Munster announce a further seven end-of-season departures
Munster have confirmed the end-of-season departures of Scott Buckley, Billy Burns, Patrick Campbell, Liam Coombes, Jack Daly and Cian Hurley.
The province also noted that academy scrum-half Jack Oliver has left the setup and is currently training with Scottish outfit Glasgow Warriors.
The seven aforementioned departures swell the exit list further, with Munster stalwarts Peter O'Mahony, Stephen Archer and Dave Kilcoyne hanging up their boots, while Conor Murray is set to fly his long-term nest this summer.
Versatile back Liam Coombes scored six tries in 19 appearances for his home province since making a try-scoring debut against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein in at the back end of 2017.
The Skibbereen native won a Schools Senior Cup with CBC in 2017 and lined out for the Ireland U20s later that year.
Coombes scored two tries from outside centre in a memorable win away at Scarlets in October 2021.
Despite suffering long-term injuries over the last number of years, Coombes contributed to the URC win in 2023, scoring a vital bonus-point try against Lions in January of that year and ended the campaign with two tries in seven appearances.
24-year-old hooker Scott Buckley, who is currently on loan at Ealing Trailfinders, scored three tries in 24 Munster appearances.
He was one of 12 players to make their senior Munster debuts in the bonus-point Champions Cup win over Wasps in December 2021.
He made nine appearances in the 2022/23 season, helping secure the URC crown.
30-year-old out-half Billy Burns joined last summer and scored 28 points in 10 Munster appearances.
The seven-cap Ireland international is currently sidelined with a shoulder injury. His final appearance against Edinburgh in February saw the out-half kick a last-minute conversion to earn a bonus-point.
Back three player Patrick Campbell scored four tries in 12 appearances since making his try-scoring debut in that Ian Costello-managed victory over Wasps in 2021, while flanker Jack Daly made 10 appearances after coming up through the ranks at Castleisland RFC.
He made his Champions Cup debut for the province against Toulouse in the 2022 quarter-final at the Aviva Stadium.
Cian Hurley played five times after coming up through the ranks of Clonakilty RFC and CBC, but the West Cork man was another to suffer with injuries of late.
A Munster statement read: "A big thanks to Scott, Billy, Patrick, Liam, Jack, Cian and Jack for their contributions to Munster Rugby and we wish them all the best for the future.
"Munster supporters will get the opportunity to show their appreciation to the departing players ahead of Munster v Benetton at Virgin Media Park tonight."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
29 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Young woman, 24, who died after taking part in Cork City Marathon is named
A young woman who tragically died after after becoming ill while taking part in the Cork City Marathon on Sunday has been named. Ellen Cassidy, 24, from Old Mallow Road in Cork city, was running the half-marathon when she became seriously ill and collapsed close to the finish line at around 1pm yesterday. She was treated by emergency services at the scene on Patrick Street before being rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital where she was sadly pronounced dead a short time later. Cork City Council issued a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming the tragedy. "Cork City Council is deeply saddened to confirm that a participant in the Cork City Marathon has tragically passed away," it said. "The person was attended to immediately by the emergency services on the scene. Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the deceased." Ms Cassidy was a talented swimmer who participated in numerous competitions over the years at both a national and international level with Munster and Ireland. At the age of 9 she became a member of Dolphin Swimming Club in Mayfield, located on the northside of Cork city, and her focus was on the 200m and 100m Backstroke. Ms Cassidy represented Ireland at the European Junior Championships in 2018, while she also represented Ireland at International Schools level. The popular young woman served as swimming and water polo club captain during her time at University College Cork before she graduated last year, while she was also a former student at St. Angela's College Cork. Ms Cassidy was also part of the Mardyke Arena UCC's Emerging Talent Programme in 2018, competing in swimming at a national level. Deputy Lord Mayor of Cork, councillor Honore Kamegni, offered his "heartfelt condolences" to Ms Cassidey's family following Sunday's tragedy. "It is with deep sadness that I heard the passing of a woman in her 20s at the Cork Marathon today," he said in a message shared on X / Twitter. "She became unwell at the finish line on Patrick Str. Immediate medical attention was provided to her. My heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones." More than 11,000 runners took part in the full marathon, half marathon and 10km events in Cork city on Sunday.
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
'Winning ugly' may serve Leinster better than blowouts
Hugo Keenan admits that Leinster won ugly against Scarlets but getting over the line in nervy contests may serve them better at the business end of the BKT URC. Just a couple of weeks ago, head coach Leo Cullen wondered about "some of these blowout games, I'm not sure what we necessarily have learned from a few of them". He was referring to the Champions Cup wins over Harlequins (62-0) and Glasgow Warriors (52-0) that did little in the way of preparing them for the dogfight that was coming down the line against Northampton in the semi-final. The 76-5 victory over Zebre a week later was of similar worth in the long run. So Cullen will be able to take some solace from the fact that Leinster were able to prevail in tighter affairs against the Warriors two weeks ago and the Scarlets, 33-21, on Saturday. URC half-time: Leinster 15-14 Scarlets - Scarlets go the length of the field at the end of the first half. Updates: LIVE: — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 31, 2025 Captain Jack Conan called the performance "inaccurate" and said they "just forced things a little bit of over-eagerness." Full-back Keenan, named player of the match, said: "It's all about getting the job done, getting the win. "It wasn't pretty, it wasn't perfect, we were ill-disciplined and a little bit scrappy, especially in that first half. "That's sometimes what it's about, winning ugly a little bit." Leinster led by just a point at the break but grabbed two tries in the third quarter to stay out of reach of Dwayne Peel's side, who had won their regular season tie at the end of April. "There was a heavy downpour at the start of the second half and we had to manage the game a bit better," added the Ireland full-back (below), who scored the fourth try. "Jamo [Gibson-Park] and Sam [Prendergast] and the lads put us in the right positions and kept them at arm's length, which was important," "In these knockout games, you can't really be taking high risks and playing rugby all the time." RTÉ Rugby analysts Jamie Heaslip and Donncha O'Callaghan were unimpressed by the Leinster showing, which sets them up for a semi-final meeting with defending champions Glasgow this Saturday (2.45pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player). Heaslip called it "lacklustre"; while "rudderless was O'Callaghan's verdict. Hooker Dan Sheehan was asked about how the squad was dealing with the fall-out from the Saints defeat. "It's been up and down but I think we've done a good job of sticking together, trying to block out as much outside noise as possible," said the Ireland front row, who will go on the Lions tour. "I think mentally we're in a good spot, we're looking after each other well and I think that's all we can do. "We'll rip into our prep now for Glasgow during the week and go again." The Scottish side have lost nine of their last 11 games against Leinster, including both games this season. Head coach Franco Smith believes his team, who impressed in the 36-18 win over Stormers on Friday, are better set for another swing at Leinster. "You must put the Leinster games in perspective," he said. "The first one, we were in the middle of the season, there were a lot of injuries in that period. There were so many out at that certain stage. "The expectation [on Leinster] was massive because they hadn't played their top team since the Six Nations. "Everything worked for them. Nothing went well [for us]. "If that happens with Leinster, they could put international teams away like that. That's what we took from that. "The next time, we were more ready for the challenge. Hopefully that will help us this time."
Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Leo Cullen: 'It's knockout rugby, what matters is getting through'
URC: Leinster 33 Scarlets 21 Alone they stand of Ireland's four provinces, again, and yet this URC quarter-final defeat of an honest but limited Scarlets side only heightened the suspicion that something is just not clicking for Leinster this season. Leo Cullen was happy to have 'won ugly' by the end of a game that they won by four tries to three and a dozen points against a side that played 20 second-half minutes with 14 men, but this won't do again. Not nearly. Keep playing like this and either Glasgow Warriors or one of the two South African sides in the other semi-final will do for them before this playoff run is out and it will be a fourth year on the trot without a trophy to decorate their efforts. Leinster had 65% possession and 70% territory on Saturday and they still couldn't shake off their Welsh opponents at any stage – this despite a whirlwind start that had them 12-0 to the good after just ten minutes. The perception abroad is that the men in blue are gettable. Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel inferred as much afterwards when he spoke about how they felt a screw could be turned if they just hung in there long enough. Mental concerns may well be feeding into the mechanics. The much-vaunted Jacques Nienaber blitz defence was shredded by Northampton Saints in that Champions Cup semi-final and Scarlets highlighted areas of concern again here. Leinster had to make only one-third as many tackles as Scarlets but they succeeded with only 65% of them. The evidence was apparent to the naked eye in the ease with which space and two scores were found for the first and third Scarlets tries. The theory goes that Leinster's dominance through the regular season might be working against them when push comes to shove and they are untested in terms of arm wrestles and jeopardy come the knockout stages. Cullen seems to buy into that. He picked out their last two league ties, against Zebre and Glasgow, when they had little or nothing to play for and compared it to the 'cup rugby' that Scarlets had been playing long before this quarter-final. 'Sometimes that creates a little bit of bad habits when you play games like that,' he said. Whatever about the vibes inside the dressing-room and on the field, the atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday spoke for the sense of drift that has enveloped the province with less than 13,000 punters paying in. The loss to the Saints has clearly fed into that, so did the Bank Holiday. Cullen also posited how supporters still need to get their heads, and their calendars, around a season that now stretches so far into June. Added into this is the fact that, regardless of concerns over the team's efforts, the expectation was that they would breeze past the Scarlets, that there would be another, bigger, day to tempt people to open their wallets. Cullen is mindful of all that, too, but he understands the need to rally the troops. 'It shouldn't be a drudge,' he said in trying to generate excitement for the semi-final to come and highlighting the danger posed by Glasgow. That said, he is not using a subdued crowd as reason for any struggles. 'No, no, no no. I don't want to use that at all. We played here in front of empty stadiums in Covid and I would much rather have what we had there [on Saturday]. In no way am I giving out here, in no way… 'We'll just keep beating the drum. We are asking supporters to come out here again next Saturday. It is short. We had a two-week lead-in and this is one week so it is more challenging again.' Glasgow are, lest we forget, reigning URC champions and they did it by beating Munster in Limerick in the last four and then overcoming the Bulls in Pretoria. Leinster beat them 52-0 in the last eight of Europe but only 13-5 in the URC earlier this month. The Irish province is still capable of routing an opponent, but liberal seeds of doubt have been sown deep into their psyche in recent weeks and if that Scarlets team can push them so close then Glasgow, Bulls and Sharks will be sniffing blood. 'It's a knockout game so what matters is just getting through,' said Cullen. 'People tend not to remember the detail as in what actually happens in these games. We just need to go through.' Leinster: H Keenan; J O'Brien, J Osborne, J Barrett, J Lowe; S Prendergast, J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Kelleher, T Clarkson; J McCarthy, J Ryan; R Baird, J van der Flier, J Conan. Replacements: S Penny for van der Flier (29); D Sheehan for Kelleher and RG Snyman for Ryan (both 46); R Slimani for Clarkson (58); L McGrath for Gibson-Park and J Boyle for Porter (both 66); M Deegan for Conan (68) and Snyman (74); C Frawley for Keenan (75). Scarlets: B Murray; T Rogers, J Roberts, J Williams, E Mee; S Costelow, A Hughes; A Hepburn, R Elias, H Thomas; A Craig, S Lousi; V Fifita, J Macleod, T Plumtree. Replacements: M van der Merwe for Elias (51); K Mathias for Craig (58); I Lloyd for Costelow (59); M Page for Rogers and S Wainwright for Thomas (both 65); J Taylor for Hepburn (67); D Davis for Macleod and E Jones for Hughes (both 75). Referee: H Davidson (SRU).
