2010–11 Munster Rugby season

2010–11 Munster Rugby season

Ground(s)	Thomond Park Musgrave Park (Capacity: 26,500 8,500)
Coach(es)	Tony McGahan (Director of Rugby)[1]
Captain(s)	Paul O'Connell
League(s)	Celtic League
2010–11	1st, Champions
1st kit 2nd kit
← 2009–10 2011–12 →

The 2010–11 Munster Rugby season was Munster's tenth season competing in the Celtic League alongside which they also competed in the Heineken Cup for the sixteenth time. They also competed in the European Challenge Cup for the first time after elimination from the Heineken Cup. It was Tony McGahans third season as director of rugby.

Munster were drawn in Pool 3 of the Heineken Cup alongside the Ospreys, London Irish and RC Toulon. Munster lost 23–17 away to London Irish, before defeating RC Toulon 45–18 at Thomond Park on 16 October 2010.^[2][3] Munster defeated Ospreys 22–16, but lost the reverse fixture at Liberty Stadium 19–15.^[4][5] In round 5 Munster went to RC Toulon, losing 32–16. As a result of this defeat, Munster failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup for the first time in 13 years.^{[6] [7][8]} As one of the top three runners up in the Heineken cup pool stage, Munster entered the quarter-final stage of the Challenge Cup where they defeated Brive 42–37 in France before losing at home 12–20 to Harlequins.^{[9] [10][11]}

In the Magners league Munster finished top of the table with nineteen wins and three defeats after twenty two matches to qualify for the semi-final playoffs where they defeated Ospreys 18–11. They then played in the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final where they defeated Leinster by 19 points to 9 to claim their third league title.^{[12] [13]}

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Jerry Flannery Hooker Ireland Denis Fogarty Hooker Ireland Damien Varley Hooker Ireland Stephen Archer Prop Ireland Peter Borlase Prop New Zealand Tony Buckley Prop Ireland John Hayes Prop Ireland Marcus Horan Prop Ireland Darragh Hurley Prop Ireland Wian du Preez Prop South Africa Dave Ryan Prop Ireland Dave Foley Lock Ireland Ian Nagle Lock Ireland Donncha O'Callaghan Lock Ireland Paul O'Connell (c) Lock Ireland Mick O'Driscoll Lock Ireland Donnacha Ryan Lock Ireland Billy Holland Flanker Ireland Tommy O'Donnell Flanker Ireland Peter O'Mahony Flanker Ireland Alan Quinlan Flanker Ireland Niall Ronan Flanker Ireland David Wallace Flanker Ireland Paddy Butler Number 8 Ireland James Coughlan Number 8 Ireland Denis Leamy Number 8 Ireland

Player Position Union Tomás O'Leary Scrum-half Ireland Peter Stringer Scrum-half Ireland Duncan Williams Scrum-half Ireland Ronan O'Gara Outside-half Ireland Paul Warwick Outside-half Australia Declan Cusack Outside-half Ireland Tom Gleeson Centre Ireland Lifeimi Mafi Centre New Zealand Barry Murphy Centre Ireland Sam Tuitupou Centre New Zealand Danny Barnes Wing Ireland Keith Earls Wing Ireland Ian Dowling Wing Ireland Doug Howlett Wing New Zealand Johne Murphy Wing Ireland Scott Deasy Fullback Ireland Denis Hurley Fullback Ireland Felix Jones Fullback Ireland

Position	Name	Nationality
Director of Rugby	Tony McGahan	Australia
Team Manager	Shaun Payne	South Africa
Forwards Coach	Laurie Fisher	Australia
Backs Coach	Jason Holland	New Zealand
Technical Advisor	Anthony Foley	Ireland
Head of Strength & Conditioning	Paul Darbyshire
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Tom Comyns	Ireland
Strength and Conditioning Coach	Aidan O'Connell	Ireland
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Joe Gallanagh	Ireland
Medical Co-ordinator & Head of Physiotherapy	Anthony Coole	Ireland
Physiotherapist	Neil Tucker	Ireland

• Johne Murphy: from Leicester^[14]
• Corey Hircock: from Bedford^[15]
• Sam Tuitupou from Worcester Warriors^[16]
• Wian du Preez from Free State Cheetahs^[17]
• Peter Borlase from Crusaders^[18]

• Jean de Villiers to Western Province and Stormers^[19]
• Jeremy Manning to Newcastle Falcons^[20]
• Julien Brugnaut to Racing 92^[21]
• Ciarán O'Boyle returned to club^[22]
• Nick Williams to Aironi
• Eoghan Grace to Exeter Chiefs^[23]

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Pts
1	Munster	22	19	0	3	496	327	+169	44	22	5	2	83
2	Leinster	22	15	1	6	495	336	+159	50	25	5	3	70
3	Ulster	22	15	1	6	480	418	+62	44	35	3	2	67
4	Ospreys	22	12	1	9	553	418	+135	56	29	6	7	63
5	Scarlets	22	12	1	9	503	453	+50	49	43	5	7	62
6	Cardiff Blues	22	13	1	8	479	392	+87	37	33	3	3	60
7	Newport Gwent Dragons	22	10	1	11	444	462	−18	47	49	3	4	49
8	Edinburgh	22	9	0	13	421	460	−39	39	44	2	5	43
9	Connacht	22	7	1	14	394	459	−65	32	44	3	6	39
10	Benetton Treviso	22	9	0	13	374	502	−128	29	58	0	2	38
11	Glasgow Warriors	22	6	1	15	401	543	−142	33	48	1	6	33
12	Aironi	22	1	0	21	247	517	−270	21	52	0	8	12
Correct as of 7 May 2011

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Toulon (6)	6	4	0	2	13	13	0	143	134	+9	1	0	17
Munster [7]	6	3	0	3	17	9	+8	143	122	+21	2	2	16
Ospreys	6	3	0	3	7	11	−4	117	113	+4	0	2	14
London Irish	6	2	0	4	9	13	−4	107	141	−34	0	1	9

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• 2010–11 Munster Rugby season official site