# 2003–04 Munster Rugby season

The 2003–04 Munster Rugby season was Munster's third season competing in the Celtic League, alongside which they also competed in the Heineken Cup. It was Alan Gaffney's first season as head coach.

## 2003–04 squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| James Blaney | Hooker | Ireland |
| Jerry Flannery | Hooker | Ireland |
| Andy Long | Hooker | England |
| Frankie Sheahan | Hooker | Ireland |
| John Hayes | Prop | Ireland |
| Marcus Horan | Prop | Ireland |
| Simon Kerr | Prop | Australia |
| Eugene McGovern | Prop | Ireland |
| Gordon McIlwham | Prop | Ireland |
| Frank Roche | Prop | Ireland |
| Tommy Hayes | Lock | Ireland |
| Trevor Hogan | Lock | Ireland |
| Donncha O'Callaghan | Lock | Ireland |
| Paul O'Connell | Lock | Ireland |
| Shane O'Connor | Lock | Ireland |
| Donal Sheehan | Lock | Ireland |
| Anthony Foley | Back row | Ireland |
| Stephen Keogh | Back row | Ireland |
| Denis Leamy | Back row | Ireland |
| Colm McMahon | Back row | Ireland |
| David Pusey | Back row | Australia |
| Alan Quinlan | Back row | Ireland |
| David Wallace | Back row | Ireland |
| Jim Williams (c) | Back row | Australia |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Frank Murphy | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Mike Prendergast | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Eoin Reddan | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Peter Stringer | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Ronan O'Gara | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Jeremy Staunton | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Clem Casey | Centre | Ireland |
| Rob Henderson | Centre | Ireland |
| Jason Holland | Centre | Ireland |
| Jason Jones-Hughes | Centre | Wales |
| Killian Keane | Centre | Ireland |
| Mike Mullins | Centre | Ireland |
| Conrad O'Sullivan | Centre | Ireland |
| Anthony Horgan | Wing | Ireland |
| John Kelly | Wing | Ireland |
| Mossy Lawler | Wing | Ireland |
| Martin McPhail | Wing | Ireland |
| Dominic Crotty | Fullback | Ireland |
| Christian Cullen | Fullback | New Zealand |
| Shaun Payne | Fullback | South Africa |

## Pre-season

* 22 August 2003
| Munster | 38–19 | Rotherham |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park
* 29 August 2003
| Connacht | 12–38 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Galway Sportsgrounds

## 2003–04 Celtic League

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Llanelli Scarlets | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 597 | 385 | +212 | 57 | 39 | 7 | 3 | 76 |
| 2 | Ulster | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 617 | 363 | +254 | 67 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 72 |
| 3 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 590 | 449 | +141 | 59 | 41 | 7 | 1 | 72 |
| 4 | Celtic Warriors | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 560 | 451 | +109 | 48 | 37 | 5 | 4 | 65 |
| 5 | Neath-Swansea Ospreys | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 582 | 512 | +70 | 55 | 60 | 5 | 4 | 55 |
| 6 | Cardiff Blues | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 570 | 467 | +103 | 73 | 54 | 7 | 3 | 54 |
| 7 | Munster | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 422 | 456 | −34 | 45 | 49 | 6 | 5 | 51 |
| 8 | Leinster | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 523 | 580 | −57 | 51 | 65 | 4 | 5 | 47 |
| 9 | Connacht | 22 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 479 | 550 | −71 | 50 | 59 | 5 | 3 | 44 |
| 10 | Edinburgh | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 454 | 622 | −168 | 52 | 69 | 6 | 2 | 44 |
| 11 | Glasgow | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 442 | 614 | −172 | 52 | 61 | 3 | 3 | 32 |
| 12 | Borders | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 363 | 750 | −387 | 42 | 88 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| Under the standard bonus point system, points are awarded as follows: 4 points for a win 2 points for a draw 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries (or more) (Try bonus) 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer) (Losing bonus) ||||||||||||||
| Source: RaboDirect PRO12 Archived 22 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine ||||||||||||||
* 5 September 2003 19:35
| Leinster | 8–15 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Donnybrook Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Paul Adams
* 12 September 2003 19:30
| Munster | 12–19 | Llanelli Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 5,500
* 27 September 2003 17:30
| Neath-Swansea Ospreys | 33–26 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* St. Helen's Attendance: 5,200
* 10 October 2003 19:30
| Munster | 15–16 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 4,000
* 17 October 2003 19:05
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 29–6 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 3,571
* 24 October 2003 19:30
| Munster | 26–10 | Glasgow |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 2,000
* 31 October 2003 19:30
| Munster | 22–21 | Celtic Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 3,500
* 7 November 2003 19:30
| Edinburgh | 20–9 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Meadowbank Attendance: 2,300
* 28 November 2003 19:35
| Munster | 31–10 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Iain Ramage
* 2 January 2004 19:00
| Connacht | 0–3 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Dubarry Park Attendance: 3,500
* 6 February 2004 19:30
| Munster | 29–21 | Borders |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 3,800
* 13 February 2004 19:35
| Munster | 24–13 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 5,400 Referee: Hugh Watkins
* 20 February 2004 19:30
| Llanelli Scarlets | 37–20 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stradey Park Attendance: 6,169
* 27 February 2004 19:35
| Munster | 15–18 | Neath-Swansea Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 8,000
* 5 March 2004 19:35
| Ulster | 36–13 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Attendance: 8,820
* 12 March 2004 19:30
| Munster | 6–16 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 4,470
* 26 March 2004 19:55
| Glasgow | 12–37 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Hughenden Attendance: 2,645
* 2 April 2004 19:05
| Celtic Warriors | 29–25 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Sardis Road Attendance: 4,157
* 16 April 2004 19:30
| Munster | 17–28 | Edinburgh |
| | Report | |
* Musgrave Park Attendance: 4,935
* 30 April 2004 19:05
| Cardiff Blues | 60–14 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff Arms Park Attendance: 4,110 Referee: Iain Ramage
* 7 May 2004 19:35
| Munster | 39–10 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 3,233
* 14 May 2004 19:30
| Borders | 10–18 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Netherdale Attendance: 2,000

## 2003–04 Celtic Cup
### Quarter-final

* 3 October 2003 19:30
| Glasgow | 18–14 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Hughenden Attendance: 2,942

## 2003–04 Heineken Cup
### Pool 5

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Munster | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 172 | 76 | 96 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Gloucester | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 197 | 100 | 97 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Bourgoin | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 119 | 191 | −72 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Benetton Treviso | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 32 | −19 | 104 | 225 | −121 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
* 6 December 2003 18:00
| Bourgoin | 17–18 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stade Pierre Rajon Attendance: 9,200 Referee: Nigel Whitehouse
* 13 December 2003 17:00
| Munster | 51–0 | Benetton Treviso |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Rob Dickson
* 10 January 2004 27:00
| Gloucester | 22–11 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Kingsholm Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Nigel Williams
* 17 January 2004 17:00
| Munster | 36–8 | Gloucester |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 12,000
* 24 January 2004 14:30
| Benetton Treviso | 20–31 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Joel Dume
* 31 January 2004 17:00
| Munster | 26–3 | Bourgoin |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Tony Spreadbury

### Quarter-final

* 10 April 2004 17:00
| Munster | 37–32 | Stade Français |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 13,100 Referee: Nigel Williams

### Semi-final

* 25 April 2004 15:00
| Munster | 32–37 | London Wasps |
| | Report | |
* Lansdowne Road Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Nigel Williams