Stephen Archer To Become Munster’s Most-Capped Player

A cornerstone of the Munster pack for 14 years, Stephen Archer becomes Munster’s record appearance holder against Leinster at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening on his 269th Munster appearance.

A hugely popular member of the Munster squad, the remarkably durable tighthead prop made his debut against Edinburgh at Murrayfield over 14 years ago in October 2009.

A Cork native and product of the Munster Rugby Academy, Archer played schools rugby with CBC and has lined out for UCC and Cork Constitution in the All Ireland League.

He was an All Ireland League winner with Cork Con in 2010 and moved on to a senior contract at the start of 2011/12, making 18 appearances that campaign.

His first European Cup appearance was off the bench against Castres in Thomond Park in January 2012, and his first Irish senior cap came as a replacement against Italy in the 2013 Six Nations in Rome, with his second against Australia in the 2013 Guinness Series.

Incredibly, he has made 15 or more appearances in 11 of the last 12 seasons, including 20 or more in seven campaigns.

Archie after the 2016 Champions Cup win over Glasgow Warriors.

Archie made 28 appearances in the 2017/18 campaign, including his 150th appearance against Ulster and went one better the following year with his 29 appearances out of 32 games more than any other Munster man.

He became the 11th player to reach the 200-cap milestone for Munster against Edinburgh at Musgrave Park in 2019 and became our second most-capped player of all time on his 248th appearance against Ulster in 2022.

In 15 games last year he proved his worth once again and played a pivotal role in the URC title win.

He played 80 minutes back-to-back against Stormers and Sharks in South Africa before starting the quarter-final, semi-final and Grand Final victories away to Glasgow, Leinster and Stormers.

Archie celebrates with the URC trophy and Keith Earls, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray.