Tag Archives: Johann van Graan

Munster head coach Johann van Graan has insisted that the province will not be rushing Tyler Bleyendaal back onto the field as he recovers from a neck injury.  The New Zealand native was ruled out of Munster’s Heineken Champions Cup clash with Racing 92 last month due to “neck stiffness” but the province confirmed on Monday that he will be …

Professional rugby is a results-driven business.  When the season gets up and running it’s often difficult for teams to allocate the time to experiment with different players or provide vital senior experience to the younger contingent. Especially right now, with the current condensed period of the season which sees four rounds of the European Cup take place over five weeks, …

Ospreys 13 Munster 32 Munster recorded a rare away win in the Heineken Champions Cup following a dramatic bonus-point victory over Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium. Just when it seemed the fourth try was out of their reach, Munster piled 12 players into their final maul with the clock in the red and James Cronin touched the ball down in …

Seán McMahon reporting from Thomond Park.  Munster are facing into a potential out-half crisis with European rugby on the horizon after JJ Hanrahan was removed after the half-hour mark in Munster’s 22-16 win over Ulster in Limerick on Saturday night.  Munster head coach Johann van Graan confirmed during his post-match press conference that Hanrahan was removed with what looks to …

Munster head coach Johann van Graan is currently preparing his squad for an exhaustive period of games that will see the side in action 13 weeks in a row.  To add to the challenge, the South Africa native must integrate back into the squad the 12 players who will return to Ireland from the World Cup in Japan carrying the …

The best way for the Ireland players to recover from their haunting World Cup loss to New Zealand is to hit the ground running with their provinces, according to Munster prop James Cronin.  The southern province had a 12-man contingent included in Joe Schmidt’s World Cup squad with Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray, CJ Stander and Keith Earls all starting against …

Munster head coach Johann van Graan will have to plan without Chris Cloete for the immediate future after the South African suffered an ankle injury against the Southern Kings. Cloete replaced Tommy O’Donnell in the 59th minute of the 31-20 win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium but was forced off shortly after with an ankle injury. The province have called …

Munster Rugby are sweating on the fitness of a number of key players ahead of their PRO14 season opener against Dragons in Thomond Park on Saturday afternoon.  With 12 members of their squad currently at the Rugby World Cup with Ireland, head coach Johann van Graan will have to shuffle his pack ahead of the new season with a number …

Incoming Munster coach Graham Rowntree has spoken publicly about how his move to the southern province came to fruition. The former British and Irish Lions coach will link up with Johann van Graan following the departure of Jerry Flannery as forwards coach at the end of last season. Ex-Wallaby out-half Stephen Larkham will also be coming on board where he …

Former Australian out-half, Stephen Larkham looks set to become Munster’s new backs and attack coach. According to Cian Tracey of the Irish Independent, the former Wallabies player was in Limerick yesterday to finalise terms with the southern province and officially take over the role from Felix Jones. The 45-year-old was let go from Michael Cheika’s senior coaching staff earlier this …

Sean McMahon reporting from the RDS. Another year, another semi-final exit for Munster.  The southern province have exited both the Champions Cup and the Guinness PRO14 at the last-four stage this season in a repeat of what exactly occurred in the 2017/2018 campaign. On the bare face of it, this suggests that Munster have not evolved since last season and …

Munster have named attacking duo Keith Earls and Joey Carbery in their starting XV for their PRO14 semi-final clash with Leinster in the RDS on Saturday. Neither player has featured for the province since their Heineken Champions Cup win over Edinburgh at the end of March. The other changes to the starting line-up sees Arno Botha and John Ryan return …

The potential success of Munster’s season will be decided in the coming weeks.  A disappointing exit in the Heineken Champions Cup to Saracens was followed by the southern province scraping into the last four of the Guinness PRO14 thanks to their narrow win over Benetton on Saturday at Thomond Park. Munster’s problems in attack have been highlighted at times throughout …

Johann van Graan has refused to comment on the reports linking Rob Howley with a senior attack coach position at Munster.  Last Monday, Van Graan hinted that any possible additions to Munster’s coaching staff would have an attacking emphasis due to a shift to attacking rugby at the beginning of a new World Cup cycle. On Sunday, The42 reported that …

Sean McMahon reporting from Thomond Park JJ Hanrahan is revelling in his superb form which has seen him become a vital figure for Munster at the business end of the season.  The Castleisland RFC club man was the hero for Munster as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in their last-gasp quarter-final victory over Benetton at Thomond Park …

Sean McMahon reporting from Thomond Park Munster head coach Johann van Graan is hoping to have both Keith Earls (thigh) and Joey Carbery (hamstring) fit for their Guinness PRO14 semi-final with Leinster in two weeks.  Munster have been without Earls and Carbery for the last number of weeks. Both players made their last appearances when they defeated Edinburgh in the …

Sean McMahon reports from Thomond Park.  Munster will know that if they produce a similar performance against Leinster in two weeks time to the one which saw them scrape their way past Benetton, their wait for silverware will continue into yet another season.  The southern province stared defeat in the face in Limerick this afternoon only for a superb JJ …

Munster head coach, Johann van Graan, has insisted that he doesn’t need to see “pretty rugby” from his players in their PRO14 quarter-final with Benetton as long as they get the win.  A loss against the Italian side in Thomond Park on Saturday would bring Munster’s season to an end after they exited the Heineken Champions Cup at the hands …