Reinforcements.

Munster boss Johann van Graan has admitted the province are looking at the prospect of bringing in some short-term signings as World Cup cover but will wait until Joe Schmidt names his 31-man squad before making any decisions.

The South African has made it clear already that Nick McCarthy will be the only new permanent arrival this season, but with a large Munster contingent set to be with Ireland in Japan – the province may need temporary cover.

The likes of Conor Murray, CJ Stander, Peter O’Mahony, Joey Carbery and Keith Earls are near guaranteed their spot on the plane, while guys like Chris Farrell, Tadhg Beirne, Jean Kleyn, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Conway, Tommy O’Donnell and John Ryan remain in the squad, and could also very well travel.

“We’re waiting on the final Irish squad, so that might be a possibility,” van Graan told us

“We’ve been in constant conversation with Joe Schmidt and David Nucifora regarding World Cup cover, so we’re looking at one or two possibilities.”

“A few guys got added to the World Cup squad, which is great for Munster. We had 15 guys in the extended squad, so the closer it gets to the final selection, we’ll make our decisions based on that.”