	418	+89	66	57	11	4	55	Qualifies for URC quarter-final; Qualification for the 2025–26 Champions Cup
6	Munster	18	9	0	9	444	429	+15	67	59	11	4	51
7	Edinburgh	18	8	1	9	471	407	+64	66	57	9	6	49
8	Scarlets	18	9	1	8	427	382	+45	50	52	6	4	48
9	Cardiff	18	8	1	9	409	477	−68	63	65	10	3	47	Qualification for the 2025–26 Challenge Cup
10	Benetton	18	9	1	8	393	478	−85	50	65	7	1	46
11	Lions	18	8	0	10	402	440	−38	53	60	5	3	40
12	Ospreys	18	7	1	10	437	454	−17	60	63	6	4	40
13	Connacht	18	6	0	12	420	472	−52	64	62	9	6	39
14	Ulster	18	7	0	11	414	506	−92	59	72	5	5	38
15	Zebre Parma	18	5	1	12	302	503	−201	38	72	3	4	29
16	Dragons	18	1	0	17	335	637	−302	43	92	1	4	9

Source: UnitedRugby.com
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won 2) The difference between points for and points against 3) The number of tries scored 4) The most points scored 5) The difference between tries for and tries against 6) The fewest red cards received 7) The fewest yellow cards received.^[7]

Round 1

21 September 2024	(1 BP) Munster	35–33	Connacht (2 BP)	Thomond Park, Limerick
17:30	Try: Nankivell 28' c Haley 31' c Hodnett 44' c Coombes 58' c Daly 69' c Con: Burns (3/3) 28', 32', 45' Butler (2/2) 59', 70'		Try: Ioane 13' m B. Murphy (2) 20' c, 39' c Hawkshaw 53' c Forde 63' c Con: Ioane (3/4) 21', 54', 64' Forde 40' (1/1)	Attendance: 15,705[8] Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)

Round 2

28 September 2024	(1 BP) Zebre Parma	42–33	Munster (1 BP)	Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
16:00	Try: Trulla (2) 22' m, 41' m Fusco (2) 26' c, 59' c Licata 51' c Prisciantelli 62' m Con: Montemauri (3/6) 27', 52' 60' Pen: Montemauri 11' Da Re 80'		Try: Coombes (2) 19' c, 30' c Haley 33' c Fitzgerald 40' c McCarthy 76' m Con: Butler (4/5) 20', 31', 34', 41'	Attendance: 2,300[9] Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)

Round 3

5 October 2024	(1 BP) Munster	23–0	Ospreys	Musgrave Park, Cork
19:35	Try: McCarthy 1' m Farrell 26' m Nash 39' m O'Donoghue 63' m Pen: Crowley 9'			Attendance: 8,293[10] Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)

Round 4

12 October 2024	(1 BP) Leinster	26–12	Munster	Croke Park, Dublin
17:45	Try: Lowe 5' c' Doris 10' c Keenan 14' c Snyman 40' m Con: Frawley (3/4) 6', 11', 15'		Try: O'Brien 34' m Haley 65' c Con: Crowley (1/2) 66'	Attendance: 80,468[11] Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)

Round 5

19 October 2024	Stormers	34–19	Munster	Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
18:00	Try: Hartzenberg 5' c Theunissen 33' c R. Nel (2) 46' c, 80'+2 Con: Willemse (4/4) 6', 34', 47', 80'+3 Pen: Willemse 75' Drop: Willemse 76'		Try: Farrell 17 c' Clarke 26' m Coombes 67' c Con: Crowley (2/3) 19', 68'	Attendance: 28,013[12] Referee: Mike Adamson, Scotland

Round 6

26 October 2024	(1 BP) Sharks	41–24	Munster (1 BP)	Kings Park Stadium, Durban
16:00	Try: Fassi 0' c Mapimpi 4' c Williams 23' c Esterhuizen 36' c Tshituka 65' c Con: Jo. Hendrikse (5/5) 1', 5', 24', 37', 66' Pen: Jo. Hendrikse (2) 13', 48'		Try: Ahern 18' m Haley 30' m Nash 73' c Beirne 80' Con: Burns (2/2) 73', 80'+1	Attendance: 19,465[13] Referee: Hollie Davidson, Scotland

Round 7

30 November 2024	Munster	17–10	Lions (1 BP)	Thomond Park, Limerick
19:35	Try: Abrahams 15' c S. Daly 42' m Kendellen 53' m Con: Burns (1/3) 16'		Try: van Wyk 27' c Con: Wolhuter (1/1) 28' Pen: Wolhuter 32'	Attendance: 11,836[12] Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)

Round 8

20 December 2024	'(1 BP)' Ulster	19–22	Munster (1 BP)	Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast
19:35	Try: O'Toole 7 c' Sheridan 64' m McNabney 75' c Con: Cooney (2/3) 8' 76	Report	Try: Farrell, 27', 51', 78' c S. Daly, 66' Con: Crowley (1/4) 80'	Attendance: 14,313[13] Referee: Ben Whitehouse

Round 9

27 December 2024	Munster	7–28	Leinster (1 BP)	Thomond Park, Limerick
19:35	Try: Ahern 44' Con: Burns (1/1) 46'	Report	Try: McGrath 8' Prendergast 32' van der Flier 53' Doris 73' Con: Prendergast (3/3) 9', 33', 53' R. Byrne 74'	Attendance: 26,267[14]

Round 10

25 January 2025	Dragons	19–38	Munster	Rodney Parade, Newport
19:35				Attendance: 4,562

Round 11

15 February 2025	(1 BP) Munster	29-8	Scarlets	Thomond Park, Limerick
17:15	Try: McCarthy, 20'c Coombes (2), 44', 63' Kendellen, 51'c Farrell, 81' Con: Burns (2)	Report	Try: Page, 57' Pen: Lloyd, 17'	Attendance: 13,714

Round 12

28 February 2025	(2 BP) Munster	28-34	Edinburgh (1 BP)	Musgrave Park, Cork
19:35	Try: Nankivell, 15'c, 51'c O'Connor, 64'c O'Brien, 80'c Con: Burns (3) Butler	Report	Try: Thompson, 23'c Currie, 28'c, 34', 57' Bradbury, 39'c Con: Thompson (3) Pen: Thompson, 5'	Attendance: 8,800[15]

Round 13

21 March 2025	(1 BP) Glasgow Warriors	28–25	Munster (1 BP)	Scotstoun Stadium
7.35pm	Try: Horne, 27’c Steyn, 35’c Fagerson, 68’c McBeth, 75’c Con: Hastings (4)	Report	Try: Hodnett, 16’c O'Brien, 22’m, 65'c Con: Butler Scannell Pen: Butler, 32', 55'	Referee: Morne Ferreira

Round 14

29 March 2025	(2 BP) Connacht	24-30	Munster (1 BP)	MacHale Park, Castlebar, County Mayo
14:30	Try: Jansen, 21', 62' Blade, 45' Ioane, 73' Con: Ioane, 45' Hanrahan, 63'	Report:ESPN	Try: Ahern, 24', Casey, 23' Crowley, 51' Barron, 59' Con: Crowley, 52', 13' Pen: Crowley, 7', 38'	Attendance: 27,580

Round 15

19 April 2025	(1 BP) Munster	13 - 16	Bulls	Thomond Park, Limerick
17:15	Try: Abrahams, 37' Con: Crowley, 38' Pen: Crowley, 9', 51'	Report	Try: Coetzee,16' Con: Goosen, 16' Pen: Goosen, 23', 49' Johannes, 73'	Attendance: 14,733 Referee: Andrea Piardi

Round 16

25 April 2025	(1 BP) Cardiff	26 - 21	Munster (1 BP)	Cardiff Arms Park
19:35	Try: Hamer-Webb, 26' Millard, 28' penalty try, 54' Mulder, 63' Con: Sheedy, 28', 64'	Report, 2	Try: Nash, 12' Haley, 37' Farrell, 50' Con: Crowley, 13', 38', 51'	Attendance: 11,253 Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi

Round 17

9 May 2025	(1 BP) Munster	38 – 20	Ulster	Thomond Park, Limerick
19:35	Try: Milne, 13' Farrell, 24', 55' Beirne, 28' Scannell, 35' O'Mahony, 58' Con: Crowley, 29', 36', 56', 59'	Report, 2	Try: McCloskey, 6' Postlethwaite, 26' Con: Murphy, 7', 27' Pen: Murphy, 18', 41'	Attendance: 17,684

Round 18

16 May 2025	(1 BP) Munster	30–21	Benetton	Musgrave Park, Cork
20:00	Try: Crowley, 14' Barron, 44' Abrahams, 49' Wycherley, 73' Con: Crowley, 15' Casey, 50' Pen: Crowley, 21' Casey, 57'		Try: Rhyno Smith, 19', 28' Bautista Bernasconi, 69' Con: Jacob Umaga, 20', 29', 70'	Attendance: 8,800

Munster Rugby qualify for the play-offs.

Play-offs

Bracket

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	1	Leinster	33
	8	Scarlets	21
						1	Leinster	37
						4	Glasgow Warriors	19
	4	Glasgow Warriors	36
	5	Stormers	18
											1	Leinster	32
											2	Bulls	7
	3	Sharks	24 (6)
	6	Munster	24 (4)
						2	Bulls	25
						3	Sharks	13
	2	Bulls	42
	7	Edinburgh	33

Quarter-final

31 May 2025 5:30pm

Sharks	24-24 (a.e.t.)	Munster
Try: Hooker, 46' Fassi, 68' Mbatha, 73' Con: Jaden Hendrikse, 47', 69', 74' Pen: Jaden Hendrikse, 55'		Try: Nash, 10' Josh Wycherley, 57' Kilgallen, 61' Con: Crowley, 11', 58', 62' Pen: Murray, 77'
	Penalties
Jordan Hendrikse Y Jaden Hendrikse Y DavidsY Jordan Hendrikse Y Jaden Hendrikse Y DavidsY	6-4	Crowley Y Scannell N Murray Y CrowleyY Scannell Y

Kings Park Stadium, Durban Attendance: 22,247

Munster are eliminated from the Championship.

URC Irish Shield

2024–25 United Rugby Championship Regional Shield Pools view · watch · edit · discuss
Irish Shield
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	Pts	Pos overall
1	Leinster (S)	6	6	0	0	175	80	+95	26	11	5	0	29	1
2	Munster	6	4	0	2	144	150	–6	22	22	4	0	20	6
3	Ulster	6	2	0	4	125	162	–37	16	26	1	2	11	14
4	Connacht	6	0	0	6	115	167	–52	18	23	3	3	6	13
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[16] number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received the fewest yellow cards received
Green background indicates teams currently leading the regional shield. Upon the conclusion of the regular season, these teams win their respective regional shields. (S) : URC Shield champion

European Rugby Champions Cup

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 3

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Northampton Saints (3)	4	3	0	1	137	106	+31	20	15	4	0	16	Home Champions Cup round of 16.
2	Castres (6)	4	3	0	1	105	86	+19	13	13	2	0	14
3	Munster (9)	4	2	0	2	96	69	+27	13	7	2	2	12	Away Champions Cup round of 16.
4	Saracens (13)	4	2	0	2	91	71	+20	11	9	2	1	11
5	Bulls (11CC)	4	1	0	3	84	113	−29	12	15	1	0	5	Away Challenge Cup round of 16.
6	Stade Français	4	1	0	3	76	144	−68	11	21	1	0	5

Source: EPCR^[17]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Pool matches

Round 1

7 December 2024	(1 BP) Munster	33–7	Stade Français	Thomond Park, Limerick
17:30	Try: Abrahams 15' c Daly 29' c Kendellen 49' c Farrell 54' c Coombes 78' m Con: Crowley (4/5) 16', 30', 50', 55'	Report	Try: Castets 58' c Con: Henry (1/1) 59'	Attendance: 17,241 Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

Round 2

13 December 2024	Castres	16–14	Munster (1 BP)	Stade Pierre-Fabre, Castres
20:00	Try: Papali'i 12' m Walcker 29' m Pen: Fernandez (1/1) 48' Le Brun (1/1) 72'	Report	Try: Hodnett (2) 37' c, 68' c Con: Crowley (2/2) 38', 69'	Attendance: 9,615 Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)

Round 3

11 January 2025	Munster	17–12	Saracens (1 BP)	Thomond Park, Limerick
17:30	Try: Bleuler 59' Hodnett 64' c Con: Crowley (1/1) 60' Pen: Crowley (2/3) 25', 65'	Report	Pen: Lozowski (3/3) 1', 10', 69' Daly (1/1) 45'	Attendance: 22,030 Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)

Round 4

18 January 2025	(1 BP) Northampton Saints	34–32	Munster (1 BP)	cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
15:15	Try: Seabrook (3) 13' m, 48' m, 67' c Langdon 40+1' c Ramm 54' c Con: Smith (3/5) 40+2', 55', 68' Pen: Smith (1/1) 59'	Report	Try: Nash (2) 22' c, 32' m Kilgallen (2) 63' c, 78' c Con: Crowley (3/4) 23', 64', 79' Pen: Crowley (2/2) 32', 57'	Attendance: 15,153 Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

Knockout stages

	Round of 16					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	1	Bordeaux Bègles	43
	16	Ulster	31
						1	Bordeaux Bègles	47
						9	Munster	29
	8	La Rochelle	24
	9	Munster	25
											1	Bordeaux Bègles	35
											5	Toulouse	18
	4	Toulon	72
	13	Saracens	42
						4	Toulon	18
						5	Toulouse	21
	5	Toulouse	38
	12	Sale Sharks	15
																1	Bordeaux Bègles	28
																3	Northampton Saints	20
	2	Leinster	62
	15	Harlequins	0
						2	Leinster	52
						7	Glasgow Warriors	0
	7	Glasgow Warriors	43
	10	Leicester Tigers	19
											2	Leinster	34
											3	Northampton Saints	37
	3	Northampton Saints	46
	14	Clermont	24
						3	Northampton Saints	51
						6	Castres	16
	6	Castres	39
	11	Benetton	37

Round of 16

Munster finished their European Rugby Champions Cup pool campaign as the ninth seed, and were therefore drawn away in the round of 16 to the eighth seed, La Rochelle.

5 April 2025	La Rochelle (8)	24–25 HT : 10–7	(9) Munster	Stade Marcel-Deflandre, La Rochelle
18:30	Try: Botia, 10' Penalty try, 65' Bosmorin, 76' Con: West, 11' Hastoy, 76' Pen: West, 42'	Report:EPRC	Try: Casey, 24' Coombes, 47' Smith 51' Con: Crowley, 24', 48' Pen: Crowley, 41' Drop: Crowley, 68'	Attendance: 16,700 Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)

Quarterfinal

12 April 2025	Bordeaux (1)	47–29	(9) Munster	Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
16:00	Try: Penaud, 5’ Lucu, 12’ Samu, 24’ Echegaray, 33’ Lamothe, 56’ Bielle-Biarrey, 77’ Con: Jalibert, 13', 25', 34', 78' Pen: Jalibert, 11', 53', 76'	Report	Try: Nankivell, 43’ Smith, 50', 72' penalty try, 67' Con: Crowley 33', 73' Pen: Crowley, 9'	Attendance: 32,215 Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

Munster are eliminated from the competition.

---

Friendlies and challenge matches

31 August 2024	Bath Rugby	24–21	Munster	Recreation Ground
18:30		Report		Attendance: 9.603

6 September 2024	Munster	19–33	Gloucester Rugby	Musgrave Park
18:30		Report		Attendance: 4,487

2 November 2024	Munster	24–38	All Blacks XV	Thomand Park
18:30		Report		Attendance: 26,267

Overall Record

Competitive ties only:

Munster Rugby	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	%	PF	PA	+/-	TF	TA	+/-
	16	12	1[18]	12	50.00	618	593	+25	90	78	+12

Home attendance

End of season.

Domestic League						European Cup						Total
League	Fixtures	Total Attendance	Average Attendance	Highest	Lowest	League	Fixtures	Total Attendance	Average Attendance	Highest	Lowest	Total Attendance	Average Attendance
2024–25 United Rugby Championship	9 [19]	129,931	14,437	26,267	8,193 [19]	2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup	2	39,271	19,636	22,030	17,241	169,104 [20]	15,378