Caoimhín Kelleher completes permanent move to Brentford
Jacques Nienaber
'Not one ounce of energy put into thinking about the Champions Cup semi-final is going to change anything'
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Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Champions Cup game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh would be 'financially advantageous', says Munster COO
Qualification for next season's Champions Cup may have brought a huge sigh of relief with Munster Rugby but it has also opened the door to an opportunity for the province to cash in an extra €500,000 dividend. When Tadhg Beirne's side secured sixth place in the URC standings with a win over Benetton at Cork's Virgin Media Park last month it not only meant avoiding the ignominy of becoming the first Munster team to fail to quality for Europe's top-tier competition and a hammering to the balance sheet for 2025-26. It allowed the organisation to begin implementing their plan to stage a Champions Cup pool game across town at Páirc Uí Chaoimh this December. The decision to move a European fixture away from Thomond Park was not taken lightly but there were sound economic reasons a change of strategy once Munster gained the approval of GAA Central Council last March, as chief operating officer Philip Quinn outlined to the Irish Examiner this week. With the EPCR pool draw not due until later this summer, the precise date of the fixture remains unclear though the intention is to play the pool game in one of the opening two rounds in December, whichever the draw allows. 'Ticket sales, they were down this year,' Quinn said of the Champions Cup home games this season. 'EPCR1, that one in December, we've seen now two years in a row where it was Bayonne and Stade Francais, where it's gone down significantly versus what we would have budgeted. Also, this year the IRFU had their 150th anniversary that fourth international (against Australia in Dublin last November 30) definitely hit us substantially. 'We were playing the Lions that night and we saw that one fall off a cliff, so it did impact us on that side of things. 'I suppose seeing the last couple of years in that EPCR game, where we've been below what we expected on it, that's where I suppose it's given us the opportunity to look at Páirc Uí Chaoimh for the current year. 'I talk about moving a game from Thomond to Cork not being financially advantageous when it's a sell-out (in Limerick). When it's not a sell-out there's a huge opportunity. Suddenly we can bring it to a much broader audience, hopefully in December, and we will make a significant amount of money. 'It will be somewhere around an extra half a million, versus what we'd make from that one-off game in Thomond. That's a big uplift for us next season.' Munster's victory over Benetton at Virgin Media Park gifted them a spot in Europe's top-tier competition for next season. File picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile Quinn stressed Munster would not be taking anything for granted in terms of ticket sales but added there was confidence the Champions Cup match had the potential to be on a par with the 40,885 supporters who watched the January 2024 friendly with Crusaders at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, or even the 41,400 sold for the previous season's first visit to Cork GAA HQ in November 2022; when South Africa A came to town. 'Based on the feedback we're getting, I would be very positive,' the COO said. 'Look, we've done a huge amount of work on all the data behind travelling support from Cork to Limerick, and the other way around. It's no secret to say for a game in Thomond, 70 per cent are travelling from outside county Limerick to the game. Whereas when we looked at the games in Cork, it's the other way. It's 70 per cent from within the county. That's the reality of the population mix. For a smaller URC game, it can be a bigger percentage from Limerick, and that can get up to 40 per cent… but it really is travelling from all around the province. 'And it's not only games, when we look at the events and concerts in both venues as well, that's where it jumps out, that for games and events in Limerick we're hugely reliant on the market outside of County Limerick, and for games and events in Cork it's mainly the market within the county of Cork. 'But that's nothing against Limerick, that's purely down to demographics and population. That's what's jumping out at us. So when we put out our economic impact assessments, it's actually on that. It shows how many are coming from outside the county and that's purely down to population. The Cork populations is probably around 580,000, Limerick is somewhere around 200,000. 'So you'd expect that and if anything, the proportion of Limerick people attending games versus the proportion of Cork relative to population, the support is probably stronger in Limerick but the numbers aren't higher. 'So when we're looking at games in Cork then yeah, we're quite confident, based on the success, what we saw with the Crusaders and South Africa. It still needs to be a successful team, the team needed to playing well but we are confident that we will get close to a sell-out.' Read More 200-cap stalwart Rory Scannell leaves Munster after 12 years
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
200-cap stalwart Rory Scannell leaves Munster after 12 years
Munster have said goodbye to another 200-cap veteran with the confirmation that Rory Scannell will leave his home province this summer after 12 years as a player. The centre played his 200th game for Munster in last Saturday's URC quarter-final narrow defeat at the Sharks, the 31-year-old coming off the bench and becoming the unfortunate player to miss the shootout kick at goal which decided the contest after 100 minutes of rugby could not separate the sides in a match drawn 24-24. Scannell, who also earned three caps for Ireland, is the 16th player to make 200 appearances for Munster, and he is believed to be joining a new club for next season, though that has yet to be confirmed. His departure follows the retirements of Peter O'Mahony, Dave Kilcoyne and Stephen Archer while Conor Murray is also heading for pastures new to extend his playing career. Having come up through PBC and Dolphin RFC in Cork, Scannell joined the academy in the summer of 2013 having played every game of Ireland's Under-20s Six Nations campaign the previous spring and appeared in the World U20s championship, where he was also an ever-present for Ireland. As an academy third year in 2015-16 he became the first player to win both the academy and young player of the year awards in the same season, having made 26 senior appearances. It was a campaign which saw Anthony Foley's side secure Champions Cup rugby for the following season with victories in the final two games and Scannell scored three tries in those two must-win appearances while his start at the Dragons earlier in the season also saw him play alongside older brother Niall, becoming the first set of brothers to start for Munster in the PRO12. Ireland senior recognition came in 2017 on the summer tour of Japan and the USA when he kicked two conversions against the Americans in New Jersey, a Test which saw the brothers become the first from Munster to represent their country in the professional era. All three of his Ireland caps came on that tour. The youngest player to reach 100 Munster appearances at the age of 25 at the Scarlets in March 2019 clash, Scannell reached 150 caps against Ulster in January 2022 and was a regular in the 2023 URC title run with 16 appearances that season. 'It's been a huge honour to play for my home club 200 times, particularly alongside my brother,' Rory Scannell said. "It's been a rollercoaster of ups and downs over the last 12 years, but I have made so many great memories that will live with me forever. I've met some great people here and made friends for life. "The squad is in a great place and I just want to wish the club very best of luck going forward and I will be supporting them wherever I am.' Head of rugby operations and interim head coach Ian Costello paid tribute to Scannell, adding: 'Everyone in the province couldn't speak highly enough of Rory as a player and a person. 'Very few players have contributed as much as he has to Munster Rugby over the past 12 years both on and off the field. 'He is the youngest ever player to reach 100 caps for Munster and was a key member of our leadership group. 'He is the ultimate team player and an excellent team-mate, always putting the club before himself. 'An extremely popular member of the squad, he will be sorely missed and we wish him and his wife Aisling the very best for the future.' Read More Unlucky trio to miss out on selection for Ireland
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Leinster's Ryan Baird: 'You'll find out if you are a man or a mouse'
Leinster back row Ryan Baird says the province will find out this weekend if they are men or mice. Leo Cullen's side face defending BKT URC champions Glasgow Warriors in the semi-final at Aviva Stadium on Saturday (2.45pm, live on RTÉ). Leinster won 16 games in a row from the start of the season but have lost three times since March, to Bulls and Scarlets in the URC, and the devastating defeat to Northampton Saints in the Champions Cup semi-final. They've managed to put three wins in a row together since their European exit but looked far from their best in victories over Glasgow and Scarlets. Baird, who was yesterday named in the Ireland squad for the summer tour, has played 80 minutes in each of the last three matches and feels that the real measure of the Leinster team will be revealed in the final stages of Saturday's clash. "It's very easy at the start of the game to be very clear, present and understanding exactly what you are trying to execute but once the fatigue comes on, that's the challenge and that's when you see the best teams win," the 25-year-old (below) told RTÉ Sport's Michael Corcoran. "It's when they have the ability to execute the fundamentals of the game under pressure, under fatigue, the last 10 minutes of game. "By no means we'll be taking that part of the game for granted. There'll be visualisation done. "Even in the way we train, putting yourself under fatigue to mimic it, even if it's only for a minute or two during the week. "It's all those moments that you've accumulated over the whole season, it's what you'll have to trust. "When the pressure comes on, you'll fall back on what your habits are. "It's incredibly exciting when you put yourself in a position where you don't really know what's going to happen and you'll find out if you are a man or a mouse." Baird also revealed that, unlike some of his team-mates, he opted to watch the Champions Cup final, where Bordeaux Begles beat the Saints 28-20. He says they can use that feeling as motivation when they face Franco Smith's side, who impressed in their quarter-final win over Stormers. "I was sitting in a pub, with a Mi-wadi, just to be clear, watching the Champions Cup final and you just have this sick feeling in your stomach," said the Dubliner, who has 27 Ireland caps. "We were there for three years in a row and you don't get that taste so to have another opportunity to get a trophy, we're incredibly fortunate. "Some teams don't get that second chance and we have that second chance. "We haven't won the URC since it was reformatted, so there's no shortage of motivation."
