2010–11 Munster Rugby season

The 2010–11 Munster Rugby season was Munster's tenth season competing in the Celtic League alongside which they also competed in the Heineken Cup for the sixteenth time. They also competed in the European Challenge Cup for the first time after elimination from the Heineken Cup. It was Tony McGahans third season as director of rugby.

2010–11 Munster Rugby season

Ground(s)	Thomond Park Musgrave Park (Capacity: 26,500 8,500)
Coach(es)	Tony McGahan (Director of Rugby)[1]
Captain(s)	Paul O'Connell
League(s)	Celtic League
2010–11	1st, Champions
1st kit 2nd kit
← 2009–10 2011–12 →

Summary

Munster were drawn in Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup alongside the Ospreys, London Irish and RC Toulon. Munster lost 23–17 away to London Irish, before defeating RC Toulon 45–18 at Thomond Park on 16 October 2010.[2][3] Munster defeated Ospreys 22–16, but lost the reverse fixture at Liberty Stadium 19–15.[4][5] In round 5 Munster went to RC Toulon, losing 32–16. As a result of this defeat, Munster failed to qualify for the quarter finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time in 13 years.[6] [7][8] As one of the top three runners up in the Heineken cup pool stage, Munster entered the quarter-final stage of the Challenge Cup where they defeated Brive 42–37 in France before losing at home 12–20 to Harlequins.[9] [10][11]

In the Magners league Munster finished top of the table with nineteen wins and three defeats after twenty two matches to qualify for the semi-final playoffs where they defeated Ospreys 18–11. They then played in the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final where they defeated Leinster by 19 points to 9 to claim their third league title.[12] [13]

2010-11 Playing Squad

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 Jerry Flannery Hooker Ireland Denis Fogarty Hooker Ireland Damien Varley Hooker Ireland Stephen Archer Prop Ireland Peter Borlase Prop New Zealand Tony Buckley Prop Ireland John Hayes Prop Ireland Marcus Horan Prop Ireland Darragh Hurley Prop Ireland Wian du Preez Prop South Africa Dave Ryan Prop Ireland Dave Foley Lock Ireland Ian Nagle Lock Ireland Donncha O'Callaghan Lock Ireland Paul O'Connell (c) Lock Ireland Mick O'Driscoll Lock Ireland Donnacha Ryan Lock Ireland Billy Holland Flanker Ireland Tommy O'Donnell Flanker Ireland Peter O’Mahony Flanker Ireland Alan Quinlan Flanker Ireland Niall Ronan Flanker Ireland David Wallace Flanker Ireland Paddy Butler Number 8 Ireland James Coughlan Number 8 Ireland Denis Leamy Number 8 Ireland

Player Position Union Tomás O'Leary Scrum-half Ireland Peter Stringer Scrum-half Ireland Duncan Williams Scrum-half Ireland Ronan O'Gara Outside-half Ireland Paul Warwick Outside-half Australia Declan Cusack Outside-half Ireland Tom Gleeson Centre Ireland Lifeimi Mafi Centre New Zealand Barry Murphy Centre Ireland Sam Tuitupou Centre New Zealand Danny Barnes Wing Ireland Keith Earls Wing Ireland Ian Dowling Wing Ireland Doug Howlett Wing New Zealand Johne Murphy Wing Ireland Scott Deasy Fullback Ireland Denis Hurley Fullback Ireland Felix Jones Fullback Ireland

Coaching and Management team

Position	Name	Nationality
Director of Rugby	Tony McGahan	Australia
Team Manager	Shaun Payne	South Africa
Forwards Coach	Laurie Fisher	Australia
Backs Coach	Jason Holland	New Zealand
Technical Advisor	Anthony Foley	Ireland
Head of Strength & Conditioning	Paul Darbyshire
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Tom Comyns	Ireland
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Aidan O'Connell	Ireland
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Joe Gallanagh	Ireland
Medical Co-ordinator & Head of Physiotherapy	Anthony Coole	Ireland
Physiotherapist	Neil Tucker	Ireland

Players in

• Johne Murphy: from Leicester[14]
• Corey Hircock: from Bedford[15]
• Sam Tuitupou from Worcester Warriors[16]
• Wian du Preez from Free State Cheetahs[17]
• Peter Borlase from Crusaders[18]

Players out

• Jean de Villiers to Western Province and Stormers[19]
• Jeremy Manning to Newcastle Falcons[20]
• Julien Brugnaut to Racing 92[21]
• Ciarán O'Boyle returned to club[22]
• Nick Williams to Aironi
• Eoghan Grace to Exeter Chiefs[23]

2010–11 Celtic League

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Pts
1	Munster	22	19	0	3	496	327	+169	44	22	5	2	83
2	Leinster	22	15	1	6	495	336	+159	50	25	5	3	70
3	Ulster	22	15	1	6	480	418	+62	44	35	3	2	67
4	Ospreys	22	12	1	9	553	418	+135	56	29	6	7	63
5	Scarlets	22	12	1	9	503	453	+50	49	43	5	7	62
6	Cardiff Blues	22	13	1	8	479	392	+87	37	33	3	3	60
7	Newport Gwent Dragons	22	10	1	11	444	462	−18	47	49	3	4	49
8	Edinburgh	22	9	0	13	421	460	−39	39	44	2	5	43
9	Connacht	22	7	1	14	394	459	−65	32	44	3	6	39
10	Benetton Treviso	22	9	0	13	374	502	−128	29	58	0	2	38
11	Glasgow Warriors	22	6	1	15	401	543	−142	33	48	1	6	33
12	Aironi	22	1	0	21	247	517	−270	21	52	0	8	12
Correct as of 7 May 2011

Semi-final

14 May 2011 18:30

Munster	18 – 11	Ospreys
Try: Barnes (2) 32' m, 57' c Con: O'Gara (1/2) Pen: O'Gara (2/4) 14', 49'	Report	Try: Fussell 78' m Pen: Biggar (2/2) 38', 55'

Thomond Park Referee: Nigel Owens

Grand Final

28 May 2011 17:05

Munster	19 – 9	Leinster
Try: Howlett 12' c Earls 66' m Penalty try 79' c Con: O'Gara (2/3)	Report	Pen: Sexton (3/4) 29', 46', 60'

Thomond Park Attendance: 26,100 Referee: Nigel Owens

2010-11 Heineken Cup

Pool 3

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Toulon (6)	6	4	0	2	13	13	0	143	134	+9	1	0	17
Munster [7]	6	3	0	3	17	9	+8	143	122	+21	2	2	16
Ospreys	6	3	0	3	7	11	−4	117	113	+4	0	2	14
London Irish	6	2	0	4	9	13	−4	107	141	−34	0	1	9

9 October 2010 17:45

London Irish	23 – 17	Munster
Try: Ojo 41' m Con: Lamb (0/1) Pen: Lamb (4/4) 8', 11', 20', 37' D. Armitage (1/2) 73' Drop: Lamb 33'	Report	Try: Tuitupou 80' m Con: O'Gara (0/1) Pen: O'Gara (4/5) 5', 39', 55', 69'

Madejski Stadium, Reading Attendance: 20,188 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

---

16 October 2010 15:30

Munster	45 – 18	Toulon
Try: Leamy 9' c Buckley 20' c Howlett (2) 36' c, 62' c O'Driscoll 59' c Coughlan 79' c Con: O'Gara (6/6) Pen: O'Gara (1/2) 47'	Report	Try: Genevois 1' c van Niekerk 75' m Con: Contepomi (1/1) Wilkinson (0/1) Pen: Contepomi (1/3) 30' Drop: Wilkinson 49'

Thomond Park, Limerick Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

---

12 December 2010 13:00

Munster	22 - 16	Ospreys
Try: Howlett 10' m Wallace 58' c Murphy 63' c Con: O'Gara (2/3) Pen: O'Gara (1/3) 40'	Report	Try: Bowe 42' c Con: Biggar (1/1) Pen: Biggar (3/5) 1', 12', 67'

Thomond Park Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

---

18 December 2010 15:30

Ospreys	19 - 15	Munster
Try: Phillips 25' c Con: Biggar (1/1) Pen: Biggar (4) 17', 36', 55', 68'	Report	Try: Buckley 23' c Earls 58' m Con: O'Gara (1/2) Pen: O'Gara 5'

Liberty Stadium Attendance: 12,189 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

---

16 January 2011 16:00

Toulon	32 - 16	Munster
Try: Loamanu 22' c Sackey 37' c Con: Wilkinson (2/2) Pen: Wilkinson (6/8) 8', 14', 16', 34', 41', 59'	Report	Try: Wallace 76' c Con: O'Gara (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (3/3) 2', 25', 40'

Stade Félix Mayol Attendance: 13,900 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

---

22 January 2011 15:30

Munster	28 – 14	London Irish
Try: Varley 46' c Ronan 70' c Earls 73' c Hurley 79' c Con: O'Gara (4/4)	Report	Try: Mapusua 58' c Tagicakibau 67' c Con: Bowden (1/1) Lamb (1/1)

Thomond Park Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Peter Allan (Scotland)

2010-11 Amlin Challenge Cup

Quarter-final

9 April 2011 14.00

Brive	37 - 42	Munster
Try: Uys 17' c Estebanez 20' c Palisson 70' c Perry 80' c Con: Belie (4/4) 17',20',80',70' Pen: Belie 10',36',45'	Report	Try: Howlett (2) 1' c, 22' c Earls (2) 4' c, 46' c Stringer 50' c Con: O'Gara (4/5) Pen: O'Gara (3/3) 53', 66', 68'

Stade Amédée-Domenech, Brive-la-Gaillarde Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

Semi-final

30 April 2011 13:00

Munster	12 – 20	Harlequins
Try: Jones 40' c Howlett 78' m Con: O'Gara (1/2)	Report	Try: Robson 9' c Care 34' c Con: Evans (1/1) Care (1/1) Pen: Clegg (2/2) 49', 59'

Thomond Park, Limerick Attendance: 24,907 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

References

1. Munster appoint McGahan as coach Archived 14 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine RTÉ Sport, 18 June 2008
2. "As It Happened: London Irish 23-17 Munster". RTÉ Sport. 9 October 2001. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
3. "Munster 45-18 Toulon". BBC Sport. 15 October 2001. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
4. "Munster 22-16 Ospreys". BBC Sport. 12 December 2001. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
5. "Ospreys 19-15 Munster". BBC Sport. 18 December 2001. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
6. Farrelly, Hugh (17 January 2011). "Munster's epic ends as tragedy". Irish Independent. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
7. "Munster fail to reach Heineken Cup last eight with defeat at Toulon". The Guardian. London. 16 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
8. "Munster bid au revoir to an era". The Irish Times. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
9. "Brive 37-42 Munster". BBC Sport. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
10. "Quins silence Thomond Park". ESPN. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
11. "Munster 12-20 Harlequins". BBC Sport. 29 April 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
12. "Magners League 2010/11 Final Table". ESPN. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
13. "Munster power to Magners title". ESPN. 28 May 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
14. Murphy for Munster Archived 26 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine Munster Rugby, 1 February 2010
15. Eight Bedford Blues players sign on for second Championship campaign Heaven's Game, 5 May 2010
16. Murphy, Fiona (7 May 2010). "Munster Rugby : News : Earls Ruled Out". Munsterrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 19 November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
17. Du Preez Returning to Munster Archived 28 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine Munster Rugby, 25 May 2010
18. Munster agrees on Borlase deal SkySports, 10 June 2010
19. "Rugby Union News | Grant signs in Japan, JDV for WP". Planet Rugby. 9 June 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
20. "Newcastle sign fly-half Manning". BBC News. 3 June 2010.
21. "Rugby Union Tournaments | Top 14 | Hernandez heading to Racing". Planet Rugby. 12 May 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
22. Farrelly, Hugh (17 April 2010). "Connacht to steal show from Reds' fringe cast - Rugby, Sport". Irish Independent. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
23. Geraghty, Pat (16 July 2010). "Munster Rugby : News : Grace Bound for Exeter". Munsterrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 18 November 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.

External links

• 2010–11 Munster Rugby season official site