Munster Back On Thursday

Munster will begin preparations for the coming season when they assemble for pre-season training in Cork on Thursday.

They will be joined on Monday by their international contingent who spent this week in Carton House (Maynooth) but before that the entire squad will debunk to Warrington to attend the funeral service for Paul Darbyshire.

Darbyshire, the Munster Head of Strength & Conditioning, died last Monday morning, and his funeral takes place tomorrow morning.

New signings BJ Botha and Ian Keatley will be among those in Cork along with 11 players who have come up  through the ranks to earn full time contracts.

Six of those are forwards, Mike Sherry, Stephen Archer, Dave Foley, Ian Nagle, Peter O'Mahony and Paddy Butler, with the five backs, Conor Murray, Simon Zebo, Scott Deasy, Declan Cusack and Danny Barnes, joined by Ivan Dineen and Sean Scanlon who are on Development contracts.

Munster Squad (2011/2012): F Jones, D Hurley, D Howlett, S Deasy, S Scanlon, I Dineen, D Barnes, K Earls, J Murphy, L Mafi, S Zebo, T Gleeson, I Keatley, R O'Gara, D Cusack, T O'Leary, C Murray, D Williams, P Stringer. BJ Botha, D Hurley, S Archer, M Horan, W du Preez, J Ryan, J Flannery, D Fogarty, D Varley, M Sherry, S Henry, P Borlase, M O'Driscoll,  D O'Callaghan, P O'Connell, D Foley, I Nagle, B Holland, D Ryan, P Butler, D Leamy, N Ronan, T O'Donnell, P O'Mahony, D Wallace, J Coughlan,