Tag Archives: Johann van Graan

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 …

Munster head coach Johann van Graan made his feelings clear on Andrew Conway’s error during his side’s 27-14 win over Connacht at Thomond Park on Saturday night.  In the first half of Saturday night’s clash, Conway intercepted a pass from Tiernan O’Halloran which was destined for Robin Copeland. The Munster winger took his time to ground the ball under the …

Sean McMahon reporting from Thomond Park  Munster head coach Johann van Graan was quizzed about Conor Murray’s injury which saw the Ireland scrum-half removed from the matchday squad just before kick off at Thomond Park on Saturday night.  Murray was seen holding his neck as he left the Thomond Park turf after the warm-up and inevitably, van Graan was quizzed …

Sean McMahon reports from Coventry Johann van Graan has backed Jack O’Donoghue to deliver as Munster take on Saracens in the semi-final of the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday. For the most part and depending on injuries, van Graan has stuck with the same team throughout the Champions Cup as he looks to reward the players who have brought the …

Sean McMahon reports from Coventry Munster head coach Johann van Graan has said that he and his staff gave Keith Earls every opportunity this week to prove his fitness but ultimately, they had to decide to leave him out as he was not 100%. Van Graan was speaking alongside Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander at a sun-kissed Ricoh Arena in …

Munster head coach, Johann van Graan, has refused to rule out the possibility of Ronan O’Gara and Paul O’Connell joining his coaching ticket at the province in the near future. The South African signed a contract extension with the province last week that will see him remain in his post until 2022, however, he has indicated that he may look …

Head coach Johann van Graan confirmed that Joey Carbery is “highly unlikely” to be available for Munster’s Heineken Champions Cup semi-final showdown with Saracens on Saturday.  The talented out-half pulled up with a hamstring injury in the first half of the quarter-final win over Edinburgh at Murrayfield less than three weeks ago. It was a recurrence of the same injury …