Gerhard van den Heever has been cited by the independent citing commissioner at Murrayfield last Saturday for an alleged dangerous tackle on his opponent in the 14th minute of the first half, for which he also received a yellow card. The player’s hearing, before an independent PRO12 Rugby disciplinary committee will take place tomorrow.
Following on from the win over Edinburgh, a number of bumps and bruises have been reported to Munster medical staff.
Keith Earls sustained a concussion late in the second half and is currently following return to play protocols while Francis Saili (calf), Donnacha Ryan (knee), Jack O’Donoghue (forearm) also received knocks and will continue to be assessed this week in addition to Tomás O’Leary who was a late withdrawal on Saturday after failing a final fitness test due to a lower limb injury in the hours prior to kick-off.
Tyler Bleyendaal‘s (quad) workload continues to be managed by Munster medical staff.
Having sustained a broken ankle at the Tbilisi Cup in June, Billy Holland made a return to competitive action with Cork Constitution in their one point loss to Young Munster on Saturday with the second row suffering no ill effects from his first 40 minutes of rugby this season. A number of academy players also featured at Tom Clifford Park on the day with Gearoid Lyons andT omas Quinlan among the points scorers for Young Munster and Con respectively.
Stephen Fitzgerald, another from the academy ranks, crossed for brace of tries in Shannon’s away win over Belfast Harlequins while Development centre Matt D’Arcy scored the only try of the game in Clontarf’s win over Galwegians – a result that saw Clontarf maintain their position at the top of Division 1A.
Meanwhile, the Munster can confirm that Shane Monahan has completed his time with the province. The winger joined on a short-term basis in providing World Cup cover and made three competitive appearances including two starts.
Head Coach Anthony Foley will name his first Champions Cup side of the season at midday on Friday.
Over 16,000 tickets have now been sold for this weekend’s Pool 4 game. Tickets can be purchased from just €60 for families (two adults & two kids), €20 for adults and €10 for juniors – they are available online here, from the the Munster Rugby Ticket Offices at Thomond Park and Irish Independent Park, or by calling 0818 719 300.
