Challenging Tour For Munster U19s

As part of the warm up programme for the upcoming U19s Interprovincial Championship the squad travelled to Wales last week for a week long tour.

The challenge games included a three team tournament with Leicester academy and Clermont Auvergne academy on Tuesday and a fixture against Cardiff U19s on Friday.

All games proved to be a challenging experience with Munster defeated narrowly in each game.

The tour commenced with a ferry crossing early on Monday from Rosslare and a light run out on Monday night in St Athans RAF base outside Cardiff, where the team and their U20 counterparts were accommodated for the week.

The squad then travelled to Leicester on Tuesday morning for the tournament with the first fixture against Clermont proving a tough exercise. Clermont won the game by 9 points but the physicality of the game proved advantageous for Munster going forward.

Leicester also presented an extremely physical side and like Clermont had Academy players within their team. Munster got off to a powerful start and although a spirited effort throughout were unlucky to suffer defeat at the hands of their English counterparts.

Following a download day on Wednesday and a Royal Air Force team building morning on Thursday it was back to business on Thursday afternoon with preparation for Friday'ss fixture against Cardiff U19s.

The game was held in Pontypridd RFC and once again proved to be a very challenging and physical game. Cardiff came out on top but Munster again pushed them to the wire and can be very proud of the improved performance.

These games not only offered the squad a challenging experience against quality sides but also a good opportunity to progress from the Munster Rugby Talent Camp in Rockwell as they prepare for the U19s Interpro which commences on September 7th away to Ulster U19s.

The Munster U19s are also delighted to announce their new sponsor GxP Systems for the Interpro series, a Cork based business who offer world class compliance and validation services to multi national clients in the biotech, medical device and pharmaceutical industries. More information about GxP Systems can be found here.

View a video of the tour action here.

Munster U19s Touring Squad

Forwards: Liam O’Connor, Brendan Quinlan, Mike O’Donnell, Denis O’Connell, Sean McNulty, Jack Boland, Jack O’Halloran, Frank Bradshaw-Ryan, Alan Hogan, Dylan Lane, Jonathan Keane, Cormac Blake, Ben Kilkenny, Connell Dodd, Luke O’Leary.

Backs: Jack Cullen, David O’Mahony, Tomás Quinlan, Dylan Horgan, JJ O’Neill, Steven McMahon, Stephen Fitzgerald, Eoin O’Carroll, Edward O’Keeffe, Kevin O’Keeffe, Eathon Moloney, Shane McAuliffe.

Management Team

Head Coach: Keith Murphy
Asst. Coach: Brendan O’Connor
Asst. Coach: Ben Martin
Team Manager: Gary Collins
S&C Coach: Gordon Brett
Physio: Patrick Hanley
Kit Manager: Jim Crowley
Video Analyst: Adam Clarke