Munster

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United Rugby Championship

Stormers: (14) 34

Tries: Hartzenberg, Theunissen, R Nel 2 Cons: Willemse 4 Pen: Willemse Drop goal: Willemse

Munster: (12) 19

Tries: Farrell, Clarke, Coombes Cons: Crowley 2

The Stormers moved off the bottom of the United Rugby Championship table as two Ruhan Nel tries helped earn a 34-19 victory over Munster in an entertaining but error-ridden contest in Cape Town.

Suleiman Hartzenberg's intercept try as he ran from Munster's 22 gave the Stormers a sixth-minute 7-0 lead.

But the visitors were 12-7 up by the 27th minute as Tom Farrell's try, after Shane Daly charged down a Damian Willemse clearance, was followed by replacement hooker Eoghan Clarke's score.

However the Stormers' pack dominated the remainder of the first half as Marcel Theunissen's try gave them a 14-12 interval advantage, with Willemse slotting his second conversion.

Although both line-outs continued to badly malfunction, the Stormers maintained their superiority immediately after the break with Nel's first try increasing their lead to 21-12 as fly-half Willemse again added the extras.

Back-row replacement Gavin Coombes' introduction noticeably boosted the visitors and his touchdown - converted by Crowley - cut the Stormers' lead to 21-19 with 12 minutes remaining.

However man of the match Willemse closed out the game as his 74th-minute penalty was quickly followed by his drop goal with Munster not helping themselves by botching two restarts, with replacement Billy Burns and Crowley both failing to reach the required 10 metres.

Nel's injury-time try compounded Munster's misery as they came away with nothing despite scoring three tries in what was their third defeat in five games this season.

The Stormers' win moved them up five places to 11th in the 16-team table, one spot behind Munster.

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James Ryan returns to the Leinster side to partner former Munster player RG Snyman in the second row for Saturday's sold-out interprovincial United Rugby Championship game at Croke Park (17:45 BST).

Ryan's inclusion is one of three changes from the team which started last weekend's 35-5 win over Benetton in Italy.

Liam Turner is selected on the wing, replacing the injured Jimmy O'Brien, and hooker Lee Barron comes in at hooker.

Munster make four personnel changes and one positional switch after securing a bonus-point win over Ospreys last week.

Fit-again centre Alex Nankivell returns from a shoulder injury after missing his side's last two games.

Sean O'Brien starts on the wing after returning from Emerging Ireland's tour to South Africa.

Prop Stephen Archer makes his first start of the season in place of injured tight-head Oli Jager, with Gavin Coombes returning to the starting XV at number eight and Jack O'Donoghue moving to blindside flanker in the absence of the injured Peter O'Mahony.

Mike Haley is fit to start at full-back while Tom Ahern is named among the replacements after recovering from an ankle injury suffered against Ulster in June.

Three academy players are included among the Munster replacements - prop Kieran Ryan, flanker Ruadhán Quinn and winger Shay McCarthy.

Leinster are top of the URC table after winning their opening three games while third-placed Munster are four points behind.

The match will be played in front of a sold-out crowd of 82,000 at the home of gaelic games in Ireland as Leinster's RDS home is being redeveloped.

Leinster: Hugo Keenan; Liam Turner, Garry Ringrose, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ciaran Frawley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Lee Barron, Tadhg Furlong; RG Snyman, James Ryan; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt).

Replacements: Gus McCarthy, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Harry Byrne.

Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Seán O’Brien; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Jean Kleyn, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Jack O’Donoghue, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Kieran Ryan, John Ryan, Tom Ahern, Ruadhán Quinn, Conor Murray, Tony Butler, Shay McCarthy.

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Munster flanker Peter O'Mahony will miss Saturday's United Rugby Championship showdown with rivals Leinster because of a hamstring injury.

The 35-year-old Ireland captain picked up the injury in last weekend's 23-0 victory over Ospreys in Cork.

O'Mahony and prop Oli Jager, who hurt his neck against the Welsh side, were both forced off in the first half.

Munster issued a squad update for the Croke Park match on Tuesday and said O'Mahony and Jager "will go for scans and are both unavailable".

Leinster sit top of the URC table after winning their opening three games while third-placed Munster are four points behind.

More than 70,000 tickets have been sold for the game in Dublin, which kicks off at 17:45 BST.

O'Mahony's injury comes a month before Ireland's autumn internationals opener against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium.

The All Blacks game is followed by Dublin encounters against Argentina, Fiji and Australia.

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Zebre (15) 42

Tries: Trulla 2, Fusco 2, Licata, Prisciantelli Cons: Montemauri 3 Pens: Montemauri, Da Re

Munster (28) 33

Tries: Coombes 2, Haley, Fitzgerald, McCarthy Cons: Butler 4

Zebre secured a stunning first-ever win over Munster as they recovered from a 13-point half-time deficit to cause a major upset by defeating the Irish province 42-33 in the United Rugby Championship match between the teams at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

The Italian side ran in six tries to clinch a bonus point and end a 14-game losing streak in the competition since they drew 22-22 with Cardiff in November 2023.

Munster, narrow winners over Connacht in their season opener, had won all 20 of their previous meetings with Zebre and were unbeaten against Italian opposition in more than a decade before their loss in Parma.

The 2023 champions had a bonus point in the bag by the interval as tries from Gavin Coombes (2), Mike Haley and Bryan Fitzgerald helped their side lead 28-15.

Jacopo Trulla and Alessandro Fusco were the first-half try-scorers for the hosts.

Zebre put the next 24 points on the board as Trulla and Fusco registered their second tries and Giovanni Licata and Geronimo Prisciantelli also crossed for the home side.

Shay McCarthy's touchdown, followed by Tony Butler's fourth conversion, gave Munster hope of a recovery but a late Giacomo Da Re penalty eased any nerves for the home side and ensured that their opponents left empty-handed.

Giovanni Montemauri contributed a penalty and three conversions for the victors, who had lost 22-17 away to Cardiff on the opening weekend.

Zebre: Geronimo Prisciantelli, Jacopo Trulla, Giulio Bertaccini, Luca Morisi,Simone Gesi, Giovanni Montemauri, Alessandro Fusco, Danilo Fischetti (CAPT), Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Matteo Nocera, Matteo Canali, Leonard Krumov, Davide Ruggeri, Samuele Locatelli, Giovanni Licata

Replacements: Giampietro Ribaldi, Luca Rizzoli, Juan Pitinari, Andrea Zambonin, Giacomo Ferrari, Patricio Baronio, Scott Gregory, Giacomo Da Re

Munster: Mike Haley; Calvin Nash, Shane Daly, Tom Farrell, Thaakir Abrahams; Tony Butler, Craig Casey; Josh Wycherley, Diarmuid Barron (capt), Oli Jager; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Ruadhán Quinn, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes

Replacements: Niall Scannell, Jeremy Loughman, John Ryan, Jack Daly, Jack O'Donoghue, Conor Murray, Bryan Fitzgerald, Shay McCarthy.

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Former Ulster fly-half Billy Burns is one of three new signings to make their competitive debut for Munster in their United Rugby Championship opener against Connacht.

Tom Farrell, who arrived from Connacht, starts against his former club with Thaakir Abrahams also included by Graham Rowntree.

Jean Kleyn starts in the second row, returning after 10 months out due to an eye injury.

Hooker Diarmuid Barron captains the side with Ireland international Tadhg Beirne absent.

Munster: Mike Haley; Thaakir Abrahams, Tom Farrell, Alex Nankivell, Shane Daly; Billy Burns, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Diarmuid Barron (C), John Ryan; Jean Kleyn, Fineen Wycherley; Ruadhan Quinn, John Hodnett, Gavin Coombes.

Replacements: Niall Scannell, Josh Wycherley, Oli Jager, Alex Kendellen, Jack O’Donoghue, Ethan Coughlan, Tony Butler, Sean O’Brien.

Hansen makes long awaited return for Connacht

Mack Hansen returns for Connacht for the trip to Thomand Park, playing his first game since a serious shoulder injury sustained on New Year's Day.

Santiago Cordero starts after playing for Argentina in the Rugby Championship and Josh Murphy will play his first game since May 2023.

New arrivals Ben Murphy, Josh Ioane and Piers O’Conor are included as Cian Prendergast captains the side for the first time.

Connacht: Santiago Cordero, Mack Hansen, Piers O’Conor, Cathal Forde, Shayne Bolton, Josh Ioane, Ben Murphy, Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungie, Joe Joyce, Darragh Murray, Josh Murphy, Conor Oliver, Cian Prendergast (C).

Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Peter Dooley, Sam Illo, Oisin Dowling, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Caolin Blade, David Hawkshaw, Sean Jansen.

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Ulster wing Megan Edwards says the province might "surprise a few people" as they prepare for their opening Women's Interprovincial fixture against Munster in Cork on Saturday.

Murray Houston's side come into this season's championship off the back of ending an 11-year wait for an Interpro victory with an impressive 36-14 triumph over Connacht in last year's third/fourth-place play-off.

Now with a new confidence and the experience of winning, 33-year-old Edwards feels her side have the "talent" to be competitive in the series.

"We're under no illusions that it's going to be a tough game," Edwards told BBC Sport NI.

"It is Munster, they have won the championships before but I think we might throw in a few surprises.

"The talent within the Ulster squad is there and we've been building and building for a number of years now, it's about showcasing that talent on game day and our goal is to build on the win in Cork last season."

Women's Interpros - Fixtures and coverage details

10 August

• Munster v Ulster (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Leinster v Connacht (16:45 BST)

17 August

• Ulster v Connacht (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Munster v Leinster (16:45 BST)

24 August

• Connacht v Munster (14:30 BST)

• Ulster v Leinster (16:45 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

31 August

• Third/fourth play-off (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Final (16:45 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

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Munster and Ireland fly-half Jack Crowley has been named the United Rugby Championship's Players' Player of the Year.

It caps a breakthrough year for the 24-year-old, who helped Ireland win the Six Nations after replacing Johnny Sexton in the starting 10 jersey.

The award was was voted for by the captain and vice-captain of all 16 teams, with nominees required to have made a minimum of nine appearances.

Munster finished the regular URC season at the top of the table after winning 13 of their 18 games but were knocked out of the play-offs by Glasgow in the semi-finals on Saturday.

The award comes after his head coach Graham Rowntree was named United Rugby Championship coach of the year for the 2023-24 season.

Last week, Crowley was one of three Munster played named in the URC's Elite XV along with Alex Nankivell and Tadhg Beirne.

Crowley was also named next-gen player of the season while Shane Daly won the ironman award for playing the most minutes.

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Munster's Graham Rowntree has been named United Rugby Championship coach of the year for the 2023-24 season.

While Rowntree led Munster to the 2022-23 title, the Irish province were knocked out of this season's play-offs by Glasgow last weekend.

They entered the play-offs as top seeds having finished the regular season top of the table, winning 13 of their 18 games including an impressive double over the Bulls and Lions in South Africa in April.

Rowntree, who took over at Thomond Park in 2022, also led the province to 11 wins in a row post-Christmas.

Last week, three Munster players - Jack Crowley, Alex Nankivell and Tadhg Beirne - made the URC's Elite XV.

Ireland fly-half Crowley was also named next-gen player of the season while Shane Daly won the ironman award for playing the most minutes.

The URC's players' player of the season will be announced on Thursday.

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Ireland wing Calvin Nash has been ruled out of Munster's United Rugby Championship semi-final against Glasgow at Thomond Park on Saturday (18:00 BST).

Nash is unavailable because of a 'leg knock'. Simon Zebo moves to the wing having been at full-back for last week's quarter-final win over Ospreys.

Full-back Mike Haley and fit-again centre Alex Nankivell come into the backline while Fineen Wycherley and Jack O’Donoghue start in the pack as Graham Rowntree makes four changes.

If defending champions Munster win, they will face either Leinster or Bulls at Thomond Park in the final on 22 June.

Munster: Mike Haley; Shane Daly, Antoine Frisch, Alex Nankivell, Simon Zebo; Jack Crowley, Craig Casey; Jeremy Loughman, Niall Scannell, Stephen Archer; Fineen Wycherley, Tadhg Beirne (capt); Peter O’Mahony, John Hodnett, Jack O’Donoghue.

Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, John Ryan, Oli Jager, RG Snyman, Gavin Coombes, Conor Murray, Sean O’Brien, Alex Kendellen.